Fred Mitchell Reflects on Grand Bahama

I have been away from Grand Bahama for too long. It is a place that rivals Exuma for the claim to paradise. This photo is a reflection after the morning run. I see where the old domestic departure terminal for Bahamasair is being repaired. Praise God. I assume, thanks to the Minister of Tourism, that Canadian tourists are back and should have a proper departure point. This only heightens my anger at the absolute stupidity and shortsightedness of the Hubert Minnis FNM administration: in not simply making the owners of the airport repair it after the hurricane. Instead, they let them get clean away. Grand Bahama lost pre-clearance as a result. There has been no hurricane for three years, and the old U.S. departure terminal sits idle, a testament to FNM incompetence. It could have been repaired and used. Pre-clearance would still have been here, and the place would have been jumping. Now it’s our turn to fix it. This must not be a paradise lost. Love you Grand Bahama.

Fred Mitchell

Chairman

Progressive Liberal Party

26 November 2022