07042023 BUSINESS

Gas retailers ‘not gone to sleep’ on margin rise

• Willing to accept ‘sensible’ phased-in increase

• Recent oil pice fall can be ‘winwin’ for solution

• Despite Russia/Saudi cut; gave PM Budget room

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN petroleum retailers yesterday said they “haven’t gone to sleep” over their push for a margin increase but are willing to take a “sensible” phased-in approach that will not overly burden motorists and the wider economy.

Vasco Bastian, the Bahamas Petroleum Retailers Association’s (BPRA) vice-president, told Tribune Business the sector and its

issues “haven’t gone away” amid hopes the recent decline in global oil and fuel prices could prove a “win-win” for all parties by providing the necessary headroom for a resolution if the trend continues. While Saudi Arabia and Russia did their best to reverse this by announcing new and extended production cuts, in a bid to halt the slide and drive global oil prices higher once again, he reiterated that the Association and its members would accept the 30 cent per gallon increase they are seeking being phased-in via a series of

Briland hotelier’s ‘night and day’ $100k revenue jump

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A HARBOUR Island hotelier yesterday revealed a “night and day” comparison to pre-COVID performance as revenues for May 2023 were some $100,000 up on the same month in 2019.

Benjamin Simmons, proprietor of The Other Side and Ocean View properties on Harbour Island and Eleuthera, told Tribune Business this was “a big difference” for small, boutique properties such as his with tourism maintaining its post-pandemic rebound into the summer months

for the popular visitor destination.

“It seems like in 2019 that we didn’t know what business was,” he said.

“It’s night and day. It’s a bit different because we’ve added rooms to the property and on the pricing, but it’s basically a $100,000 difference in revenue for that one month - May 2023 versus May 2019. Occupancy was basically the same, but that’s a huge difference on the actual revenue. That’s a big difference.”

Mr Simmons told this newspaper that revenues for his two properties were ahead of last year’s June performance, while occupancy was “comparable”.

He added: “Between the two properties it was 61 percent versus 58 percent last year, so it was pretty much the same story, “May was similar. It was slightly down at 67 percent occupancy versus 75 percent last year, but revenue was about $4,000 higher. Revenue increased but there was a slight dip in occupancy. It seems like we’re holding steady, all things considered. Christmas and December, those periods we start selling in June, and we’re already sold out. Fingers crossed, it’s business as usual and we’re holding steady.

“I think we’ve had a bit of a turn down in the wedding story. That

staggered increases to mitigate the impact.

Mr Bastian told this newspaper that gas station operators had allowed the Government to deal with the 2023-2024 Budget before seeking to revive negotiations between the two sides and, now that process has been completed, will seek to once again meet with Prime Minister Philip Davis KC and the Ministry of Finance’s technical advisers in a bid to resolve

• Monthly increase ‘a big difference’

• Post-COVID weddings see tail-off

• Marina off 10% but up versus 2019

post-COVID inflated demand has trailed off a bit, but we’ve had back to back great tears since 2021. The only thing we saw a drop in volume for was wedding bookings going into next year, and we expected that to a certain degree,” Mr Simmons continued.

Spending watchdog to probe transport issues

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE OPPOSITION’S leader says the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) plans to start investigating before month’s end several matters “of great concern” involving the Ministry of Transport and Housing.

Michael Pintard, who chairs parliament’s spending watchdog, told Tribune Business that the controversial contracts awarded for the online boating/

MICHAEL PINTARD

yachting fees portal and harbour navigation aids will be just two of the issues that the committee intends to probe.

Voicing hope that the Government will not seek to block attendance by

Stopover tourists strike 94% pre-COVID levels

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

TOTAL air arrivals to

The Bahamas in May hit

94.2 percent of pre-COVID’s 2019 high, the Central Bank revealed yesterday, with overall visitor numbers for the first five months of 2023 some 68 percent ahead of last year.

The monetary policy regulator, in its monthly report on May’s economic developments, said the tourism-led recovery from the pande mic was maintaining its momentum with air and sea arrivals to New Providence up by 30 percent and 85.2 percent year-over-year, respectively, for the first five months

SEE PAGE B2

permanent secretaries, senior civil servants and other key officials, as it has before, the Opposition leader said: “We do intend to look at the Ministry of Transport and Housing through the Public Accounts Committee. There are a number of matters that have caused grave concern.

“We have already begun the process. We expect by the end of July we are hopeful of talking to some of the persons associated with the Ministry of Transport and Housing because

they have multiple matters of concern to us.” The Public Accounts Committee is the only House committee that the Opposition controls, and where it has a majority.

