Proposed Bill Aims to Snatch Rights from Bahamians, Smash Consultation

Mon, Apr 25th 2016, 01:36 PM


In a recent episode of the cable TV show “In Focus,” hosted by Jeff Lloyd (right), Romi Ferreira, director of the non-profit environmental preservation group Save the Bays, said the Planning and Subdivision 2015 Act will smash the right of Bahamians to have a say in what happens in their neighborhoods, not to mention potentially limit citizens’ rights to live on their own land.

Planning and Subdivision 2015 Act Will Grant Developers ‘Instant Wealth’ Via Real Estate

Beaches abundant with powdery sand. Colorful coral reefs teeming with aquatic life. Crystal clear cerulean water. The economy.

At first glance, it might seem as if one of the items on that list doesn’t belong. However, according to Romi Ferreira, director of the non-profit environmental preservation group Save the Bays, every item on that list impacts the other.

“There’s a direct correlation between economics and our environment,” he said recently to Jeff Lloyd on the Cable television show In Focus. “Economics is how we make money and, for the most part in the Bahamas, our money comes from tourism, which is utilizing our natural environment, like beaches.”

But, a connection between concerns about the environment and daily life is sometimes lost on the Bahamian simply fighting to survive.

“The young single mother who is struggling or the young boy in Bain Town trying to get ahead aren’t feeling the impact, and they own the resources as well,” Ferreira said.

That’s why Ferreira is making it his mission to educate the public on the perils of the proposed Planning and Subdivision Act 2015 and its potential impact on all land-use planning which he says is written for the good of the select few rather than the greatest good for the greatest number of people.

“We need to make people more aware of the connection between the environment and the way they’re living,” he told Lloyd. “Our environment is being utilized but there’s no [Bahamian] ownership.”

In short, if the bill is passed, Bahamian citizens will lose the right to have a say in the way developments are built—and regulated—in their own neighborhoods. That means that a developer can build a multifamily community anywhere he or she likes and if concerns arise regarding matters that affect the quality of life for everyone in that area—big issues like water usage or sewage and waste disposal—the residents who lived there long before the development was ever conceived will be forced to bear the brunt of the environmental impact wrought by the new development, whether they like it or not.

“The bill smashes public consultation,” Ferreira said. “There will no longer be a right for the public to be consulted. It’s a step in the wrong direction. We’re going backwards.”

More importantly, the bill will allow developers to purchase—and profit from—land that Bahamians themselves aren’t allowed to touch.

“Thousands of Bahamians apply for crown land and can’t get it with no reason given,” Ferreira told Lloyd. “Ownership of the economy is given to non-Bahamians who are instantly given equity whereby they can go to a bank and get a loan, creating instant wealth.”

Additionally, land-use conflicts such as those currently making prominent news headlines in Nassau including Harrold Road residents being subjected to poisonous smoke from dump fires will only increase.

In Ferreira’s opinion, though, the issue that trumps even transparency, accountability and economic rights, is the right for Bahamian citizens to be treated with basic dignity and respect.

“It’s the decent thing to do to consult people if there’s a development that’s going to impact you,” he said, “That’s saying, ‘I respect you, you’re a citizen of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Whether you’re black or white, no matter your political persuasion, I respect you for the fact that you’re a citizen.’ “

Source: Diane Phillips & Associates

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