042220224 BUSINESS

Resort proprietor targets 60 jobs in two-hotel expansion

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

jobs through the launch of two new boutique properties by year-end 2026. Ben Simmons, proprietor of the Ocean View and The Other Side properties on Harbour Island and mainland Eleuthera, respectively, told Tribune Business he aims to open his third hotel, The Farm, by November 2024 if “all goes to plan” as construction work moves to completion.

Once this project is finished, the construction workforce will “roll” into The Current, his fourth niche property that will be developed on a recentlyacquired 5.5 acre site with 1,000 feet of beachfront at the location that bears the same name.

• Creating four-strong Little Island Hotels brand

• Bahamian entrepreneur eyes Farm in fall ‘24

• With The Current property to follow in 2026

Mr Simmons told this newspaper that the two new resorts, which will double his hotel portfolio, will enable him to place all four properties into

the newly-created Little Island Hotels brand that he is creating. And, with his existing properties employing workforces up to 30-strong, he added that

The Farm and The Current will likely take total payroll to 120 when fully open by each creating a similar number of jobs. “We’re becoming Little Island Hotels,” the Bahamian resort proprietor explained, adding that the “last structure” at The Farm will likely be completed within the next three weeks. Located on mainland North Eleuthera, near The Other Side, he said the third property will be centred around an existing farm and cater to the agri-tourism niche. Arguing that such a market, with its emphasis on sustainable practices and healthy eating and living, is “not really catered to in The Bahamas”, Mr Simmons said The Farm will also likely be targeted at “half” the price point charged to guests at the Ocean View, his Harbour Island-based property. However, visitors

Moody’s boosts Gov’t with $44m deficit miss forecast

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

forecasted, as budgeted. “We are a little bit far behind, probably the COVID gap, the effect of COVID. 2022 and 2023

And Moody’s also shrugged off the fact that the Government’s fiscal deficit, which measures by how much its spending exceeds revenue and further grows the $11.5bn national debt, was almost double the full-year target at $258.7m half-way through the 20232024 Budget year. Despite the excessive ‘red ink’, it asserts that there are “signs of fiscal consolidation”.

“According to data as of the first six months of the fiscal [year 2023-]2024, The Bahamas recorded a fiscal deficit equal to $258.7m or 1.9 percent of its GDP,” Moody’s said in its credit update. “Even though the deficit exceeded the target for the first six months of the fiscal year, there were signs of fiscal consolidation.

“We expect improvement in revenue collection and continued restraint on spending will allow the Government to come close to the annual target of 0.9 percent of GDP. We

MOODY’S has given the Government’s fiscal consolidation campaign a major boost by predicting that this year’s fiscal deficit will only narrowly overshoot its target by $44m. The credit rating agency, in its latest update on The Bahamas released on Friday, forecast that improved revenues and “spending restraint” will contain the deficit for the 2023-2024 fiscal year to a sum equivalent to just 1.2 percent of economic output of gross domestic product (GDP). If Moody’s projection turns out to be accurate, the GFS deficit will be only slightly higher than the $131m, or 0.9 percent of GDP, that the Davis administration targeted when unveiling its Budget last May. The rating agency’s latest 1.2 percent deficit forecast, based on that Budget, is equal to $174.67m or a near-$44m overshoot if it holds and comes true.

DPM: ‘CRACKS’ SHOWING IN BRILAND’S TOURISM PRODUCT

The deputy prime minister has raised the alarm that “cracks” are appearing in Harbour Island’s tourism product, as he warned: “Unless we manage the paradise we have we stand the risk of losing it.”

Chester Cooper, addressing the Harbour Island Business Outlook conference, said he is “dismayed sometimes” by the debris and dilapidated buildings as he urged residents and tourism stakeholders to tap into “the incredible resource pool” of the island’s billionaire and millionaire homeowners to help address critical infrastructure and other challenges.

Asserting that the Government, with its Budget constraints, “cannot do it all on its own”, he added that visitor concerns about the indiscriminate dumping of garbage and litter; abandoned vehicles on the roadside; and derelict and decaying buildings were increasingly showing up in tourist exit surveys

submitted to the Ministry of Tourism.