Mr Pintard listed the issues that he and the Opposition wish to examine as the $20m loan to finance the Renaissance at Carmichael housing development, which came from Jamaican finance house, Proven, and was arranged by Bahamian

SEE PAGE B6

talks that began some 15 months ago.

“We’re still trying to come to some sort of resolution,” he said. “We haven’t heard anything from the Government for a while, but we felt it best to give them and the Prime Minister time to deal with the Budget, and hopefully we can now go back and speak to him again, speak with the people from

‘Something’s got to give’ in Govt’s fight with GBPA

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A LONG-STANDING Freeport licensee says “something has got to give” in the struggle between the Government and Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA), and warned: “Change is inevitable.”

Stephen Crane, the luxury goods and jewellery retail entrepreneur long associated with Freeport’s Colombian Emeralds operation, told Tribune Business in a recent interview that such change will “happen now or relatively soon” as the present battle over the city’s governance is simply “not sustainable”.

Confirming that he wants to “see a new administration” take over Freeport’s management, the 50-year GBPA licensee asserted that “the real springboard for future success” lies in realigning the Hawksbill Creek Agreement such that the ease of doing business in the Port area becomes “much more dynamic” and enables it to attract

those industries at the forefront of the digital-driven economy.

Mr Crane told this newspaper that Freeport’s US proximity, Internet connectivity and bandwidth, and ‘free trade zone’ status, made it a natural location for companies and sectors stifled by US immigration stipulations and restrictive regulations. He identified medical research, aeronautics and technology-related industries as being among those that the Port area and Grand Bahama can attract, along with firms that can exploit its potential as a logistics and distribution hub.

“Change is inevitable. It’s going to happen now or happen relatively soon,” Mr Crane said of the present stand-off over Freeport’s governance and administration. “The present situation between the Government and the GBPA is not sustainable. One is pulling in one direction and the other is resisting it. Something has got to give.

SEE PAGE B6

THE CENTRAL BANK OF THE BAHAMAS

$5.60 $5.63 $5.75 $5.62

BAHAMAS URGES MORE AGRICULTURAL FINANCING

By NEIL HARTNELL

A CABINET minister has urged that more financing be made available to The Bahamas and other small island developing states (SIDS) to help them combat the threat of climate change and food insecurity.

Clay Sweeting, minister of agriculture, marine resources and Family Island affairs, told a preliminary meeting before the upcoming ministerial conference of the United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO): “In order for us to grow the

agricultural sector in our relevant countries we must do so in a united front. We need to re-assess how countries qualify to have access to funding and assistance.”

Speaking during a panel discussion on building resilience to shocks, and scaling this up for more sustainable and inclusive development, Mr Sweeting also highlighted challenges facing The Bahamas that include lack of crop insurance, an aging farmer population and the continued impact of Hurricane Dorian.

This, he added, continues to limit the productivity and potential of the Bahamian agriculture sector, and its ability to contribute more to the national gross

domestic product (GDP). Maintaining that access to funding is critical for The Bahamas to move forward, he said: “The reality is at the end of the day financing governs, for the most part, how we correct the other issues.

“I am sure that we are all doing what we can because we love our world, we love our countries, we love our people, and we want to do what we can to combat climate change, increase food production and help our farmers, but even the greatest countries in the world heavily subsidise their farmers.

“There must be, must be in 2023, where we can find a mechanism that provides

real accessible opportunities for all countries that need assistance to build strong agricultural food systems – production, processing and distribution.”

Mr Sweeting thus joined other ministers and viceministers in calling for the transformation of agrifood systems to make them more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable. The FAO’s biennial ministerial conference began today and closes on July 7.

Mr Sweeting spoke at an event on transforming agrifood systems to increase their resilience, and how to harness the potential of SIDS, least developed countries and landlocked

developing countries on June 29. The meeting proposed the creation of a ministerial network for such countries with technical support from the FAO. This would share experiences, knowledge and collectively build resilience to climate change and disasters; resilience to food insecurity; and secure investments and access to finance in order to scale-up transformation of agrifood systems in the face of climate change.

QU Dongyu, the FAO director-general, told participants that with countries working in partnership together, more and better progress could be achieved towards transforming

Stopover tourists strike 94% pre-COVID levels

of 2023. Combined, total arrivals were ahead of 2022 figures by 64 percent.

“Monthly data suggested that the tourism sector continued to register healthy growth, as increased demand for travel in key source markets contributed to robust growth in both the high value-added air segment and sea traffic,” the Central Bank said.

“Official data provided by the Ministry of Tourism showed that total visitor arrivals rose to 0.8m in May from 0.5m visitors in the same month of 2022. Specifically, the dominant sea component grew to 0.6m from 0.4m passengers in the prior year. In addition, air traffic stabilised at 0.1m, representing 94.2 percent of the pre-pandemic high that was recorded in 2019.

