Bahamas News
PM Opens Smith’s Point Seawall in Grand Bahama
#Freeport, GB, April 6, 2019 – Bahamas – Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis says the Smith’s Point Project is part of a broader vision and program for the revitalization and renewal of Grand Bahama.
During the official opening of the newly constructed sea wall in Smith’s Point, Prime Minister Minnis, who was the keynote speaker, noted that his government is committed to investing in sound infrastructure which supports economic growth and which fosters efficiency and normalcy in the day-to day-lives of Bahamians, while protecting the country’s natural and built environment.
“After many, decades of struggle, neglect, and fits and starts, the Grand Bahama revival has begun,” added Dr. Minnis.
“As I have said before, we are at the beginning of this revival, which is part of the Bahamian Revival.”
The Prime Minister pointed out how the historic community of Smith’s Point, where the first “Fish Fry” in Freeport began, has experienced progressive erosion along its entire southern shoreline for many years, adding that hurricane and storm activity have resulted in considerable amounts of sand and water being washed into the roads, causing dangerous driving conditions and an unsafe and unsanitary environment for residents and visitors.
He pointed out that in 2015, it was decided that a seawall would be built along the shoreline as a preventive measure to mitigate against these conditions.
In April 2016, a tender exercise was undertaken with four construction companies invited to tender for the works. The contract was awarded to Smith Construction Limited. However, by early May, 2017, the contract was only thirty three per cent completed.
“In order to protect the community’s and the Government’s interests, the Ministry of Public Works decided to terminate the contract with immediate effect,” said Prime Minister Minnis.
“On the 8th of June 2017, a letter of termination was served. The contract termination created a sense of urgency to complete the works due to the imminent onset of the hurricane season.
“Waugh Construction (Bahamas) Limited, a local company, was a part of the original tender exercise. It possessed the logistical expertise to facilitate the project, and was subsequently contracted.
“In August 2017, the contract was signed for four million, eight hundred and forty thousand, and eleven dollars and twenty-two cents with Waugh Construction. The proposed works included a seaward quay wall that would prevent further costal erosion and run-off, and that would add to the ambiance and safety of the area.”
Waugh’s assignment to the project resulted in a further 200 feet added to the eastern end of the original 1700-foot length reinforced concrete; bringing the total length to approximately 1900 feet.
The Prime Minister noted that during the construction of the seawall, also taken into account was the need for the realignment at the eastern end to allow for parking for visitors to the beach area. He added that safety issues were also addressed, inclusive of a ramp for people with disabilities at the western area, and additional steps for ease of access by the public.
“The design of the seawall should lessen the vulnerability of hurricanes in this community,” said Prime Minister Minnis.
“Sea-surges, flooding, structural and other water-based damage have proven to be commonplace in this area.
“This seawall has passed the two litmus tests of its structural integrity and sustainability having gone through Hurricanes Matthew and Irma during the construction period.
“The project has also created business and employment opportunities. Construction workers and owners of construction businesses and suppliers have benefited from this project.
“The new seawall provides coastal protection for this historic and picturesque settlement, from where many original Grand Bahamian families are descended.”
The Prime Minister acknowledged a number of key individuals, who have been instrumental in the fruition of the project, including Deputy Prime Minister and Member of Parliament for East End (the constituency in which Smith’s Point is located); Minister of Works, Hon. Desmond Bannister; Leader of the Opposition and former Minister of Public Works, Philip Brave Davis; former Minister for Grand Bahama, Dr. Michael Darville, along with Government officials in Grand Bahama and residents of Smith’s Point.
“I thank all of those involved in this project,” said Prime Minister Minnis. “I pray God’s blessings on all of you and on the residents of Smith’s Point and Grand Bahama.
“I am so pleased to be a part of this historic ceremony and it is my great honor to declare the Smith’s Point Seawall and adjacent infrastructure, officially open.”
Release: BIS
Photo Captions:
Header: Prime Minister of the Bahamas, the Most Honorable Dr. Hubert Minnis and Deputy Prime Minister, Hon. Peter Turnquest, are flanked by a number of government officials, dignitaries, government workers and contractors, as they unveiled the plaque on a part of the new seawall in Smith’s Point, during opening ceremonies for the wall on Friday, April 5, 2019.
1st Insert: Prime Minister, the Most honorable Dr. Hubert A. Minnis was the keynote speaker during the official opening ceremonies for the Smith’s Point Seawall, on Friday, April 5, 2019.
2nd Insert: A number of government officials and dignatiries were on hand for the opening ceremonies of the Smith’s Point Seawall in Freeport, Grand Bahama on Friday, April 5, 2019. In the audience during the ceremony were Minister of Social Services, Hon. Frankie Campbell (second from left); Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources, Hon. Michael Pintard (fourth from left); Minister of State for Grand Bahama, Senator Kwasi Thompson (fifth from left); Opposition Leader, Philip Brave Davis (sixth from left); Parliamentary Secrtary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Pakesia Parker-Edgecombe and former Minister for Grand Bahama, Dr. Michael Darville (ninth from left).
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.
