Bahamas News
BAHAMAS: Government Signs Contract to Clean-Up West End’s Dump Site
#Freeport, GB, March 15, 2019 – Bahamas – Minister of the Environment and Housing, the Hon. Romauld Ferreira, along with Minister of State for Grand Bahama, Senator the Hon. Kwasi Thompson and Member of Parliament for West End and Bimini, Pakesia Parker-Edgecombe came together in the Office of the Prime Minister for the signing of a contract, for the clean-up of the West End dump, Thursday, March 14, 2019.
Senator Thompson noted that the current West End dump site was set in place as a temporary stop gap measure for the depositing of debris and solid waste that remained after Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
However, he noted that throughout the years, the site has become an eyesore and an environmental health issue for the residents of and visitors to the West End community.
“Today, I am pleased to announce that after strong representations from the Member of Parliament as well as the Administrator, the Office of the Prime Minister Grand Bahama has been given the mandate along with the Ministry of the Environment and Housing, to pool our resources and to clean-up the unsightly location,” said Minister Thompson.
“The Ministry of Works has assessed the site and they have informed us that there is approximately one acre of land along Bayshore Road with 260 plus tons of debris.
“It is our intention to keep this site clean and limit the amount of waste that is being deposited until a more permanent transfer site can be established. Rest assured, we are actively working on establishing a more suitable site for the community of West End.”
The clean-up will be carried out by a resident of West End, Ian Bowe, and his company. They were awarded a contract for $81,000. Minister Thompson said he has been assured that with the help of his hardworking team, Mr. Bowe will get the job done efficiently and swiftly.
The Minister of the Environment and Housing, said he was happy to have his Ministry be a part of the clean-up in West End.
He noted that the last time he was in Grand Bahama, he led the launch of the “Be a Hero” clean-up campaign for Freeport. The program focused on encouraging young people to take pride in their environment and initiate clean-up projects.
“The second phase of that campaign involves reaching out to communities and associations, like church groups and civic groups. So, this then becomes our first program where we are working with an Association and the Member of Parliament for a particular area,” said Minister Ferreira.
“We want to make a meaningful contribution in the lives of the people that live in West End, and who have to pass that dump every day. We want it to be impactful for them, because they deserve a clean environment like everyone else.
“We make this appeal, as we go into the second phase of our ‘Be a Hero’ campaign that the people can reach out to us because the Ministry of Environment works for the people of The Bahamas. So we look at this project as an essential component of our work.”
The signing of Thursday’s contract was as a result of persistence that paid off.
Both Minister Kwasi Thompson and Minister Romauld Ferreira admitted that the Member of Parliament for the West End and Bimini constituency, and Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, was very persistent in appealing for something to be done with the West End dump.
“We congratulate her for her persistence and we assure her of our continued support in all worthwhile endeavours,” added Minister Ferreira.
Mrs. Parker-Edgecombe, on behalf of the residents of West Grand Bahama, thanked both the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Grand Bahama for “hearing their plea” and coming together to ensure that the dump is finally cleaned up.
“In coming to office, our constituents were very concerned about the eye sore of the dump and since then, we have been working feverishly to bring a remedy to the situation,” added Mrs. Edgecombe. “It is very important that we keep our environment clean. I believe that we are a product of our environment and for West End, we do not wish to have any garbage at all.
“I take this opportunity to appeal to the residents of West End that in the cleaning up of this site that we move forward together to ensure that our community is kept clean. We are going to work towards making sure that all of our surrounding areas are cleaned and that includes the entire West Grand Bahama district.
“So, you will see in the coming weeks and in the coming months that intense clean-up campaigns will be underway. We do not think of just today, but we think about the future and every day to make sure that our environment remains clean.”
Work on the clean-up is expected to start as early as Monday, March 18, 2019.
Minister Thompson invited every resident of West End to partner with the government, as it works to clean-up the environment and reduce the incidences of indiscriminate dumping in the West End community.
By: Andrew Coakley
Press Release: BIS
Photo Caption: Minister of the Environment and Housing, the Hon. Romauld Ferreira (Centre) along with Minister of State for Grand Bahama, Senator the Kwasi Thompson (second from right) and Member of Parliament for West Grand Bahama and Bimini, Pakesia Parker-Edgecombe (second from left) were all a part of a contract signing for the cleanup of the West End Dump, during a press conference, Thursday, March 14, 2019, in the Office of the Prime Minister. Also on hand were Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Harcourt Brown (right) and Ian Bowe of Bowe’s Trucking and Contractor for the clean-up project (left).
(BIS Photo/Andrew Miller)
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.