“A breakdown by major port of entry showed that

total arrivals to New Providence expanded to 0.3m from 0.2m a year earlier. Supporting this outcome, the sea segment increased to 0.2m from 0.1m in the preceding year, while air traffic steadied at 0.1m visitors,” the regulator continued.

“Further, foreign arrivals to the Family Islands amounted to 0.4m, extending the 0.3m visitors recorded a year earlier owing to increases in both the sea and air components to 0.4m and 34,410, respectively. In addition, arrivals to Grand Bahama measured 42,710, surpassing the 24,990 registered in the corresponding period of 2022, as respective sea and air visitors amounted to 38,572 and 4,138.

“On a year-to-date basis, total arrivals rebounded to 4.2m vis-à-vis 2.5m in the comparative period of 2022. Underlying this outturn, air arrivals increased to 0.8m passengers from 0.6 million in the previous year, bolstered by growth across all major source markets. Similarly, sea arrivals

accelerated to 3.4m from 1.8m visitors in the preceding year.”

Turning to the departure figures provided by the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD), the Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) operator, the Central Bank said: “The most recent data provided by the Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD) indicated that total departures - net of domestic passengersrose by 17.7 percent to 132,367 in May compared to the same period last year.

“Specifically, US departures strengthened by 21.8 percent to 115,074 visà-vis the previous year. Conversely, non-US departures fell by 4 percent to 17,293 relative to the comparative period last year. On a year-to-date basis, total outbound traffic advanced by 33.5 percent to 684,468 passengers.

“In particular, non-US departures grew by 34.7 percent to 102,294, vis-àvis the same period in 2022. Likewise, US departures expanded by 33.3 percent

to 582,174 visitors, compared to the corresponding period last year. As for vacation rentals, the Central Bank added: “Positive trends were mirrored in the short-term vacation rental market. The latest data provided by AirDNA showed that, in May, total room nights sold moved higher to 189,398 from 136,311 in 2022.

“Contributing to this development, the occupancy rates for both entire place and hotel comparable listings appreciated by 61.4 percent and 57.7 percent, respectively, relative to 54.7 percent and 51.7 percent in the preceding year. Further, price indicators revealed that year-over-year, the average daily room rate (ADR) for entire place listings rose by 18.1 percent to $612.66, and for hotel comparable listings by 4.1 percent to $200.59.”

Pointing to the recent unemployment data released by the Bahamas National Statistical Institute, the Central Bank added: “The unemployment rate declined by 70 basis points to 8.8 percent in May 2023 compared to May 2019, as the number of self-employed persons rose

by 5 percent to 34,095 relative to May 2019.

“However, the number of employed persons decreased by 6.8 percent to 200,175 vis-à-vis May 2019. The labour force participation rate also fell to 75.9 percent compared to 82.9 percent in May 2019, as the number of discouraged workers increased by 2.3 percent to 2,035 in the review period.

“Analysis by major markets revealed that the jobless rate in New Providence, the most populated centre, reduced by 50 basis points to 8.9 percent compared to May 2019. Likewise, the unemployment rate in the second largest market, Grand Bahama, fell by 10 basis points to 10.8 percent visà-vis May 2019. The jobless rate in Abaco was also 22 basis points lower at 7.1 percent over May 2019.”

The Central Bank largely kept its economic outlook unchanged, stating:

“The domestic economy is projected to maintain its growth trajectory in 2023, supported by a robust recovery in the tourism sector. However, as indicators return to prepandemic levels, the pace

agrifood systems and increasing resilience. Countries that were represented in the talks included Haiti, Jamaica, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Cuba, Grenada and Paraguay. Other attendees were from Benin, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cook Islands, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Maldives, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Palau, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Togo, Tonga, Uzbekistan and Yemen.

of expansion is expected to slow.

“Moreover, downside risks to the tourism sector persist, associated mainly with exogenous factors, such as elevated global oil prices, which could dampen the travel industry’s competitiveness. Further, major central banks’ counter-inflation policies could constrain the spending capacity of key source market consumers. Nonetheless, new and ongoing foreign investment-led projects are anticipated to provide support to the construction sector, and by extension to economic growth.

“Monetary sector developments will include high levels of banking sector liquidity, as commercial banks retain their conservative lending stance. Further, external reserves are projected to remain buoyant in 2023, remaining above international benchmarks, buttressed by expected foreign currency inflows from tourism and other net private sector receipts. Consequently, external balances should remain more than adequate to sustain the Bahamian dollar currency peg.”

