Any concerns surrounding the Grand Bahama Port Authority are not sufficient enough to warrant any government intervention, according to Prime Minister Perry Christie.
“Iﾒve indicated to all that clearly those who occupy high office in the Grand Bahama Port Authority have an obligation to ensure that they are seen to be leading the way in good corporate governance,” the prime minister said in a recent interview with The Bahama Journal on the matter.
“And so, not until such time as there is evidence presented to the government of any deviation or conflict of those principles of good corporate governance would we have any real concerns, and sufficiently so to cause any specific meetings to discuss those matters.
“In the meantime, we are cooperating with the Grand Bahama Port Authority in matters that we believe will greatly impact the economy positively and those meetings are currently taking place and moving forward.”
The company which manages the City of Freeport has been in the spotlight lately after a series of events gained it negative publicity.
While the resignation of Julian Francis as co-chairman and CEO of the Port and the exit of other senior Bahamian executives created widespread publicity, there continues to be concerns in some circles that the new chairman, Hannes Babak, could be placed in conflicts of interest situations given that he has business interests in Grand Bahama.
More recent reports of a spat between Port shareholder Sir Jack Hayward and the daughter of his late partner Edward St. George cast further light on concerns shadowing the Port Authority.
Those reports followed a revelation that Mr. St. Georgeﾒs ex-wife, Mary St. George, was claiming to be entitled to half of his assets.
The whole affair has left some licensees concerned that Freeport may be in trouble. But the government apparently does not share those concerns.
The prime ministerﾒs comments directly contradicted concerns that continue to be raised by government senator, Philip Galanis, who insists that Freeport is in crisis.
“I have heard the complaints of difficulties in trying to convince potential foreign investors that nothing is wrong in Freeport,” Senator Galanis said in a recent statement.
“I believe it is time that we stopped trying to do that and started admitting that, yes, there is something wrong in Freeport and that we must fix it and fix it once and for all so that foreign investors would not have to be convinced of anything.”
But Prime Minister Christie assured that the government continues to monitor all matters relating to the management of Freeport.
“The government is always in touch with the Port Authority and its owners,” he assured.
“The Office of Prime Minister has a direct relationship and most certainly is accountable for being responsible for any level of coordination that must exist between the Grand Bahama Port Authority and the government.”
He added, “We are always concerned when we see destabilizing discussions and we are inquiring, but the country can rest assured that weﾒre always in touch with the partners, the Hutchison group and the Port Authority group. We are always impressing upon both the need to be seen to be good corporate citizens of our country and the need for good principles of corporate governance being evident to all.”
Last week, the Port Authority sought to reassure that all was well at the company.
“The chairman and executives of The Grand Bahama Port Authority are pleased to reassure the public that investor confidence in Grand Bahama has not been affected by the recent negative statements which have been made by certain individuals in the press,” a statement from the Port said.
“Various projects which have been attracted to Freeport by the new management team at the Port Authority are in an advance stage of negotiation and shall materially improve the economy of Grand Bahama.”
By: Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