Mr Cooper, who is also minister of tourism, investments and aviation, signalled that the Government will rely increasingly on the public-private partnership (PPP) model - with private investors providing the capital and financing, and also the development and management expertise - to grow and develop all Family Islands. Hence his call for Harbour Island to seek greater help from its wealthy homeowners.

“Much of the work to develop to keep these islands pristine must come through local leadership and local ownership,” Mr Cooper said. “I told you of my vacations in Eleuthera, my vacations here in Harbour Island. Harbour Island is still paradise, but you

can see the cracks in the product.

“I want to encourage you to continue to invest in the product, to continue to take ownership and leadership in keeping Harbour Island pristine. We must defend what we got. We have a beautiful country, we have a beautiful island, but unless we manage the paradise we have we stand the risk of losing it.

“Ladies and gentlemen, when I travel the length and breadth of Harbour Island, I am dismayed sometimes by the debris, the dilapidated buildings that we see, and you can tell this place needs some love. Eleuthera is your home. Briland is your home. Eleuthera is now our home.”

Mr Cooper then suggested that Briland needs to forge even stronger links with its multi-millionaire

residents, many of whom have owned homes and been coming to the island for generations, so that they contribute further to the island’s development and upkeep.

“There are billionaires and millionaires who live here who love this island, and continue to come back for generations and generations,” he said. “So to build access to this incredible resource pool, it makes sense that this proposal with PPPs must be the model for that continued enhancement of Harbour Island, the model for continuing the charm and the paradise that we have come to know and love.”

Asserting that Eleuthera has “the pieces” for significant economic growth and development, Mr Cooper added that these must be properly managed for the

Bahamians told: Invest into ‘big scale tourism’

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

MORE Bahamians must “invest in tourism bigscale”, the deputy prime minister is urging, challenging why this is not occurring given how “bullish” the country is on the industry.

Chester Cooper, addressing the Harbour Island Business Outlook, questioned why Bahamian entrepreneurs are not exploiting the industry’s “growth potential” to invest in larger resorts and other tourism-related projects as he pointed out that virtually all such assets are foreign-owned.

And, asserting that the Ministry of Tourism is “bringing the numbers”, with visitor arrivals for 2024 year-to-date some 13 percent ahead of last year’s record-breaking nine million-plus, he urged Bahamians to develop more

attractive tours and activities that will - particularly for cruise ship passengers“that will make our guests want to leave the island with their pockets empty”.

Mr Cooper, who is also minister of tourism, investments and aviation, acknowledged the need to increase per capita spending by cruise ship passengers if The Bahamas is to maximise the economic benefits from this tourism segment but placed the onus on the private sector and its innovation, ingenuity and creativity to achieve this.

Praising Jack’s Bay, the Eleuthera resort development headed by Sir Franklyn Wilson and former Cabinet minister, Tommy Turnquest, the deputy prime minister hailed it as a project that “truly speaks wonders for Bahamian entrepreneurs and Bahamian entrepreneurship”.

“This is something where, if there was one area we could improve improve in our overall investment landscape, it’s Bahamian investment in tourism bigscale,” Mr Cooper said. “If you think of all the resorts in Eleuthera, if you think of all the resorts in New Providence and Exuma for that matter, we will find that most of them are owned by foreigners.

“If we are so bullish and we are so optimistic and enthusiastic about the growth and potential we are seeing in tourism, why aren’t we investing more in tourism?” He also praised Bahamians who have invested in Airbnbs and other vacation rentaltype products for “enjoying some of the wealth tourism is bringing”. The lack of Bahamian ownership and investment in tourism, beyond boutique hotels, tour and excursion providers (supposedly reserved for 100

percent local ownership under the National Investment Policy), and vacation rentals has been a concern voiced frequently over the years as it means the largest assets in the country’s number one industry are chiefly owned and controlled by foreigners.

Bahamian entrepreneurs, though, will likely counter by pointing to an unequal playing field with their overseas counterparts. Foreigners are able to access capital at cheaper interest rates for “big scale” tourism projects in The Bahamas, while many local commercial banks and risk averse and do not lend to the resort sector. There also complaints that Bahamians are not given access to the same investment incentives.

Mr Cooper, meanwhile, branded The Bahamas’ investment market as “very vibrant and robust” with Eleuthera said to be “playing a pivotal role”. He added that regardless of

where investment is occurring on the island, “we know a rising tide for Eleuthera will float all boats”.

island to reach “its truest potential”. He added that he was “delighted by the looks on your faces; that this doesn’t surprise you” when he reeled off the litany of tourist complaints about the island’s cleanliness and appearance.