BAHAMAS CLOUD PROVIDER IN LATIN AMERICAN EXPANSION

in the world is a signal The Bahamas is “moving in the right direction” when it comes to embracing technology and digitisation.

A BAHAMAS-based cloud services provider yesterday said its planned Latin American expansion is just two years away.

Scott MacKenzie, Cloud Carib’s chief executive, told Tribune Business that being named in the top 10 managed service providers

Speaking to the development of cloud services in the Caribbean, and the role that Cloud Carib will play, he added that the company plans to continue its regional expansion followed by a “push into Latin America within the next 12 to 24 months”.

Cloud Carib already has a presence in 12 other Caribbean countries prior to “pivoting” into the Latin American market, and will continue to focus on clients in the public sector, banking and healthcare as it continues to court new markets..

Mr MacKenzie said: “From a competition perspective, as companies compete, they strive for increasing their profile globally and you have to

do that through industry confirmation.

“So as an example, Cloud Carib is CSA (Cloud Security Alliance) star level two and CSA star trusted cloud, so we are one of only six companies worldwidealong with companies like Amazon and Oracle - so that tells customers we have the highest security thresholds worldwide, measured by industry experts.”

Cloud Carib anticipates that its high global ranking

as a managed cloud services provider will translate into customer growth. Mr MacKenzie explained that the company’s “sovereign cloud services” does not mean it is solely focused on public sector clients despite most of its customers being Caribbean governments.

“Sovereign cloud means we basically supply the same types of services as Amazon and AWS (Amazon Web Services) and stuff, but we do it inside

Aircraft registry needs better data provision

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN aviation operators are demanding the provision of better data and statistics on the industry to help with the development of an aircraft registry.

Anthony Hamilton, Southern Air’s director of administration, and president of the Bahamas Association of Air Transport Operators, told Tribune Business the sector

has been advocating for a private aircraft registry for years and is now hopeful the current administration will follow through with its promise.

Prime Minister Philip Davis, KC, wrapping up the 2023-2024 Budget debate, said his government is exploring potential incentives that would attract private aircraft owners and operators to register their planes in The Bahamas. Comparing the aviation sector to the Government’s efforts to develop a boat and yacht registry, which it sought to stimulate by

eliminating VAT and Customs duty for imported vessels during the 20232024 Budget, Mr Davis added that he is minded to “consider providing the same incentives to the aircraft industry to encourage more aircraft to register in The Bahamas and grow our aircraft registry”. The Government, he said, is “actively exploring this opportunity”.

Mr Hamilton, in reply, said: “What we are lobbying for now is with regard to proper statistics and not only data collection, but sharing that data so we

can make better-informed decisions from a scientific perspective. That has been a downfall in the industry; the quality of statistical information, period. This needs enhancement so we can do that across the board. I think with this we would be safe, and in position to make better informed decisions.

“I am not sure what kind of data they used to analyse these prospective incentives, but I am sure they had some kind of statistical data to drive that in terms of the tourism product. This is excellent. We have been

the jurisdiction for the protection of the population of those countries,” he said.

“So this means your data is located in your country, and if there’s any judicial issues you can go directly to your local courts and it’s within your remit. If your data is in the US that increases the complexity for you as a citizen to protect your personally identifiable information.”

ELNORA MAJOR, Bank of The Bahamas’ senior manager, back office support, accepted the J.P. Morgan Elite Recognition Award on behalf of the BISX-listed institution for 99.57 percent accuracy in straight-through processing of MT 103 US dollar payments. Pictured L- R: Ms. Major and Diana Carina Reyes, executive director of JP Morgan payments.

NOTICE

N O T I C E IS HEREBY GIVEN as follows:

(a) LSH LIMITED is in voluntary dissolution under the provisions of Section 138 (4) of the International Business Companies Act 2000.

(b) The dissolution of the said company commenced on the 30th June, 2023 when the Articles of Dissolution were submitted to and registered by the Registrar General.

(c) The Liquidator of the said company is Bukit Merah Limited, The Bahamas Financial Centre, Shirley & Charlotte Streets, P.O. Box N-3023, Nassau, Bahamas

Dated this 4th day of July, A. D. 2023

Bukit Merah Limited Liquidator

talking about this for years.

But having an aviation register similar to the shipping register, it’s an incentive to encourage registration with regard to The Bahamas and that’s always a draw to have that kind of publicity.

“So it’s a built-in advertisement and a beneficial exercise. However, it will come down to the policing of it and all of the conditional aspects.” Mr Hamilton said The Bahamas would be an attractive jurisdiction in which to establish a private aviation registry because of

its location, which is the “country’s “greatest asset”.

