Jack Albury
First published in The Tribune, Tuesday, September 20, 2011 and posted here with the kind permission of the author.
As your readers are well aware Bahamas-wide, yea even worldwide businesses are struggling to survive and in Abaco there is no difference.
For several years now a local trucking company (not mine) was engaged in delivering sod and fertilisers, etc., for a local grower until recently.
Now the shocker! Abaco Foods Limited owned by Mr Paul Baker a foreigner who has been given duty free on all his equipment has taken over the deliveries for this grower.
Last week Albury's Trucking (my company) was engaged by BEC to pick up freight from the Fast Ferry at Sandy Point, when my driver arrived in Sandy Point Mr Baker's truck was loading what he went to pick up. My driver informed his driver that if he took the freight BEC was still going to have to pay him because he had been engaged to do so. Mr Baker's driver then off loaded the goods.
I am deeply troubled that a foreigner (US citizen) can come to this country supposedly to do farming, bring in all of his equipment duty free and go into unfair competition with Bahamians who have to pay up to 85 per cent duty and they pay nothing.
I trust that the government will put a stop to Mr Baker's involvement in the local trucking business and maybe the Comptroller of Customs should look into collecting the duties since his equipment is being used to do other than for what his approval was granted.
Abaco,
September 19, 2011.
Jack:
I’m not sure why Mr. Baker has the duty free break that he does…I can only assume that that it was a government incentive.
I think the driver of his truck was trying to pull a fast one…pickup the cargo and run…hoping to get the profit from delivering the goods before your driver showed up.
If any incentives are to be given to businesses on Abaco they should be given to Bahamians first. Let them reap the benefit and any help to the economy this might have. Certainly, you need to get some answers here….
1) Do you mean to tell me the driver did not know that your cargo was not his…? Come on…
2) Why is a foreigner getting any government incentive…? Unless, of course, no Bahamian wanted to take advantage of it…
The other deliveries is yet another issue in itself…
KM
Rick/Kent:
I have been told that a STOP has been put to the use of any equipment relative to the aforementioned. I am now hoping that customs will collect the duty due to the violation of the agreement for farming concessions.
Thanks for your input.
Jack:
Glad to hear that some progress was made…I would agree that the duty should be collected since the vehicles were engaged in an activity not clearly defined under the duty-free provisions…
KM