The heads of agreement recently signed for the $400 million Passerine Development on Guana Cay is one that should serve as a model for other investments, according to Prime Minister Perry Christie.
Mr. Christie said in the House of Assembly on Wednesday that all of the land in question will be protected, including the 12 acres on the shoreline, which will be preserved for future generations of Bahamians.
But residents of Guana Cay who continue to object to the project in its present form say it would harm the environment.
In advancing the proposal to construct a golf course, the prime minister said the investors considered the topography and natural vegetation of the land in an effort to minimize the amount of pesticides or insecticides that may have to be used.
“When the application was made by the developers for a project in Guana Cay and I, having been made aware of the different positions taken by the South Abaco MP on the Winding Bay development, made it absolutely and unmistakably clear to the developers that my government would require them to meet with the South Abaco Member to take his views into consideration, views that had been expressed directly from his mouth to my ears, that made me sufficiently concerned to take the position that I would not go any further with the development unless he was consulted,” Mr. Christie explained to House Members.
“It is my unmistakable understanding that the Member met with the developers, made whatever representation he deemed he should make and that he satisfied himself and that they responded to his recommendations. It is my understanding that material changes were made because of his intervention because I know that he knew the land better than I.”
The Prime Minister also said it was important to consult former Prime Minister and North Abaco MP Hubert Ingraham on certain policy issues, like incentives and use of Crown Land before agreeing to the multimillion-dollar project.
“I was not interested at all in imposing upon people a development that we had to fight over. There are other places in The Bahamas right now that would welcome them with open arms. But Iﾴve read that Fred Smith, the lawyer, said that we didnﾴt consult. But I guess I have to lay on the table of the House the minutes of all the meetings that took place in Guana Cay with the residents there,” Mr. Christie said.
Despite Mr. Christieﾴs assurances that he and Mr. Sweeting also discussed the issue during a trip to Green Turtle Cay, the South Abaco MP told a different story.
According to Mr. Sweeting, he and the Prime Minister met on only one occasion and at the time, their focus was only the $200 million Abaco Club at Winding Bay.
“I do suffer from a lack of hearing, but I donﾴt believe I suffer from a lack of memory,” Mr. Sweeting said.
“I remember several comments made here in this honourable House on this matter, but to the best of my recollection, I have only had the privilege to meet with the Prime Minister on one occasion and that dealt with trying to protect some property in Winding Bay.”
Mr. Sweeting said having met with Passerineﾴs investors, he suggested they leave Guana Cayﾴs wetlands the way they are, an idea he said they thought was a good one.
In the end, the South Abaco MP said while he would prefer seeing Guana Cay remain the way it is, he is proud of what the government was able to accomplish in the heads of agreement.
He also said it was unfortunate that the heads of agreement for the project had not yet been tabled.
It was a comment North Abaco MP Hubert Ingraham built on.
“One of the irksome things about this was when we met with the developers representative in Abaco, they promised us faithfully they would have delivered to us a copy of their proposal to the government,” Mr. Ingraham said.
He said that the developers had promised to provide copies of the proposal to him and Mr. Sweeting.
“But they came into my office and said that they had been advised or instructed by the Ministry of Financial Services not to give us copies and we never got copies,” Mr. Ingraham said.
But according to Prime Minister Christie, the developers were instructed to make “a full and frank disclosure of the entire plan” to the two representatives for Abaco.
It was a view Financial Services and Investments Minister Allyson Maynard-Gibson reiterated.
“Nothing ever came from this Memberﾴs mouth to preclude anything going to those honourable Members,” Minister Maynard-Gibson said. “Indeed, I am sure that they would confirm that anytime they spoke to me, I was readily accessible.”
Macushla N. Pinder, The Bahama Journal