“Once the appropriate legislation and regulations are in place, it shouldn’t be a difficulty there because we have models from other jurisdictions that can be incorporated to help that process,” he added of the necessary aircraft registry regulations. It’s an excellent exercise in terms of encouraging persons to pursue the industry, so it creates expanded employment opportunities.”

BISX-listed bank recognised on 99.57% payment accuracy

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BANK of The Bahamas (BOB) says it has received the Elite Recognition Award from J.P. Morgan Chase in recognition of its 99.57 percent accuracy in payments processing. The BISX-listed institution, in a statement, said the award was made for its straight-through processing of MT103 US dollar payments in 2022, specifically in the area of international funds transfers.

Once US dollar payment messages are created and released to SWIFT, Bank of The Bahamas’ business support unit ensures

NOTICE

International Business Companies Act (No. 45 of 2000)

Auburn

Group Ltd.

Registration Number: 165810 B

Pursuant to the provisions of Section 138 (8) of the International Business Companies Act, 2000 notice is hereby given that Auburn Group Ltd., has been dissolved and has been struck off the Register of Companies with effect from the 24th day of May, 2023.

GSO Corporate Services Ltd. Liquidator

they proceed directly to the beneficiary institution, including any intermediary banks, without requiring intervention from J.P. Morgan’s queue for repairs and forwarding.

Diana Carina Reyes, executive director of JP

Morgan Payments, in a recent meeting at Bank of The Bahamas’ office presented the Elite Recognition Award to Elnora Major, the Bahamian institution’s senior manager of back office support.

JOB OPPORTUNITY

Rahming’s Medical Centre

is looking to employ the following health care professionals to work at our new medical facility.

• Primary Care Physician candidates with post graduate qualifications are also encourage to submit their resume for special consideration.

• Licensed Pharmacist part time or full time.

• Licensed “General” Dentist.

• Partime or full time Radiology Technician.

• Competitive salary and benefits offered.

Please forward all enquiries/resumes along with contact information to rahmingsmedicalcenter@gmail.com (242) 425-1623

JOB VACANCIES

Culinary Manager

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Pizza Chef

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Maintenance Technician

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HVAC Technician

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Interested persons can send CVs to hr@the-island-house.com

Gas retailers ‘not gone to sleep’ on margin rise

between the two sides and, now that process has been completed, will seek to once again meet with Prime Minister Philip Davis KC and the Ministry of Finance’s technical advisers in a bid to resolve talks that began some 15 months ago.

“We’re still trying to come to some sort of resolution,” he said. “We haven’t heard anything from the Government for a while, but we felt it best to give them and the Prime Minister time to deal with the Budget, and hopefully we can now go back and speak to him again, speak with the people from the Ministry of Finance, speak with Michael Halkitis, minister of economic affairs, to try and give us some form of relief at some point.

“Hopefully one day soon we will be able to sit down with the Prime Minister. We want to be able to resolve this issue, and we have to take a sensible approach. It’s a line out of the Prime Minister’s book. We want to allow retailers to become profitable, but we also want to make sure that whatever we do - whatever advice we give the Government - is not a complete burden on the overall economy.’

“We want to be able to use a sensible approach to this, and a phased-in approach, to what we’re trying to accomplish. Were asking for 30 cents [margin increase per gallon of gasoline], so maybe phase it in over time. Maybe 20 cents now, and the remaining 10 cents six to eight months later when the economy starts to pick up. We’re still hopeful, and we want to work with the Government to find the best resolution to our big concern as an industry.”

The petroleum retailers’ major issue is that their inflexible, price-controlled margins are forcing them to operate at a loss because they are no longer sufficient to cover a multitude of substantial cost increases that have occurred postCOVID during the cost of living crisis. While all other businesses are able to adjust their pricing to consumers accordingly, so that their expenses are covered and they can still earn a profit, gas station operators cannot.

The Government, though, chiefly through Mr Halkitis, has stuck firmly to its position that it will not approve an increase in gasoline and diesel margins because of the negative impact this

will have on all motorists, households and businesses. However, acknowledging the retailers’ difficulties, the Government did quietly provide the sector with a collective $6m cash rebate - including $500,000 of tax offsets - last summer when oil and fuel prices peaked.

Mr Halkitis has also sought to draw attention away from the industry’s core concern - the fixed price controlled margins - by pointing to the “onerous” rents, royalties and other fees imposed on retailers by the landlords; the oil majors or wholesalers of Rubis, Esso (Sol Petroleum), and Shell (FOCOL Holdings).

However, the minister also hinted that the Government may consider a margin adjustment if oil/fuel prices fall to levels that will ease the burden for motorists and the wider economy.

