If the now deceased Bahamian musical icon, Exuma, The Obeah Man, were penning a song about reincarnation today, he might not refer to his own mystical rebirth, but that of the evolving island from which he took part of his stage name.
The song might be about how Great Exuma is transforming from a sleepy island, whose sons and daughters once emigrated en masse to find a better life, into a boomtown, whose gleaming economic prospectus is drawing people from New Providence, Grand Bahama, the Family Islands and beyond.
As an integral part of the Christie administration’s plans to jump-start fickle economies across the Family Islands, the “anchor project” at Emerald Bay, is in many respects, a flashpoint in the economic future of the sparsely populated, closely knit community. In other respects, it represents a watershed in the future development nationwide.
Speaking to the crowd at the first annual Exuma Business Outlook seminar last week, Minister of Tourism, Obie Wilchcombe, said the concept of an anchor project for each Family Island had been “spot on” in stimulating Family Island economies. “Exuma has been fortunate to have carved out a niche unique only to Exuma,” said Mr Wilchombe. “The anchor property, such as the Four Seasons Emerald Bay, has added to the allure.”
But, President of the Exuma Chamber of Commerce, Reginald Smith, believes there must be some calibration to the present course of Exuma’s development if the island is to grow at a sustainable pace and if people indigenous to Exuma ﾖ and other Bahamians who decide to call the island home ﾖ are to benefit in the long term. “The vision for Exuma must be one of a planned community that is owned by locals [and] operated by locals for locals,” he told The Guardian. “In other words, we’ve been developing tourism in The Bahamas … and it is served by Bahamians, but the ownership stays outside.
“Do we need another one like this?” asked the Chamber of Commerce president. “I’m saying, let’s begin to develop Exuma along the lines of small guest houses owned by Bahamians. If we need a thousand rooms, we don’t have to have a thousand rooms in one building. We can have a thousand rooms in twenty buildings, but let’s get the Bahamians involved in the true benefit of the tourism industry in Exuma.”
As Reginald Smith has reservations about the culture of ownership, Emerald Bay Development Company CEO, Kevin Clemente, worries about completion of the project and the bottom line. “We’ve got a huge amount of debt on the company because a lot of it has come from the bank … and now I keep going back to the investors with my hands out. … They cringe when the phone rings, and it’s me,” Mr Clemente said. He has recently appealed to investors for an additional $1.5 million on top of the hundreds of millions already invested. Corporate debt is not the only strain on the small island. Even if Mr Clemente can keep his investors at an arm’s length, the island, itself, presents obstructions to progress. “The challenge that we face here for the ongoing development … is: Can the infrastructure keep up with us?” Mr Clemente said.
The anchor project is beginning to weigh heavily on Exuma. A recent study on the island’s progress, commissioned by Prime Minister Christie, essentially said, “Slow down.”
Echoing Mr Clemente’s concern that Exuma has yet to develop adequate infrastructure, three years since the Four Seasons opened, Mr Smith said more advanced and focused planning should take place ahead of future anchor projects. “Before you put the anchor down … you look around to make sure you’re not dropping it in any shoals,” he added. “You want to drop your anchor in good ground so it takes hold.”
Messrs Wilchcombe, Smith and Clemente all independently appealed for improved public education and professional training on Exuma. “If we do not go into these areas before we put the anchor in and make sure that we put the training in place, make sure that people understand what is to come, make sure how they can benefit from it and give them some period of time to catch up we will lose that anchor project,” said Mr Smith.
By Raymond Kongwa and Sam Smith – Nassau Guardian Staff Reporters
