Bahamas News
BPL first assessment done, Abaco restoration bill to top $20 million and rebound may take months
#TheBahamas, September 6, 2019 — In a season where Bahamas Power and Light, BPL – the country’s electricity provider – is challenged to prove its consistent reliability, comes a new hurdle in the Abacos created by the region’s most horrific hurricane.
Little damage is reported in the south of the island, but central and north Abaco were decimated and the utility infrastructure was smashed in the fury of Sunday and Monday’s Hurricane Dorian.
“I’m very optimistic. I think, coming in from Sandy Point north to Wilson City, clearly we do see poles down but the majority of the infrastructure is intact. So it’s really good news for those in the south. We can get those poles – less than 100 of them – we can get those replanted, get the conductors back up and bring in some smaller generation assets and repower the south fairly quickly,” said BPL CEO, Whitney Heastie who led a 19-member delegation.
However, for areas like Marsh Harbour, Dundas Town and Murphy Town, the prognosis is dire.
“The recovery can start pretty soon if we start with the south, because they had minimal damage coming from the south. Central and North? We’re talking about months. Of course, there are provisions for outside help, but it’s going to be…I mean, some areas can take – in my estimation – some areas can take up to three, four months, or perhaps longer,” said Marvin Green, Assistant Manager of Distribution, BPL Abaco.
From the BPL statement issued on Thursday: After early assessments, Dr. Moxey said the initial budget estimate for recovery is somewhere between $25M to $30M. “We have infrastructure, we have resources we have to bring to bear and that’s the bill,” he said, adding that he had indicated to Minister of Works the Hon. Desmond Bannister that the assessment trips would result in an initial budget.”
BPL Chairman, Dr. Donovan Moxey and BPL CEO, Whitney Heastie led the delegation of 19 people on Wednesday (September 4) which had as its two main missions; assess the damages and locate BPL staff.
Chairman Moxey is optimistic about work in the south.
“The power plant has fared fairly well. There are one or two things that we do have to do in terms of cosmetic (corrections) but in terms of the engines, they’re all fine. They’re ready to go. The concern would be more around the load, because the engines’ minimum is more than the demand is right now,” he said.
Mr. Green said the damage caused by Hurricane Dorian, which is believed to have spawned tornadoes in addition to rushing, raging surge waters is far worse than hurricanes of the past, like 1999’s Hurricane Floyd.
“I never thought I would see something that made Hurricane Floyd look like child’s play. The winds – it was horrific. The weight and the force and the power of it. “Basically, right now, it’s hard to identify the landscape in some areas…because the structures that used to be there are no longer there. “Eighty to ninety percent of our infrastructure from Central Marsh Harbour going north is compromised. It’s going to be a long recovery.”
Many are saying Abaco in inhabitable, still Mr. Green reminded of the Caribbean region support which will take its cues from BPL when it comes to support.
The BPL statement: BPL has partnerships with suppliers, energy partners and even government agencies in the US, CARICOM and others – plus a network of former employees with skill sets we can use – and with the right complement of equipment and personnel, we believe we can bring South and even some parts of Central Abaco back to power within a month.
“So, it’s really good news for those in the south. We can get those poles – less than 100 of them – we can get those replanted, get the conductors back up and bring in some smaller generation assets and repower the south fairly quickly.”
A team from BPL returned to Abaco on Thursday to complete the assessment work. The electricity company explained it counts this hurricane restoration in Abaco as urgent despite the current objectives to boost capacity in New Providence.
“When you look at The Bahamas economy, Abaco is number three in terms of what it generates for the economy, so getting Abaco back up and running, there’s no question the government is committed to doing that as quickly as possible. “The good thing is, too, we have a lot of international support, and so we’re going to leverage all of that, everything we can,” Dr. Moxey said.
The initial BPL assessment team did not visit the island empty handed; food and water, health and medical supplies were delivered to BPL team members and their families.
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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