Average crude oil spot prices currently stand at $74.12, down 10.11 percent compared to last month’s $82.46, and a 32.67 percent reduction from $110.10 exactly one year ago.

It is unclear whether global oil prices have fallen to levels where the Davis administration may contemplate a margin increase, but Mr Bastian yesterday

suggested recent declinesif they continue and become a trend - could provide the necessary breathing room for the Government to grant some kind of margin increase.

“It definitely provides a better position for all parties,” he told Tribune Business of the decline. “It’s a win-win for everybody. It’s a win-win for everybody. I can speak for my negotiations and the last couple of months. We understand the Government’s position and we’re trying to work with them to come to an amicable resolution. “We haven’t gone away. We haven’t gone to sleep. We’re hoping very soon to get back around the table and resolve this matter.” However, Saudi Arabia and Russia yesterday moved quickly to place a floor under the recent global oil price decline and potentially reverse it, although the market reaction was only moderately positive.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest exporter of crude oil, said it would extend its one million barrels per day production cut until at least the end of August having only initially planned that this would last for July. Russia is cutting its supplies by 500,000 barrels per

day in August, but there was only a modest impact in crude prices yesterday as the Brent and West Texas Intermediate indices closes up 0.25 percent and 0.33 percent, respectively, at $74.84 and $70.02 per barrel.

Mr Bastian said high crude oil prices are bad for Bahamian petroleum retailers because it costs them more to purchase fuel supplies from their wholesalers, often forcing them to incur higher bank fees through overdrafts and credit card charges. Yet, because of the fixed price controlled margins, their earnings remain the same in what is essentially a volume, market share-based business.

“Any time the price of gas reduces on the global market, and it trickles down to us, it puts less pressure on us as a result of what it costs to buy fuel,” Mr Bastian explained. “The cheaper crude oil is, the

better for us. It costs us less cash flow to buy gasoline now. We don’t have to put out as much cash as we did when it was $6.50 or $7. It’s a good sign.”

Mr Bastian said yesterday’s per gallon of gasoline prices stood at $5.70 at Esso, and $5.62 and $5.63 at Rubis and Shell respectively. This, he added, was in stark contrast to 2022’s $7.39 per gallon peak - a time when the industry felt $8 per gallon was a real possibility in the aftermath of Russia’s Ukraine invasion.

The last margin increase enjoyed by gas station operators occurred in 2011, some 12 years ago, under the last Ingraham administration, and operating costs and inflationary pressures have increased substantially then. That took gasoline margins from 44 cents per gallon to 54 cents, where it has remained ever since, while diesel stands at 34 cents per gallon.

NOTICE is hereby given that FRADIN FRANCOIS, of Matathon Road, New Providence, 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 4th day of July 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

Briland hotelier’s ‘night and day’ $100k revenue jump

FROM PAGE B1

“It’s definitely a bit lower, mostly because I think COVID did create that artificial over-demand where people could not get married for two years and that created a backlog for wedding dates.”

Joseph Dargavage, managing partner at Harbour Island’s Romora Bay Resort & Marina, told Tribune Business that his property exceeded the “real target” of 2019 preCOVID numbers for June although it was some 10 percent down on 2022’s peak performance.

“We’re doing well. We just closed out the month of June, and we didn’t quite beat 2022 numbers but we weren’t far off,” he said. “We were happy with that because 2022 was just so huge. For the July 4 weekend we’re off by 10 percent, but it’s still pretty good because if you compare it to 2019 figures we’re actually doing better.

“For Eleuthera and Harbour Island, we’re feeling very positive. We consider the month of July the last big month of summer, and I can tell you all three marinas here did finish well in the month of June; maybe a bit off from last year but very close and above 2019 numbers, which is really our target.” Besides Romora Bay, the other marinas he is referring to are the Briland Club and Valentine’s.

MICHAEL HALKITIS

Harbour Island’s performance comes on the back of visitor arrivals to The Bahamas hitting 4.2m for the first five months of 2023, the deputy prime minister has disclosed, representing a one million increase compared to the same period in 2019.

Chester Cooper, also minister of tourism, investments and aviation, unveiled to the annual Department of Aviation Symposium statistics that showed The Bahamas is more than half-way to his eight million arrivals target for the full year with more than seven months still remaining.

“Noting the natural synergy that must exist between tourism and aviation… I must take a brief moment to highlight our tourism performance over this fiscal year,” he said.

“I’ve just received the most recent statistical review for the period ending May 2023.

I’m pleased to report that our performance continues to shatter pre-pandemic levels, and further positions The Bahamas amongst the regional and global leaders in terms of our overall tour ism recovery.

