Anxiously awaiting the outcome of a Supreme Court hearing last night, concerned citizens who oppose the controversial cruise ship terminal project in Bimini issued a heartfelt statement of thanks to advocacy group Save The Bays (STB) for its crucial help and support.

Bimini Blue Coalition said there is no way it could have challenged an international conglomerate like Malaysia-based Genting for so long without the invaluable backing and advice of the fast-growing fellow NGO.

“We are a small organization and could not have fought this fight on our own,” said BBC in a statement. “This is truly a David versus Goliath fight and wanted to take this opportunity to thank the thousands around The Bahamas and the world who have given us support, and in particular Save The Bays, which threw its considerable influence, expertise and bravery behind out effort since day one.”

Since its launch just over a year ago, STB has catapulted into the role of champion of environmental causes and fledgling advocacy groups around the country.

It has enjoyed unprecedented growth for an NGO, attracting more than 500 registered members, 14,300 followers on Facebook and 6,000 signatures on its petition calling for a Freedom of Information Act, Environmental Protection Act and an end to unregulated development in The Bahamas.

Yesterday, as the Freeport Supreme court considered arguments for and against lifting an injunction on dredging in Bimini imposed by the London-based Privy Council, the BBC also issued a special thank-you to attorney and STB director Fred Smith, QC, who has volunteered his time and energy to lead the legal battle to bring dredging to a halt in Bimini.

“Fred Smith is a godsend. We don’t know what we would have done without him,” said the BBC statement. “He is both a brilliant and resourceful litigator, and a tireless defender of the environment.”

The order to stop all dredging activities, which went into effect immediately last week, was to stay in place until the developers, Genting-owned Resorts World Bimini (RWB), could demonstrate they have satisfied all the conditions for a the granting of a permit under the Conservation and Protection of the Physical Landscape of the Bahamas Act (CPPLB).

Since the start of dredging last month, a number of environmental scientists and dive experts have said the cloud of silt seen trailing away from the mammoth dredger ‘Niccolo Machiavelli’ will settle on Bimini’s pristine coral reefs and suffocate the island’s rich underwater ecosystem, a cruicial nursery for some of the country’s most important fisheries and marine resources.

The developer has said its management plan will prevent environmental fallout, but BBC produced images purporting to show that the silt curtains erected to contain the sediment produced by the dredging have failed.

In giving its ruling, the Privy Council noted that the RWB development was a controversial one, and that the environmental aspects are not ideal.

Lawyers for BBC argued that the dredging was being carried out contrary to the provisions of the Conservation and Protection of the Physical Landscape of The Bahamas Act. The position of the developers and government was that the dredging did not fall within the ambit of the Act, which refers to “excavation”.

The Privy Council ruled that contrary to the view of the Court of Appeal in Nassau, which rejected the injunction application on Monday, dredging does fall within the meaning of excavation outlined in the act, although not included in the primary definition.

The court also ruled that the approval given by the minister for lands and surveys (Prime Minister Christie) in his capacity as landowner on January 23, 2014, was not a valid permit under the Act.

The Law Lords noted that after asking for and being granted a day’s adjournment, lawyers for the government and developer yesterday produced a permit under the Act, dated the day before. However, that permit can only be issued subject to certain conditions, and even if this were not the case, the court found, there would still be cause for concern.

The lords noted that before granting the permit, the Director of Physical Planning should have listened to objections and taken them into account. Given the last-minute nature of the document, and the lack of evidence as to whether there was compliance with the conditions, a question-mark hangs over its validity, they said.

The court also noted that although the developers only applied for a permit under the Act at the last minute, it can be said in their favor that up until then, Bahamian authorities had told them the document was unnecessary.

The ruling also took into consideration that BBC is not in a position to give an undertaking to pay damages should they lose, while the developer is facing considerable costs per day.

But, the court said, had the injunction not been granted, it would have undermined the underlying judicial review of the entire development, which is currently stayed in the Bahamas Supreme Court pending the outcome of an appeal concerning security costs.

The lords noted that the injunction is not unconnected with the underlying judicial review, and that BBC represents individuals who live and work in Bimini and will be affected by the development.

They also pointed out that Resorts World Bimini can be said to have begun the dredging with their eyes open and at their own risk, as the judicial review was already in place and the developers themselves gave an undertaking not to dredge without permits.

 

OPPOSITION leader Dr Hubert Minnis says he would push legislation to the limit as prime minister to a maximum of two terms in office if he were elected to lead the country. The FNM leader maintained yesterday that his declaration was not a swipe at former Prime Minister and FNM leader Hubert Ingraham who served from 1992 to 2002...

