Bahamas News
BAHAMAS: Public Consultation Continues for Introduction of Local Government Structure in New Providence
#Nassau, August 29, 2018 – Bahamas – Since its introduction in 1996, local government has empowered communities in the Family Islands to address many of their local concerns in addition to developing their island communities.
Now, the Minnis Administration is hoping to build upon the successes of the Family Island Local Government system here in New Providence and has launched a National Advisory Committee (NAC) for the Introduction of Local Government to New Providence. The Committee, at inception in April, was encouraged to carry-out consultation with a wide cross-section of New Providence residents to gauge the needs of the local populace and to gain insights from them to assist in the implementation of their desired structure.
“Introducing a strong system of Local Government would empower New Providence residents to resolve a lot of our local issues from alleviating traffic congestion and deterring traffic violations to eliminating neighborhood bush mechanics. I believe that empowering communities through local government would significantly decrease the nuisances and pollution ranging from residents burning trash in communities to the dumping of unwanted appliances on vacant lots. Additionally, empowered communities would be able to address issues such as animal control and animal cruelty,” explained Senator Ranard Henfield, Chairman of the National Advisory Committee for the introduction of Local Government in New Providence. “We live in a country with innovative, intelligent and proud Bahamians who, while eager to assist in community and national development, are limited to vying for Parliament to contribute to the development of our communities and country at large. I think it’s time we encourage leadership at various levels of society and government”.
Under the direction of Senator Henfield, the NAC hopes to make its recommendations to Cabinet later this year. Given the goal by Prime Minster Minnis to introduce an effective and efficient system in 2020, one which would allow residents in New Providence to have a more hands-on approach to addressing matters that directly impact their lives and communities, the committee has commenced stage two of their research, consultation and recommendation project.
The NAC was adamant that a wide cross section of New Providence residents be involved in this process. The committee itself reflects a diversity of residents as well as it is comprised of individuals such as Dr. Nicolette Bethel of the University of The Bahamas, Valentino ‘Scrooge’ Brown of the Hay Street Community Movement, Dr. Nicola Virgill-Rolle of the National Development Plan, Ed Fields of the Downtown Nassau Partnership, Roderick Pinder of the Bahamas Association of Local Government Authorities and many other noteworthy residents. As part of its consultation, the NAC engaged Bahamian agencies in July to consult various residents from the twenty-four communities around the capital, inclusive of civil society organizations, the business community, the media and community leaders to gather their input.
“Consultation with the public about what they want in Local Government in New Providence is critical” explained NAC committee member Matt Aubry, of the Organization for Responsible Governance. “The goal of Local Government is to give citizens greater opportunity to express their ideas and concerns about their communities. This is an effort of empowerment and civic engagement, seeking input through an open and honest dialogue can provide an insight into what is really important to the people.”
Participants in the NAC’s consultation exercises were generally open to the idea of Local Government implementation for New Providence. They were eager to offer suggestions on issues which ranked high on their list of community concerns – better area planning, education, waste management and even community safety. Those polled also offered their opinions on specific caveats designed to make a local government system more accountable like and weighed in on how such initiatives could be funded without adding to the overall tax burden of Bahamians as well.
One of the NAC committee members, well-known morning talk-radio personality, Dwight Strachan noted, “This is one of the most important issues facing the future development of the entire Bahamas, not just New Providence. True Local Government, with elected representatives fully empowered to address community challenges without having to appeal to (and wait for) Central Government for matters like fixing traffic lights or potholes, traffic flow and zoning, or garbage collection and recycling programs.”
Now with phase one of their consultation in hand, Senator Henfield and the National Advisory Committee will, as of this week, reach out to major stakeholders for their input. The list of persons they hope to meet over the next few weeks include MPs, Government Ministers, Permanent Secretaries, Family Island Councilors, Family Island Administrators, major third parties and a few others with institutional knowledge.
“We would love to sit with the Permanent Secretaries, MPs, Family Island Councilors and Administrators,” said Henfield. “We know that they hold the key to advancing democracy by empowering communities in New Providence”.
Release: Advisory Committee for the introduction of Local Government in New Providence.
Photo Caption:
Pictured (Seated L-R) Lenette King – Office of the Attorney General, Joel Lewis – Acting Undersecretary: Ministry of Transport & Local Government, Dr. Nicolette Bethel – University of The Bahamas, Ernestine Fernander – Department of Local Government and Karen Dorsette – Office of the Attorney General.
Pictured (Standing L-R) Gadville McDonald – National Training Agency, Leron Neely – Ministry of Finance, Khyrstle Rutherford-Ferguson – Chamber of Commerce, Roderick Pinder – Bahamas Association of Local Government Authorities, Brenda Colebrooke – Acting Deputy Director of Local Government, Errol Bethel – Former Parliamentary Commissioner, Dwight Strachan – Guardian Radio and Senator Ranard Henfield – Chairman.
(BIS Photo/Patrick Hanna)
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.
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