“May should now be dubbed as the million milestone month. May is typically a slow month, but May had overall visi tor arrival numbers of one million - ahead of the same period in 2019, which was our best year ever. To put it another way, we welcomed 4.2m visitors at the end of May 2023 compared to 3.2m visitors at the end of May 2019.”

Michael Halkitis, minis ter of economic affairs, last week told the Senate during the 2023-2024 Budget debate that average hotel occupancies for the ninemonth period to end-March 2023 stood at 65 percent, which represented a 10 per centage point rise over the prior year’s 55 percent. AirDNA, which provides vacation rental industry data on Airbnb-listed prop erties, said the average occupancy rate for entire place listings jumped to 69.8 percent from 61 percent over the same nine-month period.

‘Something’s got to give’ in Govt’s fight with GBPA

“I for sure would like to see a new administration here. I believe the Government will not co-operate with the Port to make the adjustments that are necessary to the Hawksbill Creek Agreement and improve the protocols and procedures here to make Freeport successful.”

Mr Crane, who previously called for the GBPA’s owners, the St George and Hayward families, to “either sell” the city’s quasigovernmental authority or partner with an entity able to fulfill the GBPA’s responsibilities and attract fresh investment, said that while much attention has been placed on reviving Grand Bahama International Airport and the Grand Lucayan’s sale there are other priorities that merit equal - if not greater - attention.

While resolving the fate of both assets is important, Mr Crane added: “The real

springboard for Freeport’s future success is to make it a more dynamic area to do business in here. There are so many things that can be done on a trial basis here with regard to the ease of doing business, and to take advantage of its location.

“It’s really a struggle to get people to invest in Freeport at the moment because the economy is so down, but if there was a change in administration with a realignment of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement to make it much more appropriate for doing business in today’s hi-tech world, and be much more dynamic in response, there’s so many industries that could be attracted here that find it difficult to do business in the US for immigration purposes or restrictive regulations.

“There’s a great need for a location off the US that makes business more tenable for emerging companies.” When asked to identify the industries the Port area should focus on,

Mr Crane replied: “The ones that have been spoken about are medical research, aeronautics. It’s difficult in the US to test drones and it has to be done in New Zealand. That does not make much sense.

“Any kind of research, distribution because of the fundamental alignment of the port and airport here.

It’s well positioned for that. Cable Bahamas has the fibre optic feed for the entire Bahamas and Caribbean running through West End, so the bandwidth here is extremely good for hi-tech opportunities to establish a distribution hub or satellite hub.”

Prime Minister Philip Davis KC, and several of his Cabinet ministers, used their 2023-2024 Budget presentations to steadily ratchet up the pressure on the GBPA and its two shareholder families with arguments that neither the Hawksbill Creek Agreement nor the Port Authority itself are delivering on their

obligations to develop and maintain Freeport and attract new investment to the city.

Tribune Business disclosed yesterday that the Government has been negotiating with the St George family for several months, and possibly as long as a year, over purchasing its GBPA interest but those talks are understood to have gone quiet and cooled in recent weeks.

The Hayward side, though, seem less interested in exiting. Rupert Hayward, Sir Jack’s grandson, indicated recently his family would be prepared to part with a portion of its shareholding to attract new partners and fresh investment, but signalled that they firmly intend to remain involved as shareholders.

This may well have impeded the Government’s plans, as it appears clear the Davis administration has decided that both families must exit for the good of Freeport and the city’s

development. However, the Prime Minister has yet to detail a strategy and road map for how he intends to achieve this, or detail what the Government’s ultimate goals are, and any bid to force the Hayward and St Georges out will be fraught with challenges given the negative signals this will send.

Chris Paine, president of the International Bazaar Owners Association, told Tribune Business that the GBPA “needs to reinvent itself” and find a partner with the capital and contacts to attract fresh investment to the city.

“Everybody knows what needs to be done,” he said.

“You need a big investor here and, if the Port Authority is going to be at the helm going forward, they need to buck up with someone coming in to make things happen. At the end of the day, the Port needs to reinvent itself really. They need to get a chairman who can drive business here.

SPENDING WATCHDOG TO PROBE TRANSPORT ISSUES

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firm Simplified Lending, whose principal is Robert Pantry. Other matters in the Committee’s sights are the controversy surrounding the issuance and granting of taxi licence plates, which previously aroused the ire of Wesley Ferguson, the Bahamas Taxi Cab Union’s president, plus the two contracts that Mr Pintard singled out in his 2023-2024 Budget presentation.