OPPOSITION leader Dr Hubert Minnis says he would push legislation to the limit as prime minister to a maximum of two terms in office if he were elected to lead the country.

The FNM leader maintained yesterday that his declaration was not a swipe at former Prime Minister and FNM leader Hubert Ingraham who served from 1992 to 2002...

 

Amid concerns surrounding Morgans Hotel Group Management's move to terminate its hotel management agreement with Baha Mar, resort officials yesterday shot down speculation that the opening of the multibillion-dollar facility would be delayed.
Morgans Hotel Group Management is one of three hotel management companies with which Baha Mar signed on in 2011 to manage its properties.
Asked if Baha Mar is looking for another group to replace Morgans, Baha Mar Senior Vice President of Administration and External Relations Robert
"Sandy" Sands said, "Morgans is still a part of the Baha Mar brand. There has been no change in that position to date."
Sands spoke to reporters following Baha Mar's Leadership Development Institute (LDI) graduation program yesterday at the Melia Nassau Beach Resort.
Sands' assurances come after Morgans Hotel Group Management notified Baha Mar that its 20-year hotel management agreement (HMA) with Baha Mar "would terminate effective 30 days later", according to court documents filed in New York.
The 30-day deadline ended several days ago. The court action was allegedly the result of Baha Mar's failure to produce a "non-disturbance agreement", which would have protected Morgans Hotel Group Management from interference in the hotel's operations in the case of a default or foreclosure under the Baha Mar loan.
Sands confirmed that the matter is still in court but expressed optimism about Baha Mar's future. The court battle has raised concerns about the resort's ability to meet its target opening date.
But Sands said he doesn't expect that matter to negatively impact Baha Mar's operations "at all".
"We will open on December 8, 2014 and we are progressing very quickly to ensure that that happens," he said.
Baha Mar CEO and Chairman Sarkis Izmirlian and Baha Mar President Tom Dunlap also assured members of the public and future staff members of the resort's December opening during the LDI graduation ceremony. A total of 150 people graduated and are expected to be offered jobs at the resort.
Sands said the $3.5 billion Baha Mar project is about 80 percent complete.
He added that about 4,500 people are working to complete construction.
"We're doing finishing touches on the property, a lot of civil works. We are working from the inside of the hotel out," he said.
"...It's just one big team effort working to meet this ultimate goal for December."
Sands said Baha Mar will officially begin booking rooms in just over a month.
"We start our bookings on July 1," he said. "We've been taking group bookings...we are very encouraged by group bookings. But we go live on July 1 for our leisure bookings, as we launch our new website and our booking engine for that to happen as well."
As it relates to airlift, Sands said the resort is comfortable with that aspect.
"We are satisfied that a successful amount of implemented airlift has already been put in place for December of this year," he said
"The team [including members] of the Ministry of Tourism, the promotion board, the private sector hotels, along with ourselves have negotiated excellent arrangements with carriers for increased connectivity, not only for increased capacity, but increased frequency and some new airlift out of different gateways.
"We are very encouraged and satisfied that airlift will be in place to satisfy the demand of Baha Mar when we open."
The resort plans to hire 4,000 people this year.

Taxi driver John Adderley, who pumped five bullets into his ex-girlfriend three years ago, was yesterday found guilty of her murder by a jury that rejected an insanity defense.
Adderley showed little emotion as the jury foreman read the verdict finding him culpable of the brutal murder of Denise Adderley on January 9, 2011 in the parking lot of the Texaco Service Station on Wulff Road.
The jury reached its verdict after an hour and a half of deliberations.
Prosecutors do not plan to seek the death penalty for Adderley. He returns to court for sentencing on July 20 by Justice Bernard Turner.
Members of Ms. Adderley's family who attended each day of the week-long trial wept as the verdict was read.
Adderley's lawyer Murrio Ducille argued that his client was not in his right mind when he killed the mother of his child who had started dating someone else.
A psychiatrist who examined him eight months after the crime said that Adderley told him that he couldn't sleep, or eat, in the lead up to the murder.
Dr. Michael Neville concluded that he was obsessed with Ms. Adderley. Ducille conceded that Adderley was guilty, but of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
But the lead prosecutor, Sandradee Gardiner, pointed out that no one testified that Adderley was acting abnormally around the time of Ms. Adderley's death.
In fact, Gardiner pointed out that Adderley never once mentioned Ms. Adderley or their daughter in his conversation with his friend John McIntosh about a week before the murder.
According to McIntosh, Mr. Adderley discussed plans to build more apartments.
Gardiner said that Adderley was in complete control when he deliberately pumped five shots into Ms. Adderley at close range.
She said, "He decided with the end of the relationship, her life should come to an end."