Once again, Bahamians are watching a familiar show from the Davis administration starring Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper and his ever-shifting promises. Last week, during the Exuma Business Outlook, Mr. Cooper announced that the government has officially reallocated funds from the Saudi development financing, originally meant for Family Island airports in North Eleuthera and George Town, Exuma, to fund the reconstruction of the Grand Bahama International Airport. He assured that “new funding sources” will now cover those Family Island airports, but he never said who, what, or where those funds are coming from. Bahamians deserve the facts, not another episode of “Trust Us, Details to Come.”
Grand Bahama urgently needs a modern, hurricane-resilient airport. The government bought the facility back in April 2021 and promised swift redevelopment. Demolition was pledged for 2023, then again in February this year, when Mr. Cooper boldly declared it would begin “within 30 days.” Thirty days have come and gone—twice. No bulldozers, no cranes, no progress.
Now, Mr. Cooper has added a new act to his playbook: moving money instead of moving dirt.
Will the Bahamian people be saddled yet again with hundreds of millions in hidden “off the book” loans dressed up as so-called Public Private Partnerships (PPPs)? While this government brags about fiscal success, it has been hiding untold millions of dollars in debt from the Bahamian people. This is the reason why they have to keep these deals a secret: The Davis/Cooper administration knows that they are hiding public debt from the Bahamian people,
The same shifting storylines appear wherever he has responsibility: changing targets, moving dates, and missing deliverables. Meanwhile, the IMF recently warned that The Bahamas may be overstating its tourism expenditure figures by millions, an extraordinary claim that should have triggered serious review. Instead, Mr. Cooper brushed it off, leaving Bahamians wondering whether the numbers are inflated to match the rhetoric.
It all points to the same troubling truth: this government’s credibility is collapsing under the weight of its own contradictions. You cannot build airports on broken promises, and you cannot rebuild trust with half-truths. The redevelopment of the Grand Bahama International Airport is tied directly to the long-stalled Grand Lucayan project, another symbol of misplaced optimism and missing information. We were told both would anchor Grand Bahama’s economic revival, yet we’ve seen more press releases than progress. And worse, still no $120 million in the bank. When will demolition begin? When will construction start? Who are the partners in this new deal? When will Grand Bahama have its new Airport? Was 121 million received? When will the renovation start on the hotel? When will the hotel be fully turned over?
This administration governs by press conference, not performance. The Free National Movement believes in results that can be seen, audited, and verified. Until this government can show signed contracts, credible financing, and firm timelines for all affected airports, Bahamians have every right to ask the question that defines this moment: how can we believe anything this government says?