The Opposition leader’s queries prompted both Prime Minister Philip Davis KC and Jobeth ColebyDavis to assert that the Government’s procurement processes were complied with at every stage of the $3.355m award to DigieSoft Technologies, which has been hired to develop an online payment portal that will capture the 4 percent charter fee due to the Port Department from visiting boat/yacht charters.

But, while the Government’s own Bonfire procurement portal lists Infrasoft Technologies as the bid winner, when the ‘view award’ link is clicked, the pop-up states: “The Ministry of Transport and Housing has awarded the contract for the creation of the online portal for the Port Department to DigieSoft Technologies.”

The discrepancy has yet to be explained.

Meanwhile, Kwasi Thompson, the Opposition’s finance spokesman, picking up on a Tribune Business article, challenged why the Government was committing $3.5m of taxpayer monies to the DigieSoft contract when the private sector - via the Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) - had provided exactly the same online fee collection solution via SeaZ Pass at no cost to the Public Treasury.

“The Opposition finds it astounding that the Government would seek to spend $3.35m to provide

a solution that principally will be used to collect the same funds that the Government was already using a Bahamian entity to collect with no cost to the Government,” Mr Thompson, the former minister of state for finance said in a statement.

“The Tribune reported in its July 3, 2023, edition the fact that the Association of Bahamas Marinas (ABM) had already been providing this same service for several years in a way that minimised the Government’s investment and passed on the costs to the boaters themselves. The Davis administration cancelled this contract. If there was a contractual arrangement in place that had no ongoing costs, why would the Government decide to spend $3m to replace what was there?”

The Government and Ministry of Finance ordered that the SeaZ Pass portal close in October 2022 amid a dispute over whether its digital payments provider, Omni Financial Services, had not passed on all funds due to the Public Treasury. This was vehemently denied by Omni, and there are now competing positions as to whether the dispute has been fully resolved.

However, Mr Thompson yesterday argued that if the Government had concerns over whether it was receiving the fees due, it could simply have ordered the ABM to drop Omni and switch to another digital payments provider to perform the same function.

“If the Government claims that they were not collecting the funds, the contract with the Association of Bahamas Marinas could have used any financial service provider. We must ask the question: If the ABM set up the system for little to no cost to the Government and all the fees were being paid by those paying the bill, why did the Government cancel this contract to now pay

over $3m,” the east Grand Bahama MP asked.

“The Opposition has already pointed out the total contempt for the procurement process evident in this award of a contract to DigieSoft, a seemingly brand-new company with no demonstrable track record, no website and no LinkedIn presence.

“If the Government’s policy intent was to ensure that Bahamians get the opportunity, how many

capable Bahamian firms were provided the chance? Was the ABM - as a Bahamian entity - given the chance to make a submission to continue to provide the service?”

Mr Pintard, who also voiced concern over the $3.57m harbour navigational aids contract awarded to Adolpha Maritime Group on the basis that no competitive bidding process could be found on the Government’s procurement

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The Public is hereby advised that I, VALERIE BENJAMIN of P.O Box EE 15698 Stapledon Gardens, Nassau, The Bahamas, Mother of ETHAN MATTHEW JOSEPH BENJAMIN A minor intend to change my child’s name to ETHAN MATTHEW JOSEPH NIXON If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Deputy Chief Passport Officer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

portal, said there were multiple “live issues” that the Committee wishes to address with respect to the Ministry of Transport and Housing.

Ryan Pinder KC, the attorney general, previously instructed Luther Smith, Ministry of Works and Utilities permanent secretary, not to appear before the Public Accounts Committee on the basis that its request was not compliant with parliamentary rules

We need someone with the contacts and wherewithal to make it happen.

“The way we find these people, I don’t know, but I’m sure they’re out there.

If you are sitting behind a desk, looking at a map of who are the biggest people in real estate, how do we get them here and show them what we have?

It shouldn’t be rocket science,” Mr Paine continued.

“Everybody is upset with 20 years of nothing, and who knows what the next round will be. The Port should have a direct line to the Prime Minister’s Office. They should be in each other’s pockets, trying to create development, but it’s been this ‘them and us’ mentality for decades. Watch this space. There’s certainly been a decline in population here. It’s been noticeable over the last five to ten years as people have gone to work elsewhere.”

that set out its powers and how it should operate.

However, Mr Pintard expressed optimism that this will not occur again.

“There should be no impediment going forward,” he argued. “We’ve had the opportunity to begin discussions with public servants. We’ve met with one permanent secretary on the record, so our hope is that the Government will not hinder us from further speaking to public officials. We have met with the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Public Service, who was very co-operative and helpful.”

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of Crooked Island Street, New Providence, 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 twentyeight days from the 27th day of June, 2023 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, Bahamas.