Representing the Coalition to Protect Clifton Bay during a recent interview on the Guardian Radio show 'Darold Miller Live', Coalition directors Fred Smith, QC and Joe Darville called attention to the government's responsibility to implement regulations, maintain transparency and safeguard the nation's Crown land. Both men urged passage of a Freedom of Information Act and an Environmental Protection Act.
"Without the Freedom of Information Act, governments have had a free hand at giving away or selling at a very low price land that belongs to us," said Darville. "It is reprehensible, wrong and it's a theft of our property for it to be given away without our approval."
Under the Local Government Act, Smith cited a requirement that the government consult with the local town council before Crown land is sold or conveyed. The land, noted the senior attorney and human rights and environmental activist, is not the government's to convey, it is the people's land held in trust by the government and should only be managed after full consultation and transparency.
"Crown land is the heritage of every Bahamian person. It is the land in The Bahamas that is not owned by any private person and is held in trust by the Bahamian government, the person of the crown, the queen, for the benefit of the Bahamian people," said Smith. "The three branches of government constitute the government in The Bahamas, but the entity that is actually the government at the end of the day is the crown. It is the crown that holds 70 percent, I think, of land in The Bahamas for the benefit of the Bahamian people. So Crown land belongs to us all and it should not be given away without consulting us."
Developments in Guana Cay, Bimini Bay and Grand Bahama were all mentioned as locations in which Crown land was afforded to developers at little or no cost.
"This is your land, this is my land from one end of The Bahamas to the other. Safeguard it; it belongs to us," said Darville. "Open your eyes and see its beauty, its grace and its magnificence. God has given it to us and it is our heritage, our patrimony and we are the stewards of it for future generations."
The Coalition to Protect Clifton Bay is a licensed non-profit Bahamian corporation committed to preserving and protecting the delicate environmental, ecological and cultural balance of Clifton Bay and the surrounding community. Particular emphasis is given to encouraging effective land-use decisions and habitat restoration efforts that benefit the natural and human communities of the bay.
For more information about the Coalition to Protect Clifton Bay, visit the website at www.protectcliftonbay.org. For press enquiries, contact Fred Smith at fsmith@callenders.net or 242 727 5191.

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