During a recent tour, Baha Mar said its multibillion-dollar resort at Cable Beach is 85 percent complete, with the remaining work picking up pace.
"We are going to be working towards previews for December," said Baha Mar Senior Vice President of Administration and External Affairs Robert "Sandy" Sands at hole 16 of the resort's Royal Blue Golf Course.
"That in itself should tell you how far advanced we are. We are making significant progress on a daily basis."
Baha Mar is the hope for The Bahamas. Our 14 percent unemployment rate will only substantially go down if Baha Mar is a smashing success when it opens early next year.
Baha Mar is opening in a Bahamas that has a crime problem. We again this year will have 100-plus homicides in a country with a population of around 350,000. Governments have changed. Police commissioners have changed. Chief prosecutors and chief justices have come and gone, but the problem with violent crime persists, especially in New Providence.
We have had high-profile crimes committed in our tourism zones in recent years. The November 2009 robbery of a group of tourists on tour at Earth Village; the May 2011 armed robbery at John Bull in the middle of Downtown Nassau; the January 2008 murder of teenager Deangelo Cargill at a bus stop, also in Downtown Nassau; and the October 31, 2009 double shooting of two Atlantis security guards at Marina Village are some of the events that attracted national attention.
After the fact, we boost police presence to protect areas that Bahamians and tourists frequent. With Baha Mar, we should act before the problem.
Baha Mar is in the community of Cable Beach. A public road runs around it. That road is surrounded by a large public space frequented by many Bahamians and visitors. That number will increase significantly once the new hotels open.
A proper policing plan is needed for the area that brings officers and security personnel on the beat in large numbers to deter criminals from preying on locals and visitors before violent acts occur.
Police need to be out of the Cable Beach station and on foot and bicycle patrols in consistent numbers in the public places surrounding the resort. And this presence needs to last beyond the opening of Baha Mar.
We have to protect this new hope for our country. We do not need the incidents mentioned above in Downtown Nassau or Paradise Island to take place at this new property. We hope Baha Mar's security officials and the Royal Bahamas Police Force are collaborating now on the right security plan so that, when the resort opens, those with bad intentions think the area too secure to venture to.

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