Govt cuts funding for key projects
PM: We’re turning to PPPs to complete family island airport projects Dr. Hubert Minnis.
The government has cut funding for planned upgrades to airports on Exuma, Long Island, North Eleuthera and Abaco and is instead seeking to implement a public-private partnership (PPP) program to complete the projects, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis said yesterday.
The affected projects include the Exuma International Airport, the Long Island International Airport, the North Eleuthera International Airport, and upgrades to the Leonard Thompson International Airport in Marsh Harbour, Abaco.
“Given the current state of public finances, the government has had to make some very tough decisions,” Minnis said during the annual Bahamas Business Outlook.
Desmond Bannister
NASSAU| Well the Deputy Prime Minister was on the ground campaigning hard Wednesday evening on Belair Estates area off Carmichael Road. BP was on the walk with the Minister and we laughed and laughed all through the corner.
The Minister couldn’t take the insults as resident after resident hurled on him. At one point the DPM looked as if he was holding on for life on a car as the walk became unbearable.
One BIGTIME FNM saw the Minister coming, slammed his door and locked it tight tight! What a scene that was. Desmond Bannister on the ground and the FNMs refused to come outside to listen to his new lies.
Woods disappointed that Bannister won’t meet with WSC unions Desmond Bannister. FILE
Bahamas Utilities Service and Allied Workers Union (BUSAWU) President Dwayne Woods yesterday expressed disappointment with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Works Desmond Bannister’s decision not to meet with the two unions at the Water and Sewerage Corporation (WSC) amid concerns about WSC’s decision to defer Christmas bonuses.
BUSAWU and the Water and Sewerage Management Union (WSMU) were expected to meet with the minister last Thursday.
However, that meeting did not happen.
On Friday, Bannister said that he will not meet with union leaders because they decided to take “industrial action” before meeting with him.
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
A $3m contract was signed yesterday between the Water and Sewerage Corporation and Island Site Development Company to bring potable water to hundreds of residents in Cat Island for the first time, marking an end to what officials called a long and difficult chapter.
Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, Deputy Prime Minister and Works Minister Desmond Bannister and WSC executive chairman Adrian Gibson attended the event. They all described the signing as an historic and monumental day for the island.
“Today, is truly a great day,” Dr Minnis said in Cat Island. “We are gathered to witness the signing of a contract for the provision of the initial stages of piped potable water for the first time in the history of Cat Island.
Fuel price certainty extended to end-2023 Will be slightly higher than first hedgin
By NEIL HARTNELL
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
Bahamas Power & Light s (BPL) chairman yesterday said it has extended fuel cost certainty for all consumers until end-2023 to help ease the extra charge that will be added to their bills in the New Year.
Dr Donovan Moxey told Tribune Business the state-owned utility had extended its fuel hedging strategy by a further 23 months through to the beginning of 2024 to help mitigate the impact from the National Utility Investment Charge (NUIC) that all customers will first see on their light bills in early 2021.