Calling for all stakeholders, including the Government, local government, tourism industry and Briland’s wealthy residents to partner “to make some significant advances in the landscape of Briland”, the deputy prime minister said:

“We must continue to keep Briland pristine, we must continue to keep Eleuthera one of the finest islands in The Bahamas, and we must continue to keep the islands of The Bahamas the most magnificent little country anywhere on planet Earth.”

“The Briland Club right here has already put $130m in the ground,” the deputy prime minister said. “It’s a beautiful marina from what I have seen at night, and we expect an additional $150m investment in this development. Utopia is $75m, and this is in the Governor’s Harbour area.” The Briland Club’s developer is Michael Wiener’s 4M Harbour Island, with Sterling Global

BAHAMIAN COCKTAILS BARS GAIN REGIONAL AWARDS NOD

THE group behind a series of Bahamian craft cocktail bars says two locations have been recognised as Regional Top Ten Honorees for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Old Pal Hospitality, which is responsible for Bon Vivants and The Dilly Club, and has teamed with The Island House on Yellowbell, said the former two locations have been cited by the Tales of The Cocktail Spirited Awards (TOTC)..

The Dilly Club, based in the Atlantis Marina Village on Paradise Island, earned a nomination for Best New International Bar. And Bon Vivants, located in Sandyport, has been nominated for Best International Bar - its second

TOTC nomination after the 2020 nod for Best New International Bar. Old Pal Hospitality said the latter was the first occasion that a Bahamian bar received a Tales nomination.

“I am grateful and humbled to have Bon Vivants and The Dilly Club honored as Top Ten Regional Honorees, which reflects the passion, the talent and the hard work of our Bon Vivants and Dilly Club teams, and I could not be prouder of them,” said Kyle Jones, Old Pal Hospitality’s managing director and co-founder. “I have been blown away by the support we’ve received from our guests, our community and our friends across the region.

To have two of our bars ranked among such incredible venues in the Caribbean and Latin American is such an honour.”

The Tales of The Cocktail Spirited Awards are intended to celebrate innovation, creativity and dedication to the craft of mixology. The nominations effectively place Bon Vivants among the top ten cocktail bars in Latin America and the Caribbean, and The Dilly Club as one of the region’s top ten new bars. Bon Vivants is now a two-time nominee. Old Pal Hospitality added that it also provides cocktail consultation, cocktail events, bar design and staff training services.

Cruise port donates $2m to food security

NASSAU Cruise Port says it has donated $1.95m towards projects that will help the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources improve food security in The Bahamas.

The donation recently took place at the ministry’s offices where Jomo Campbell, minister of agriculture and marine resources; Pia Glover-Rolle, minister of labour; Neil Campbell, its permanent secretary; and Nassau Cruise Port chief executive, Mike Maura, listened to a number of presentations. These included one for a schools poultry programme, a chicken broiler production programme, the redevelopment of the Blue Hill Road Farmers Market and an authentic Bahamian cultural concept store.

“I had the privilege to listen to the presentations, and review presentations that touched on food security and the need for us to be self-sufficient, which as a Bahamian I support completely. At the Nassau Cruise Port, we get excited about the prospects of

offering more authentic food to the millions of visitors that we have each year,” Mr Maura said. “And then, in addition to that, we had presentations around the further development of our artisans, which is so important to us as well. The guests visiting our shores are looking for something that really touches The Bahamas and can’t be found somewhere else. The Nassau Cruise Port has made a pledge to BAIC and its affiliates. We will be supporting the projects that were presented and we can’t wait to get started.”

Mrs Glover-Rolle, who is also MP for Golden Gates, hailed Nassau Cruise Port as a “great community partner.”

“Thank you for the opportunity to not only present but agreeing to participate. Our minister of agriculture has a goal of reducing food imports by 25 percent by the year 2025, and our project in the Golden Gates community speaks to that,” she said of the cruise port.

“We have a number of backyard farmers, farmers and fishers in our community in Golden Gates. Being able to use the Blue Hill Road Farmers Market, which is going to be dubbed the ‘Fish Fry of the South’, as a hub for food security but also a hub where artisans and handicraft persons can come and sell their wares is wonderful.

