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Seems Mr Deveaux Has More ‘Splainin To Do

Dr. Earl Deveaux and the Bahamas National Trust are being called on to explain how approval was granted for major dredging of the sea bed on exotic Kamalame Cay?

Dr. Earl Deveaux and the Bahamas National Trust are being called on to explain how approval was granted for major dredging of the sea bed on a strip about 150 feet long on exotic Kamalame Cay?

While the eyes of the public are focused on Bell Island in the Exuma Land and Sea Park, where the Aga Khan has already begun to excavate a hill in order to accommodate his dream of a two-slip marina, environmental concerns are also looming on the island of Andros.

Apparently, Brian Hew developer of Kamalame Cay, is dredging the seabed and the building up of a certain area which would create a man-made extension of the land. But doesn’t this type of development require proper permits and approval?

Yet, an excavation project is presently underway at the Cay.

The government must be transparent about the affairs of Kamalme Cay, as Andros has long been considered an untouched beauty with massive potential for future development.  It also raises the question, how another sacred piece of land could be defaced without public knowledge?

The Cay features three miles of spectacular sandy beaches and Hew’s 7,000-square-foot home, which sits opposite the Cay on land that is connected to Andros by a sand road.

Heavy duty equipment can be seen digging into the sea bed, creating a deep trench.  The crew is apparently using the dredged sand and building up an area to create what appears to be a canal, completely changing the face of the original landscape.

Brian Hew was recently featured in the Aficionado magazine, boasting of “blending work, life, pleasure and everything in between” at Kamalame Cay.  Hew, who settled on Kamalame Cay with his family in 1994, is affilliated with a company called Island Outpos, marketing agents for the Compass Point Resort in Nassau.

The magazine reports that the Hews made a deal with the Bahamian government in the mid-1990s, because the then government wanted a number of islands developed as resorts to increase tourism. Land was sold at an inexpensive rate, with the understanding that it must be developed before the buyer could take over the ownership of the island. So, the Hews had to put in infrastructure and buildings and get the island up to resort status before the transaction would be officially completed. And in 2001 the Hews officially became owners of the Cay in 2001.

The Bahamian Constitution states that the land remains the possession of the Bahamian public up to the high water mark, all around the shores of any island within the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.  And this dredging activity is said to compromise this.

Local websites are calling for Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham to publicly address this issue.

Posted in Local News

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