By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., October 23, 2019 — His Excellency Sidney Collie, Bahamas Ambassador to the United States and Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States (OAS), delivered remarks at the 11th North American Infrastructure Leadership Forum on the topic “Restoring The Bahamas” on Tuesday, October 22, 2019, at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel, 1150 22nd Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.
The Bahamas is currently in the throes recovery from the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian to Abaco an Grand Bahama — two major northern islands in the country’s chain of islands that extend from off the coast of Florida to very near the eastern tip of Cuba — and the topic of his address provided Ambassador Collie with an excellent opportunity to update participants in leadership forum on the restoration efforts that have taken place since the category 5 hurricane slammed into Abaco and Grand Bahama the first week of September.
Speaking at the forum’s morning session, Ambassador Collie said that in preparing his remarks, he conducted some research on the CG-LA Leadership Forum Series, adding that his research “tells me that it is a dynamic infrastructure marketplace focused on significant project opportunities from 10 sectors that connect the professionals required to make those projects go forward.”
“As I understand it, what sets CG-LA apart from other marketing forums is that you focus on real projects moving forward in the next 3 to 18 months, that you conduct both project presentations and private meetings, seating members one-on-one with project developers, c-level executives, public officials, and other infrastructure leaders, and that you take a multi-sector approach,” Ambassador Collie said.
He added: “As you would all be well aware, two islands in The Bahamas, Abaco and Grand Bahama, suffered catastrophic damage when Hurricane Dorian made landfall on Sunday, 1st September to Tuesday 3rd September, 2019. Hurricane Dorian relentlessly pounded first, Abaco, then Grand Bahama and the surrounding cays for approximately 68 hours, with the southern eye-wall remaining stationary over Grand Bahama for approximately 36 hours.
“At its peak strength, sustained winds increased to 185 mph and gusts up to 220 mph. The estimated rainfall was 12-15 inches and storm surge was 18-23 feet above sea level. What you might not know, however, is that over the past four consecutive years, The Bahamas has been impacted by major hurricanes (Category 3 or higher) resulting in catastrophic impact to our chain of islands. After the passage of Hurricanes Matthew and Irma, respectively, the IDB reported combined $710 million in economic damage and loss.”
Noting that in advance of the hurricane Dorian, once it became clear that The Bahamas was likely to take a direct hit, Ambassador Collie said regional disaster preparedness and response protocols were activated.
“Beginning with the advance deployment of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) Rapid Needs assessment team from 31 August 2019 and pre-positioning of UK and US assets, The Bahamas took every precaution foreseeable leading up to the approach of Hurricane Dorian,” Ambassador Collie said. “The turbo-charged Hurricane Dorian, to quote UN SG Guterres during his visit to The Bahamas on 13th September 2019, resulted in unprecedented destruction on two islands of a country that makes negligible contribution to the causes of climate change and the increase in frequency and intensity of these weather events.”
The Bahamian diplomat informed forum participants that “Abaco and Grand Bahama are home to some 76,278 people, tens of thousands of whom were impacted,” and as the second and third most populated islands of The Bahamas, after New Providence, “together they represent some 18 percent of The Bahamas’ overall Gross Domestic Product.”
“In the hours, days and weeks immediately following this unprecedented global event, some 5000 persons were evacuated from Abaco and Grand Bahama respectively,” the Ambassador said. “They were housed in shelters in the surrounding islands — mostly in the capital city Nassau. This was the first of many firsts in what has become a steep learning curve for my country. Never before have we faced such destruction, so much loss of life, and so much displacement.”
Ambassador Collie added: “As the scenes of the events flooded social media, television, cell phones in real time, etc., so did the spontaneous outpouring of assistance from other communities in The Bahamas, Bahamians in the Diaspora as well as our friends and partners around the world. So determined to come to the aid of those in the immediate path of the hurricane, volunteer flights started leaving for those islands, before the ALL CLEAR was given, only to have to return to base to wait for the all clear.
“For air safety reasons, temporary flight restrictions were put in place in Grand Bahama and Abaco to better facilitate the influx of aid into the islands.
“Eventually, more than 900 Bahamian police and defence force officers were deployed to Abaco and Grand Bahama to ensure safety and security in those communities in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian. As part of the regional response mechanism in times of disaster, security personnel from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States, and the United Kingdom arrived in The Bahamas to be stationed in the affected islands to assist in search, rescue and recovery efforts.
“Simultaneously, with the immediate response to search for and rescue of as many people as possible and remove them to safety, Government determined that it had to get the message out that our main industry, Tourism, was and is very much open for business on 14 very well-known islands of The Bahamas.”
In recognition of the magnitude of the task ahead, the Bahamian diplomat said the government established a Ministry of Disaster Preparedness, Management, and Reconstruction “to coordinate and streamline the process across Ministry lines, islands, jurisdictions.”
“The two affected islands, Abaco and Grand Bahama, have been designated Special economic recovery zones incentivizing rebuilding of those islands,” the Ambassador said. “Import duty concessions and tax concessions have been put in place. The Ministry of Works has already awarded four contracts for debris removal, and clean-up on the mainland has begun, including in the Marsh Harbour area.”
The Ambassador went on reveal other aspects of Dorian’s impact on The Bahamas, noting that having “handled emergency response for five weeks, Government is now working towards restoration.”
“Government is committed to transparency and accountability as it confronts the challenges posed in a post Dorian Bahamas,” Ambassador Collie said. “Facilitating assistance to those most affected through vehicles like accessing $10 million from the Dormant Fund to help re-start the economies in Abaco and Grand Bahama is a key priority. The Access Accelerator, Small Business Development Centre (SBDC), via the Ministry of Finance and private financial partners, is offering government guaranteed loans to micro, small and medium-sized (MSMEs) enterprises directly affected by Hurricane Dorian.”
He noted that the $10 million “will facilitate grants, loan guarantees and equity capital for entrepreneurs residing and displaced from Abaco and Grand Bahama.”
The 11th North American Infrastructure Leadership Forum “is a global ecosystem of infrastructure decision-makers with a passion for transformative change and insight to tackle crucial infrastructure challenges in the United States, Mexico, and Canada and around the world,” according to its website.
“The Leadership Forum is the premier infrastructure business development platform globally. We focus on strategic projects, and on bringing the right people together around those projects so that projects happen quickly, optimally and efficiently,” the website notes.
Past speakers have included Vice President Joe Biden, Governor of Colorado John Hickenlooper, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, and Ray Washburn, President of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.