“So, we are happy that you have agreed to partner with us and we look forward to a partnership, and we hope to welcome some of your visitors when this amazing renovation is done.”

Mr Campbell added: “I would like to say thank you to the presenters for the presentations that are several steps in the right direction for our country, to Mr Maura and his board at the Nassau Cruise Port, and I would like to say thanks to God for this partnership and bringing us all together as we move forward, upward, together in building a better, brighter, future for The Bahamas.”

Tensions are rising

RECENT tensions in the Middle East have massively driven up the price of oil and had a negative impact on worldwide stock market indices. There is a lot of tension on the international markets.

Israel attacked Iran last Friday night, according to media reports. But Iran’s state media rejected reports of missile strikes. It was not a largescale attack, the state news agency, IRNA, reported.

The price of gold promptly rose on Friday after the reports from Iran. In the morning, the price of

an ounce (about 31.1 grams) rose above $2,396. Since this weekend, concerns over oils price jumping above the $100 per barrel mark have risen. There has been a sense of alarm in the oil markets since the conflict in the Middle East has reached a new dimension. Shortly before the Iranian attack, which was a response to the alleged Israeli bombing of the

former’s Damascus consulate, the price of Brent crude oil had temporarily risen above $91 a barrel.

Since last Friday, oil market tensions have returned since it is not yet clear what a possible response from Iran looks like. In addition, the US and the European Union (EU) have now announced they will tighten their sanctions against Iran.

Both factors could have an impact on the oil market. The country is the fourthlargest oil producer in the OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) cartel, and is located on one of the world’s most important shipping routes for the oil trade.

Resort proprietor targets 60 jobs in two-hotel expansion

at The Farm will still be able to enjoy Briland hospitality due to the close proximity.

“That will be another 12-room property completely off the grid,” Mr Simmons told Tribune Business of The Farm. “The focus will be agri-tourism. The Farm will be centred a large vegetable garden. We’re going to be doing an orchard of Bahamian fruits and agri-voltaics, which just means agriculture under solar panels. I forget the exact amount, but I think it’s a 120 kilowatt (KW) system.” He added that the use of solar energy will enable The Farm to practice “all levels of farming” and offer these to its guests, including hydroponic and aquaponic techniques. And the installation of solar panels will help to better protect the fruits and vegetables from the elements, thus extending the growing cycle.

“Because there are hundreds of panels it becomes protected from heavy rains and the heat and abuse of the sun, so it increases your growing period,” Mr Simmons said. Asked how long this will extend the fruit growing cycle, he replied: “It’s going to be a great experiment, so I will tell you in a year. “We’re hoping to launch that [The Farm] in November, so we’ll see how that all pans out. We’ll get it done in time.” Mr Simmons pointed out that The Farm, which already has 143 raised garden beds, has already “been functioning for five years” and supplies much of the salad products, as well as vegetables such as egg plants, beets and carrots, which are all grown organically to his two existing hotels. An on-site restaurant is also set to be developed, and the Bahamian entrepreneur says he has drawn much of the inspiration for The Farm from BabylonsToren, a South African farm that

features a garden, wine shop, farm store and restaurants as part of its agri-tourism offering.

“The inspiration is The Bahamas needs to get back to and embrace that movement,” Mr Simmons told Tribune Business. “That’s definitely a niche market not really catered to in The Bahamas.” Besides wedding groups seeking a farm and garden setting, he added that The Farm will also be targeted at yoga retreats, business retreats and leisure travellers “looking for a quaint retreat”. “It’s going to be at a lower price point than the other beach side niche facilities,” he explained. “It adds a way to enjoy our product at a lower price point. We started construction and got approval, and we’re hoping to launch this year. We’ve been going for a year-and-ahalf, two years. “The Harbour Island market has become so, so expensive that I think our positioning to have it at a

lower price point allows people to dip in and experience Harbour Island but retreat back [to The Farm]..... Ocean View starts in the $700, $800, $900 mark for POS (point of sale); it’s $1,000 a night when you factor in VAT, so we will probably bring it in at half that.

“Each property will have a variety of rooms at different price points, but we want to offer something to lighten the load and it makes sense for our overall clients as well. This feeds into our longterm strategy as Little Island Hotels, which is to create a network of small properties that are in close proximity to one another and build on the success of existing properties.”

