Bahamas News
DPM and Minister of State View Progress of Works Being Carried Out in East Grand Bahama
#Bahamas, February 27, 2018 – Grand Bahama – Deputy Prime Minister and Member of Parliament for East Grand Bahama, the Hon. K. Peter Turnquest and Minister of State for Grand Bahama, Senator Kwasi Thompson traded in their suits and ties, and bore the heat in order to get a closer view of the progress of works being carried out in East Grand Bahama.
On Friday, February 23, 2018, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of State, along with the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Harcourt Brown led a team of contractors and executives from the High Rock Township into High Rock and McLean’s Town to get updates on a series of government projects being carried out in those respective communities.
In spite of the long drive from Freeport to East End, Deputy Prime Minister Turnquest and Minister Thompson were excited to see the progress that is being made at the various project sites, including phase three of the potable water project; the McLean’s Town Housing Subdivision; and works being carried out at the new High Rock Memorial Park.
“From what we’ve seen, I think that tremendous progress has been made on these projects,” said Senator Thompson.
The Potable Water Project is in its third phase, and more residents in East Grand Bahama now have access to clean, running water. The team made a stop at one of the major well fields and got an update on how much work remains to be done to ensure that all of the residents of East End are able to take advantage of the new water system.
Minister Turnquest noted that most of the infrastructure is already in place with respect to the un-serviced areas, and there are some extensions that the water company talked about in order to put in a fire hydrant.
“As it stands now, we do not have fire hydrants in High Rock, which is one of the more populated areas in the east,” said Minister Turnquest.
“So if there is an event, the trucks would have to go all the way back by the missile base in order to get water. That’s time and money wasted. So with the fire hydrants, it would be an opportunity for us to provide this vital service to the High Rock community.”
The Minister said that there have been talks of acquiring mobile fire equipment to assist the community until bigger machines can come up. He noted that the installation of the fire hydrants would be a very necessary piece of infrastructure for the East End communities.
One of the major developments in East Grand Bahama is the new housing project in McLean’s Town.
At present, contractors are at the stage of trying to complete the infrastructural work – like the installation of water mains and the building of roads that will lead to 
the proposed subdivision.
The new subdivision is expected to have some 40 lots available along with a recreational park facility. There will also be space for commercial lots as well. “We think that this area is ideal for the housing program which the Prime Minister announced recently,” said Minister Thompson, while looking at the architectural plans for the new housing subdivision. “This program will ensure that residents get government lots for a very reasonable price. We also want to incentivize Bahamians.
“One of the beautiful things about the new housing subdivision in McLean’s Town is that it will attract persons from the Freeport area to build second homes, or people from Abaco or even Nassau to come here to build second homes.
“This is a step in the direction of the Government’s plan of helping Bahamians find affordable housing. We believe that this is going to be of tremendous benefit for residents in the area.”
Deputy Prime Minister Turnquest pointed out that the new housing subdivision in McLean’s Town would require new infrastructure in order to be supported.
“So, these projects taking place here in East Grand Bahama are very timely in order to meet the needs of this new subdivision,” said the Deputy Prime Minister. “This new housing subdivision will give residents – particularly young people – an opportunity to own their home. Many young people have complained that they do not have the opportunity for land, because a lot of the land is generation property and there are not a lot of vacant, developed lots for them to access. This will assist in that regard. And hopefully, also it will assist in developing a community as a second home destination for visitors.
“We have some tremendous bone fishing flats right outside here, as well as some beautiful harbors for snorkeling and experiencing nature. We have a lot of untouched islands,” he said “and lots of areas for exploration. Now that there is developed infrastructure coming in, hopefully we will see some developments in those aspects.”
Asked how he feels the construction of the Oban Oil Refinery will play into all of the new projects taking place in East End, Deputy Prime Minister Turnquest said that major developments in communities attracts more residents and necessitates other infrastructure developments.
This, he said, creates more opportunities for small business developments around such a huge project like the oil refinery. “That can benefit our entrepreneurs,” added Minister Turnquest.
“We look forward to that kind of expansion. You need population density in order to support any new business like food stores and gas stations that will be expanded in this area and all the other necessary services which a well-run community would need.
