Former PM Former raises concerns over JDL’s cost burden and authority

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Former Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis has once again questioned the JDL arrangement, claiming that it is adding a cost burden and urging the government to investigate claims that the company is threatening to revoke the business licenses of at least three couriers.

He made the comments in Parliament Wednesday afternoon. Dr. Minnis stated: “This government themselves are causing an increase in inflationary events. For example, materials are being brought into the country through packages. The company they established, JDL, which we have spoken of repeatedly, reviews the packages, and despite the invoice stating the weight and all of the information, JDL is the first group to receive these packages and charges individuals 20 cents per pound.”

He added: “That extra cost is transmitted to the consumer. That in itself causes inflation. What has made it worse is that three couriers have told me that JDL has informed them if they do not pay, the package is never seen by the Customs officer. But now they are being threatened that if they don’t, they will lose their business licenses. I don’t know where JDL has received such authority. I would assume that this is incorrect, but I urge the government to investigate it because the private sector does not have such authority, and who has given them that authority?”

Last year, it was revealed that the government planned to outsource the LPIA freight terminal to private-sector developers and operators. Documents accompanying the 2023-2024 Budget, in an annex detailing public-private partnerships (PPP), outlined the “justification to design, finance, build, and operate a new air freight terminal.”

“The purpose of this proposal is for the government to transfer the property consisting of the Air Freight Terminal to a special purpose vehicle (SPV) owned by the government, and then to lease that property to JDL to design, finance, build, and operate a new air freight terminal,” according to the Budget documents. The arrangement has drawn repeated criticism from the Opposition.