Mr Simmons said the variety of properties under the Little Island Hotels brand will also enable him to “cross-sell” to visitors, and offer a three-night stay at The Farm mixed with four nights at Ocean View or vice versa. The properties will each offer something

Bahamians told: Invest into ‘big scale tourism’

FROM PAGE B3

Advisors the development manager.

Elsewhere on Eleuthera, Mr Cooper said the Davis marina is “continuing its development with 24 slips” while the French Leave marina now includes a fixed mega yacht slip to attract this market. The $200m RitzCarlton project in south Eleuthera was said to be “progressing well, while Cape Eleuthera is adding 20 new cottages. “We are bringing the numbers,” Mr Cooper said of

different, with The Farm, for example, located inland while The Other Side is on the waterfront. “That leads into what we want to do with The Current,” he told Tribune Business of the fourth property. “We’ve acquired a 5.5 acre lot in The Current with 1,000 feet of beach that’s 15-20 minutes away from the existing property at The Other Side. Once we finish the facility here at The Farm, we’ll roll the construction team over to The Current. “Again, it will be a similar model with a slightly different experience. The Current cuts there, the sandbanks are there for kite boarding, and it’s a very beautiful and pristine beach with the old settlement there in need of regeneration. There’s one house on it, which we will renovate and turn into a villa of sorts, and the rest is a build-out. That’s our model; 12 units. “It’s really next door to what was the Current Club in the day, which was a hot spot for people coming over to Nassau. We’re still in the design phase, getting plans drawn up, but hopefully we will hit the ground running by the end of the year and have another two-year buildout process and open in fall 2026.”

his ministry. “We want and need more experiences to get persons out of the hotels or off the ships and spending money. We want to ensure we are increasing the level of spend of visitors who come to Eleuthera or any island of The Bahamas by cruise ship.” With “the empowerment of Bahamians” through entrepreneurial opportunities a key focus of his ministry, Mr Cooper added: “We can enrich the visitor experience and they can spend more money. So the

Confirming that between 25-30 persons are employed at his existing resorts, Mr Simmons said “the hope” is the two new resorts will employ a similar-sized workforce. “That’s the hope; that we’ll keep on generating these jobs and, what’s really important for us is that, for existing team members it creates opportunities for them to grow in the company,” he added. “We can have a concierge become a manager at one of the new hotels. It’s creating those promotion opportunities along the way. It’s easier said than done. The Farm, I’m very excited about it. I’m passionate about it. As soon as I got out of school I was at The Farm. It was my first creative opportunity and I loved it.”

Ministry of Tourism will bring the numbers, as you have been hearing, and last year we brought almost ten million. “The trouble with breaking records is you have got to do it again, but I am happy to tell you so far, so good. This year we are about 13 percent [ahead] so far. We can bring the numbers, but we cannot extract the money out of their pockets. This is where you come in as stakeholders in the tourism industry.

“We have, and you have, to make our guests want to leave the islands of The Bahamas with their pockets empty by creating the experiences and customer care that will continue to make us the delight of the world.”

Moody’s boosts Gov’t with $44m deficit miss forecast

forecast a slightly larger deficit in fiscal 2024 — 1.2 percent of GDP — reflecting moderate slippage vis-à- vis the Government’s fiscal targets.”

The Davis administration will likely seize on Moody’s update as the first affirmation from an external source that it will close to achieving its projected fiscal targets, especially as the rating agency is forecasting it will achieve its long-cherished goal of moving from deficit to a Budget surplus equal to 0.5 percent of GDP (around $65.5m) in the upcoming 2024-2025 fiscal year.

It is unclear what Moody’s is basing its deficit forecast on as the basis for its calculations was not included in the credit update. To achieve its 1.2 percent forecast, the Government would have to generate an $83.7m Budget surplus over the six months from January to end-June 2024 and partially offset the first-deficit.

The Government’s fiscal year is cyclical in nature, with the bulk of its revenues earned during the first four months of the calendar year that coincide with peak winter tourism, Business Licence fee collection and the bulk of real property tax payments. During the prior 2022-2023 fiscal year, it ran a collective surplus of just over $30m for this period.

