Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis doubled down in the House of Assembly on Tuesday on his claim of victory in the Grand Bahama Port Authority arbitration, even though the tribunal rejected the government’s $357 million demand against the GBPA. Davis told MPs the ruling proves the Port Authority must continue payments to the government through 2054, framing the outcome as vindication rather than the loss the rejected damages figure would suggest on its face.
The Attorney General hailed the rejection of the GBPA’s separate $1 billion damages claim against the government, accusing the Port Authority of trying to enrich itself at the expense of Bahamian taxpayers. Officials also signalled that findings in the arbitration could result in dismissal of Supreme Court challenges to the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority’s authority over Freeport utilities — an effort the GBPA has resisted for years.
For the Freeport diaspora, the ruling matters in two directions. The first is the long contested question of who pays for Grand Bahama’s special economic arrangement. The second is the related question of whether arbitrators accepted the government’s characterisation that the GBPA “deliberately frustrated” more than $10 billion in investment, a claim the tribunal rejected. Both Davis and the Port Authority are now claiming partial wins from the same award, which is unusual and suggests the full text will shape Freeport governance for the rest of the decade. The election on Tuesday will determine which side gets to interpret it next.
Sources: The Tribune, May 12, 2026; Tribune 242 business pages.