“As more people begin to work in this area, it will demand that these services be put in place. So, I’m encouraging our residents to start thinking now about the areas of interest they may have. Start identifying sites and making plans to start a business, so when the time comes to execute those plans they would be ready.”
By: Andrew Coakley (BIS)
Photo Captions:
Header: Deputy Prime Minister and Member of Parliament for East End, the Hon. Peter Turnquest (right) looks over some construction plans while visiting the site where work is being carried out to install main line water pipes in East Grand Bahama. Explaining the plans was Godfrey Waugh (left) of Waugh Construction. Looking on is an East End Township Executive and Brad Wildgoose from the Office of the Prime Minister.
First insert: Godfrey Waugh of Waugh Construction (left) shows Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Hon. K. Peter Turnquest and Minister of State for Grand Bahama, Senator Kwasi Thompson how one of the pumps at the well field in East Grand Bahama operates, during a tour of the work taking place there by both Minister Turnquest and Minister Thompson on Friday, February 23, 2018.
Second insert: Deputy Prime Minister and Member of Parliament for East Grand Bahama, the Hon. K. Peter Turnquest looks out at Snapper Creek, while standing on a culvert, which feeds water into the Creek from a canal on the opposite side of the road in East Grand Bahama. The culvert is one of the items that will be repaired in order to allow more water into the Creek and keep it alive. According to Mr. Waugh of Waugh Construction, more culverts will be constructed to assist in that effort.
Third insert: Minister of State for Grand Bahama, Senator Kwasi Thompson (centre), Deputy Prime Minister and Member of Parliament for East Grand Bahama, the Hon. K. Peter Turnquest (second from right), along with Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Harcourt Brown (right) and Brad Wildgoose from the Office of the Prime Minister (GB) listen intently as Eric Balliou, Chairman of the High Rock Township explains plans for the High Rock Memorial Park. Both Minister Turnquest and Minister Thompson led a team of contractors and officials from the Office of the Prime Minister on a tour of projects taking place in East Grand Bahama, on Friday, February 23, 2018.
PM: Project delivers on promise and invests in youth, sports and national development
GRAND BAHAMA, The Bahamas — Calling it the fulfillment of a major commitment to the island, Prime Minister Philip Davis led the official groundbreaking for the Grand Bahama Aquatic Centre, a facility the government says will transform sports development and create new opportunities for young athletes.
Speaking at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex on February 12, the Prime Minister said the project represents more than bricks and mortar
— it is an investment in people, national pride and long-term economic activity. The planned complex will feature a modern 50-metre competition pool, designed to meet international standards for training and regional and global swim meets. Davis said the facility will give Bahamian swimmers a home capable of producing world-class performance while also providing a space for community recreation, learn-to-swim programmes and water safety training.
He noted that Grand Bahama has long produced outstanding athletes despite limited infrastructure and said the new centre is intended to correct that imbalance, positioning the island as a hub for aquatic sports and sports tourism.
The Prime Minister also linked the development to the broader national recovery and revitalisation of Grand Bahama, describing the project as part of a strategy to expand opportunities for young people, create jobs during construction and stimulate activity for small businesses once operational.
The Aquatic Centre, he said, stands as proof that promises made to Grand Bahama are being delivered.
The project is expected to support athlete development, attract competitions, and provide a safe, modern environment for residents to access swimming and water-based programmes for generations to come.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
The Bahamas, February 15, 2026 – For the better part of three years, Bahamians have been told that major Afreximbank financing would help transform access to capital, rebuild infrastructure and unlock economic growth across the islands. The headline figures are large. The signing ceremonies are high profile. The language is ambitious. What remains far harder to see is the measurable impact in the daily lives of the people those announcements are meant to serve.
The Government’s push to secure up to $100 million from Afreximbank for roughly 200 miles of Family Island roads dates back to 2025. In
its February 11 disclosure, the bank outlined a receivables-discounting facility — a structure that allows a contractor to be paid early once work is completed, certified and invoiced, with the Government settling the bill later. It is not cash placed into the economy upfront. It does not, by itself, build a single mile of road. Every dollar depends on work first being delivered and approved.