However, this was more than cancelled out by the $290m in deficits incurred for May and June 2023, as this is typically when spending spikes as ministries, departments and agencies present bills for payment that the Ministry of Finance new nothing about. This usually wipes out any early calendar year surplus.

Moody’s is bucking a trend which has seen the likes of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) both predict that the 20232024 deficit will overshoot its target by nine-figure sums. “Government fiscal performance through the first half of the fiscal year demonstrates a narrowing fiscal deficit,” it said, although the $258.7m outcome was only slightly less than the prior year’s $275m deficit. The IMF, in its contrasting statement in the annual 2023 Article IV consultation with The Bahamas, estimated that the current fiscal year’s deficit will be “considerably larger than that expected in the Budget” at a sum equal to 2.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

This is almost triple the Davis administration’s forecast of a deficit equivalent to 0.9 percent of GDP or total Bahamian economic output. The IMF’s prediction, if accurate, would mean that the GFS deficit - which measures by how much government spending exceeds its revenue income - would balloon to around $378.73m compared to the Government’s $131.1m forecast. S&P is forecasting a deficit - which measures by how much the Government’s spending exceeds its income in any fiscal year - of 3.2 percent of GDP, which is equivalent to $466malmost $100m higher than that forecast by the IMF And the IDB, in a paper tackling the doubling of its crisis funding facility for The Bahamas to $200m, estimated that “the fiscal deficit will be at around 3 percent of GDP in fiscal year 2023 and around 2 percent in

fiscal year 2024”. The latter figure would peg the deficit, based on the Government’s GDP Budget estimates, at around $290m.

Several sources spoken to by Tribune Business yesterday voiced surprise at Moody’s assessment and projections, adding that all signs suggested that the Government’s deficit is moving up rather than down. They declined to comment, though, until the rating agency disclosed the basis of its findings.

The Government, and Ministry of Finance, have yet to release any figures on its fiscal performance since the end-December mid-point of the 2023-2024 Budget. The monthly details for January and February 2024 are now late, and it is unclear if Moody’s analysis may have been influenced by having sight of these reports as well as figures for March. If they were strong, the Government would likely have disclosed them.

Moody’s, meanwhile, suggested that tourism growth will slow in 2024 following the post-COVID rebound’s completion. “According to The Bahamas National Statistical Institute’s advanced estimate for 2023 real GDP, the economy expanded 2.6 percent year-over-year,” the rating agency said. “Most industries recorded growth in 2023, with accommodation and food services, and construction, expanding 26 percent and 22 percent, respectively, in 2023. Stopover arrivals, which tend to spend more than cruise shop visitors, increased 17 percent year-over-year in 2023, reaching about 95 percent of 2019 levels in terms of stayover arrivals.

“Cruise ship arrivals increased 44 percent

year-over-year in 2023, and are about 50 percent above 2019 levels. Tourism output remained strong in early 2024. However, we expect a moderation in growth in tourism value-added in 2024 to contribute to slower real GDP growth.”

Elsewhere, Moody’s said the interest rate attached to the Government’s $500m foreign currency loan in January 2024 was relatively high even with the benefit of the partial Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) guarantee. The initial 8.6 percent rate was close to the 8.95 percent coupon attached to the $600m bond placed by the Government at the COVID pandemic’s peak in 2020.

“The Government has managed to maintain sufficient broad access to funding to meet its large gross borrowing requirements, which we estimate to be around 15 percent of GDP in fiscal 2024,” Moody’s said. “In January 2024, the Government secured a $500m foreign currency loan, benefiting from a first-loss guarantee from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). “The cost of borrowing, even with the IDB guarantee, was 8.6 percent for the first interest period, higher than the weighted average interest rate on The Bahamas’ external bonds and external loans, which were 7.17 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively, as of the end of fiscal 2023. “The loan is a floating rate loan priced with a spread

of 3.45 percent above the Secured Overnight Financing Rate. By January 2024, the Government had successfully met 75 percent of its external gross financing needs for fiscal year 2024.”

Notice is hereby given that all persons having any claim or demands against the above named Estate are required to send their names, addresses and particulars of the same duly certified in writing to the undersigned on or before the 2nd day of May A.D., 2024, and if required, prove such debts or claims, or in default be excluded from any distribution; after the above date the assets will be distributed having regard only

And Notice is hereby given that all persons indebted to the said Estate are requested to make full settlement on or before the aforementioned date.

