The centerpiece of the Prime Minister’s plan is “the designation of the Over-the-Hill community as an empowerment zone” for five years, during which a number of tax incentives “will apply to residential properties – both owned and rented – commercial and industrial undertakings, with an aggregate turnover of $5 million or under, and all enterprises whose primary income is not derived from the business of gaming or the sale of alcohol,” according to an article in the Nassau Guardian on Thursday, April 26, 2018.
Before this initiative is launched, however, there are some issues that need to be clarified, first and foremost of which is whether the parameters for the specific area that will benefit from this incentive have been established. Surely, this must have been the first problem facing the Government. As far as most Bahamians are concerned, Over-the-Hill is the extended area south of Gregory’s Arch; however, while there is general agreement as to what constitutes its northern border, there are really no clearly defined east, west and south borders for Over-the-Hill.
Should the eastern border be East Street or Collins Avenue? Should the Western border be Nassau Street? Should the Southern border be Wulff Road or Robinson Road? What about Kemp Road, St. James Road and sections of Chippingham and Fox Hill, all of which have similar serious crime and poverty problems as the area traditionally known as Over-the-Hill?
More likely than not, the Government has a plan in place that will include all of these areas in its tax-incentive initiative, and if it does not, it certainly should. But I would like to suggest that as far as encouraging tourists to visit and shop Over-the-Hill, the Government should initially focus on establishing a safe, crime-free zone in the area south of the Arch bordered by Nassau Street on the West, Wulff Road and Poinciana Drive on the South, and Collins Avenue on the East.
A strong police presence in this area 24 hours a day surely would send a strong message to potential criminals and Menaces to Society and discourage them from plying their trade in the “no-crime zone,” and the boundaries should be extended as safety in the area improves.
Of course, the idea of a crime-free area Over-the-Hill is not a new one. Shortly after the Progressive Liberal Party won the historic 1967 general election, Edmund Moxey, the PLP representative for Coconut Grove, established Jumbey Village, a visionary idea he had to create a cultural enclave featuring Bahamian entertainment, an arts and craft area for artisans to display and sell their products, and various other indigenous Bahamian cultural expressions.
The idea was to encourage visitors to the country to travel beyond Bay Street to a safe and crime-free area Over-the-Hill as part of their vacation experience. Mr. Moxey argued that the success of Jumbey Village would encourage businesses in the surrounding areas to spruce up their buildings and clean-up their surroundings with the hope of attracting tourists. By the same token, it was felt that home-owners would likewise make similar improvements to their property.
The property where Jumbey Village was located apparently was considered too valuable and it was shut down by the then Progressive Liberal Party government to build the current National Insurance Building. Many political observers at the time felt that the Government made a terrible mistake and had missed a golden opportunity to spread the infectious benefits of such an important initiative like Jumbey Village throughout Over-the-Hill.
Hopefully, the current Government is still open to ideas on how the obviously well-intentioned initiative it has proposed in its White Paper can be tweaked to provide the necessary assistance to all the persons and businesses it is intended to help.
