Business owners in New Providence are  applauding  The  Over the Hill Community Development Partnership Initiative of the Minnis administration. However they say  there are many concerns that must be addressed and clarified in the incentive. 

Douglas Bain, Owner of Cravings Bakery says,  “You can always amend, but you have to start at some point.  You have to start somewhere, and the starting point right now is to allow people who have some type of profession to open a business in the Over the Hill area, and allow them to bring whatever they need to bring in duty free.”

Further, the local entrepreneur  said that while the economic empowerment initiative is a good one, there must be room for the initiative to successfully take place. 

“In order to run a successful or to operate a business in this area, it has to be someone who is closing down, going out of business and someone comes along and use that same building to do their business. But as far as extra properties, there is none,” said Donald Dorsett, Owner of Dorsett’s Food Centre. 

Kiffer Morris, Owner of Englerston Pool Room said, “we can’t continue trying to reinvent the wheel with the same established type of businesses we have in each community, meaning that if we say the business initiative is one that would be a new type of business coming into the area; that could probably help and enhance the area also.” 

“We have to think outside the box when we talk about the initiative that we’re talking about,  because if you saturate the market then what happens?

“Too much of anything is not good; too little of anything is also not good. So we have to figure out a balance when it comes to what kind of businesses they’re really looking forward to coming into our community,” Morris said.

The businessmen also expressed their opinions about  foreign  business owners in the community. 

“We find that most of the businesses around here, the smaller businesses are owned by the expatriates of this community.  They seem to have made inroads in our area. But all the same, persons like myself who operate a business and who have been in business for quite some time, we’re holding our own,” said Dorsett.

“Notice all the Chinese are moving Over the Hill.  There’s a reason why they’re moving Over the Hill.  There’s plenty money to be made,  but it should be made by people who live a strive in these communities,” Bain added. 

The objectives of the Over the Hill Initiative are to ensure a safer and cleaner community and to encourage the inclusive economic and social empowerment of residents through community development. 

A town hall meeting for The Over the Hill Initiative was held last evening at Bethel Baptist Church, on Meeting Street.