MICHAEL A. DEAN & CO., Attorneys for the Executors Alvernia Court, 49A Dowdeswell Street P.O. Box N-3114 Nassau, The Bahamas

end of 2025, he added that “airside” works involving upgrades to North Eleuthera airport’s runways, plane taxi ways and aprons in a bid to relieve aviation traffic congestion will have “shovels in the ground” by the 2024 fourth quarter.

Mr Cooper, also the minister of tourism, investments and aviation, repeated his oft-used statement that The Bahamas has “truly been caught behind the eightball in terms of developing infrastructure to keep pace with the growth of the population and the growth of the economies” throughout the Family Islands and not just Eleuthera.

With total air and sea arrivals to Eleuthera in 2023 increasing by 30 percent year-over-year, and air connectivity to the island having expanded significantly since 2021, the deputy prime minister added that the airport serving Harbour Island the island’s north is no longer fit for purpose.

“It’s a pleasure to witness, although it comes with some pain, a Saturday at North Eleuthera airport where you see the magnificence of sometimes five American Airlines jets, and one or two Delta, and numerous private jets landing at North Eleuthera airport assisting with the growth and development of this island,” Mr Cooper said.

Asked by an attendee about the status of the airport’s long-awaited transformation and upgrade, which has been awaited for years since at least the former Minnis administration was in office, the deputy prime minister joked: “I was going to come to that but I prefer to focus on the positives right now.”

Turning to the future several minutes later, he said a temporary accommodation facility had been installed to improve the passenger experience and increase capacity, but acknowledged this is not a permanent solution.

“Let me tell you it is completely embarrassing to see the number of tourists standing in the sun and the elements waiting to board their flights or coming off of their flights,” Mr Cooper said. “I’m delighted to be able to tell you today [Friday] we are doing something about it.

“The work on the airside aprons and taxi way runway is expected to commence by the fourth quarter, beginning firstly next quarter with geotechnical studies, with shovels in the ground by the fourth quarter. The works and construction of a new terminal is slated to be completed towards the end of 2025, but we have a hard deadline of 2026 for reasons I believe you are all aware.”

Mr Cooper’s reference to the likely date of the next general election drew laughter from audience members, as he continued:

“Your terminal building is coming and, as you have seen or seen before, we have completed some versions of the renderings.

“We have gotten some public feedback, and we have now advanced those designs to a level where they require final sign-off and viewing by the stakeholders here, and I expect that to be done in the next 30 days.

“I am pleased to tell you that the Cabinet of The Bahamas this week has approved funding for various airport terminals throughout the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. This funding will be available by July 2024 and, most importantly, North Eleuthera is part of this plan. We expect, and I reiterate, by the fourth quarter shovels will be in the ground with respect to your new airport terminal.”

Many North Eleuthera and Harbour Island residents will likely tale a ‘believe it when we see it’ attitude towards the airport’s transformation, given that it has been known about, needed and promised for so long. A $65m price tag was originally placed on its redevelopment, ranking it alongside Exuma as the most expensive Family Island airport upgrade planned by the Government.

Dr Kenneth Romer, the Government’s aviation director, told last year’s Eleuthera Business Outlook that the $65m cost was being “scaled back” to ensure investors can achieve the desired return on their capital outlay via a public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement.

However, he more recently told the Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association’s (BHTA) 2024 first quarter meeting that the Government was set to approach the Inter-American Development Bank

(IDB) for additional financing for North Eleuthera airport.

Mr Cooper, meanwhile, told the Harbour Island Business Outlook that the need for a revived North Eleuthera airport was driven home to him when on the island over Easter. “I had the pleasure of being driven by a delightful man who calls himself Fine Threads,” he recalled.

“I thought it was a little punishment actually because he bent my ear the entire time about the airport and the other needs of the island of Eleuthera.”

Several attendees could be heard saying “yes, yes, yes”, as Mr Cooper continued: “So I promised him that whatever I do for Exuma, I’m also going to do for Eleuthera.

“And so I have prioritised Exuma [his constituency], and those works will begin shortly, and therefore you ought to expect by the power of Fine Threads that your terminal is going to be well out of the ground by the end of this year. We fully realise improvements to the current facilities are not enough, and I thank you for your patience and your long-suffering as it relates to the North Eleuthera airport.”

