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Groundbreaking ceremony for Golden Yolk Egg Production Project

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#NASSAU, The Bahamas, 2023 – The Ministry of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs, with Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC), Golden Yolk, and other stakeholders held groundbreaking ceremonies for a farming initiative designed to attain national self-sufficiency in egg production.  The ‘Golden Yolk’ egg production project will ultimately improve food security, lower import costs, assist farmers and increase employment opportunities.  The groundbreaking took place Monday, February 27, 2023 at Gladstone Road Agricultural Centre (GRAC).
Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Hon. Philip Davis headed the list of dignitaries and participants.  Also present were the Hon. Chester Cooper, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments, and Aviation; and Minister of Agriculture, Marine Resources and Family Island Affairs the Hon. Clay Sweeting who gave an address.
In his remarks, Minister Sweeting said through the Ministry’s partnership with BAIC, the project will usher the “revival” of egg production in the nation.
He described the initiative as a “contract agreement between farmers and the special purpose vehicle.”
 He said, “Firstly, the project will see the construction of seven grow houses on New Providence that are turnkey operations. The special purpose vehicle will provide the building, the layers, vet services and other inputs. The contracted farmer will monitor and care for the investment.  Upon production, the contracted farmer will sell all the eggs to the special purpose vehicle, who will deduct the cost of the inputs and pay profits to the farmer.
“The special purpose vehicle will sell the eggs to the wholesalers for distribution on every food store shelf throughout the country.”
 In the second phase, there will be 15 grow houses in the south and central Bahamas, 23 grow houses in the northern Bahamas in phase 3 for a total of 38 houses in 12 Family Islands. He said egg production will grow from 700,000 to 28 million per year.
“A project of this magnitude will ensure that the eggs produced will completely reduce the reliance on imports. The Golden Yolk will have an immediate national economic impact, not just on food security, but on growing the economy.”
Minister Sweeting said through the initiative, an energy efficient, semi-automated, easy to maintain, climate smart poultry house will be constructed at GRAC.
 He acknowledged BAIC’s Chairman, Leroy Major and the team at BAIC for their work in bringing the project to fruition.
Chairman Major said the aim of the Golden Yolk Egg Production Project is to promote the production and sale of quality and affordable eggs, reduce the import of eggs and make the Bahamas self-sufficient in eggs in the next 18 months.
 He informed that a new animal feed mill will be constructed to support layer houses in New Providence and the Family Islands where layer houses will be in operation as this project is in progress.
 Chairman Major thanked the team at BAIC including Troy Sampson, General Manager; Justin Sturrup, Lead Consultant; Justin Taylor, Jerad Darville, Dundas Munning and Otaine Woodside for their contribution to the project to date.
Also present were other Cabinet Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries; Permanent Secretaries; representatives of international partners and government agencies, members of BAIC board, teachers and students, farmers and community and civic minded individuals.  The police band provided entertainment.
Following the programme, dignitaries donned hard hats and used ceremonial shovels to broke ground at the site in celebration of the start of the project.

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Groundbreaking for Grand Bahama Aquatic Centre

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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.

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Tens of Millions Announced – Where is the Development?

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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.  

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What Happens When Police Arrest 4,000+ Wanted Suspects and Tighten Bail

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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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