The wider framework has been described as support for “climate-resilient and trade-enhancing infrastructure,” a phrase that, in practical terms, should mean projects that lower the cost of doing business, move people and goods faster, and keep the economy functioning. But for communities, that promise becomes real only when the projects are named, the standards are defined and a clear timeline is given for when work will begin — and when it will be finished.
Bahamians have seen this moment before.
In 2023, a $30 million Afreximbank facility for the Bahamas Development Bank was hailed as a breakthrough that would expand access to financing for local enterprise. It worked in one immediate and measurable way: it encouraged businesses to apply. Established, revenue-generating Bahamian companies responded to the call, prepared plans, and entered a process they believed had been capitalised to support growth. The unanswered question is how much of that capital has reached the private sector in a form that allowed those businesses to expand, hire and generate new economic activity.
Because development is not measured in the size of announcements.
It is measured in loans disbursed, projects completed and businesses expanded.
The pattern is becoming difficult to ignore. In June 2024, when Afreximbank held its inaugural Caribbean Annual Meetings in Nassau,
Grand Bahama was presented as the future home of an Afro-Caribbean marketplace said to carry tens of millions of dollars in investment. What was confirmed at that stage was a $1.86 million project-preparation facility — funding for studies and planning to make the development bankable, not construction financing. The larger build-out remains dependent on additional approvals, land acquisition and further capital.
This distinction — between financing announced and financing that produces visible, measurable outcomes — is now at the centre of the national conversation.
Because while the numbers grow larger on paper, entrepreneurs still describe access to capital as out of reach, and communities across the Family Islands are still waiting to see where the work will start.
And in an economy where stalled growth translates into lost opportunity, rising frustration and real social consequences, the gap between promise and delivery is no longer a communications issue.
It is an inability to convert announcements into outcomes.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
A hardline strategy that reduced murders, gunfire, and collateral deaths
The Bahamas, February 8, 2026 – What happens when police stop routinely granting bail to high-risk suspects and aggressively execute outstanding warrants? In The Bahamas, the answer in 2025 was fewer murders, fewer gunshots, and safer communities.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested 4,337 individuals on outstanding warrants last year, ensuring suspects were brought directly before the courts instead of being released back onto the streets. At the same time, police significantly curtailed the use of police bail for high-risk and repeat offenders, particularly those already entangled in violent disputes.
Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles said the shift was informed by hard lessons from previous years. Intelligence reviews showed that
many homicide victims were not random targets, but men already wanted by law enforcement and — critically — by other criminals. When released on bail, those individuals often became targets themselves, triggering retaliatory shootings that spilled into neighbourhoods, roadways and public spaces.
By keeping high-risk suspects in custody pending court appearances, police say they disrupted that cycle — removing both potential offenders and potential victims from the streets.
The impact was stark. Murders declined by 31 percent in 2025, falling from 120 in 2024 to 83, the largest percentage decrease in homicides since national tracking began in 1963 and the lowest murder count in nearly two decades.
Police leaders say the strategy also reduced the collateral damage that had increasingly alarmed communities. Innocent residents had been caught in “sprays of gunfire” as targeted attacks unfolded in residential areas, at traffic stops, and in public settings.
Gun-violence indicators reflected the change. Gunshot reports fell by 35 percent, while incidents detected by ShotSpotter technology declined by 29 percent, confirming that fewer shots were being fired across the country.
“Gunshots ringing out and cutting through our peaceful paradise were down remarkably,” Commissioner Knowles said, attributing the improvement to decisive enforcement, tighter bail practices, and sustained pressure on offenders.
Police also intensified enforcement against breach of bail conditions, charging and detaining more suspects than in any previous reporting period. Officers say the approach removed the opportunity for repeat offending while matters were before the courts.
Police leadership said the results go beyond statistics. By limiting bail for high-risk suspects and executing warrants at scale, the strategy saved lives, protected bystanders, and restored confidence in public safety.
In 2025, fewer people were hunted, fewer bullets were fired, and fewer families were left grieving — a shift police say was no accident, but the result of deliberate, hardline choices.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