Clay Sweeting, minister of works, last week revealed that upgrades to Governor’s Harbour airport were rushed to completion in around two months after American Airlines threatened to pull out of initiating direct flights from Miami three times per week if this was not completed by endJanuary 2024.

Mr Cooper made no mention of this, but confirmed that $6m has been invested to-date in the improvements which he is “advised are roughly 80 percent complete” with February’s opening of a new terminal building. The deputy prime minister also pledged that Rock Sound’s airport will be “rebuilt” through a likely PPP with private investors and operators.

Some of the Airport Authority’s newly-graduated security screeners will also be deployed to Eleuthera to “speed up the process so that people are not missing their flights after waiting for two-anda-half hours”, with Mr Cooper promising that the Government will “provide whatever interim measures we can to ease the pain you are experiencing”.

AUTOWORKERS

UNION CELEBRATES BREAKTHROUGH WIN IN TENNESSEE AND TAKES AIM AT MORE PLANTS IN THE SOUTH

By DAVID KOENIG AP Business Writer

THE United Auto Workers' overwhelming election victory at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee is giving the union hope that it can make broader inroads in the South, the least unionized part of the country.

The UAW won a stunning 73% of the vote at VW after losing elections in 2014 and 2019. It was the union's first win in a Southern assembly plant owned by a foreign automaker. Union President Shawn Fain said the pundits all told him that the UAW couldn't win in the South.

"But you all said, 'Watch this,' " he told a cheering group of VW organizers at a union hall in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on Friday night, when the UAW victory was clear. "You guys are leading the way. We're going to carry this fight on to Mercedes and everywhere else."

However, the UAW is likely to face a tougher test as it tries to represent workers at two Mercedes-Benz plants in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. A five-day election is scheduled to start May 13,

where the union's campaign has already become heated. The UAW has accused the German carmaker of violating U.S. and German labor laws with aggressive anti-union tactics, which the company denies. "They are going to have a much harder road in work sites where they are going to face aggressive management resistance and even community resistance than they faced in Chattanooga," said Harry Katz, a labor-relations professor at Cornell University. "VW management did not aggressively seek to avoid unionization. Mercedes is going to be a good test. It's the deeper South." Late last year, the UAW announced a drive to represent nearly 150,000 workers at non-union factories largely in the South. The union is targeting U.S. plants run by Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Subaru, Mazda, Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW and Volvo, along with factories operated by electric-vehicle makers Tesla, Rivian and Lucid.

The union's last defeat at VW in Chattanooga came at

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ATTA PANYIN YANKAH of P. O. Box EE-15803, #8 Killdeer Drive, Monastery Park, Nassau, Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 15th day of April, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

IN THE ESTATE of KANDY KAY PINDER late of the Settlement of Cherokee Sound on the Island of Abaco, one of the Islands of The Common wealth of The Bahamas, deceased.

Notice is hereby given that all persons having any claim or demands against the above named Estate are required to send their names, addresses and particulars of the same duly certified in writing to the undersigned on or before the 2nd day of May A.D., 2024, and if required, prove such debts or claims, or in default be excluded from any distribution; after the above date the assets will be distributed having regard only to the proved debts or claims of which the Executors shall then have had Notice.

And Notice is hereby given that all persons indebted to the said Estate are requested to make full settlement on or before the aforementioned date.

MICHAEL A. DEAN

a low-water mark — in the middle of a federal investigation into bribery and embezzlement under a previous president. Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne

State University in Detroit who studies the UAW, said the union flipped the script by installing new leadership, touting the rich contracts it won last year from Detroit automakers after strikes at targeted factories, and exploiting a climate that is now more favorable to unions. He said the union was also adept at translating signed pro-union authorization cards into votes — partly by pushing for a quick election.

NOTICE

NOTICE

and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 15th day of April 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau,

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that MAKAYLA MELISSA MICHEL of East Street South, Cox Way, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 15th day of April, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that LUIS GOMEZ PEREZ of P.O. Box CR-55277, Davis Street, Nassau, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for registration/ naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 22nd day of April, 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that ROSE KERLINE JEAN of Saint Vincent Road, Nassau, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 22nd day of April 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE

NOTICE is hereby given that HARRY FLEURISTIN of Nassau, The Bahamas applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 22nd day of April 2024 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.