Wonderland mathematics

Mon, Feb 6th 2017, 09:48 AM

Dear Editor,
Have we all been transported to Wonderland, where right is wrong and wrong is right, and topsy-turvy reigns supreme?
The media this week informed the public about the heads of agreement tabled for The Pointe, concerning the discussions relating to work permits and amenities built for phase one of the development.
Strangely enough, a full-page government notice from the Ministry of Works and Urban Development's Department of Physical Planning was also published last week showing proposed plans for the revised preliminary plans from Neworld of The Pointe. The notice clearly references a nine-story "150-room world class waterfront hotel" to the west of The Pointe on West Bay Street, with significant amenities and a 53-slip marina with amenities, as well as indicating a phase two condo hotel, listed as being, "Not a part of this submittal."
So how does this mathematics add up? Dr. Andre Rollins, after your recent impressive mathematics lesson in Cabinet, maybe you can help.

1) The tabled heads of agreement elicited talk about the completed three-story building (a modern glass monstrosity totally out of keeping with the historical architecture of Bay Street, which was, by law, to be protected by the Special Architecture Committee - wherever that elusive entity now resides - and fiercely defended by Bahamian architects who remain deafeningly and pathetically silent).
Was any mention made during the debate of a nine-story building? Should a nine-story building even be allowed (considering the fact that Bahamian property holders on Bay Street submitted applications years ago for even lesser height considerations than The Pointe received, and their requests have been "pointedly" ignored)?
2) Debate was carried out on work permits, a topic which continues to solicit justified outrage from Bahamians, as evidenced by the unprecedented imbalance of work permits issued to foreign construction workers at Baha Mar and The Pointe.
So if the "new" split is supposed to be 70/30 in favor of Bahamian workers, how come 400 to 500 work permits are being granted if only 200 Bahamian workers were on site at The Pointe?
Do the math: If 200 Bahamian workers equal 70 percent (actually to be exact, it should be 200.9 workers, but let's overlook .9 of a person here because that .9 of a person will be made whole with the .1 from the foreign worker pool "tereckly"), then 30 percent foreign workers should equal 86.1 persons, meaning there should be a total of 287 persons total on the construction site. Maybe NIB can confirm these figures from the NIB contribution payments?
But wait, did Neworld have to pay NIB contributions like the rest of we local yokels do? "The concessions given to Neworld consist of those allowable under the Hotels Encouragement Act and the City of Nassau Revitalization Act, while construction is being carried out."
So where do the 400 to 500 work permits for foreigners fit into this 70/30 equation? If 400 to 500 work permits have been granted, that means that between 931 and 1,165 Bahamians will be employed at The Pointe for a full complement of between 1,330 to 1,665 employees. In what capacity? Are these work permits for only construction personnel, or do those numbers include the whole gamut of employees needed?
Then again, if the nine-story hotel in the revised plans has just been submitted for public scrutiny, and approval is nowhere close for construction to start, and no mention of it was made in the debate on the heads of agreement, then why are 400 to 500 permits being requested now?
"At the moment, Neworld employs... 277 persons." What is the foreign to Bahamian breakdown amongst these employees, I wonder? Then maybe 70/30 only relates to the construction aspect - ie., manual labor? Wait, Baha Mar is the one "under construction". How many construction workers do they need? What is the foreign-Bahamian ratio, and what concessions have they been granted? Oops, those documents are still sealed and we can't be told.
3) The heads of agreement quotes a 100-slip marina, but the revised plans at the Ministry of Works show a 53-slip marina. Since the number 100 has 10 tens, and the number 53 has only five tens and three ones, those figures definitely don't match. Hmm.
Aha! Now I get it. This is the new, advanced Wonderland Mathematics - understandable only by rabbit hole residents. For ignorant others living above ground in the land of reality, go figure. The purpose of Wonderland Mathematics is to keep you wondering!
4) The Pointe plans indicate extending the land mass out into the sea bed with obvious filling in on the northern ocean side to extend the width of the property (not to mention where and how the 53- versus the 100-slip marina discrepancy will be situated). The site plan in the government notice delineates a 150 ft. clearance line for the shipping channel, because all of the cruise ships have to pass right by the proposed Pointe marina to get to and from Prince George Dock. Strangely enough, this line is shown passing right through one of the boats.
5) The marina requires dredging of the harbor, and another newspaper article mentions that the sand taken from that dredging will be used for fill. So it would seem as if land filling is being planned in our harbor, and on the shores over our high water mark line by yet another private entity.
I urge the public to think back on when Prince George Dock was being dredged to accommodate the behemoth cruise ships, and the furor that elicited. How is this going to affect marine life, marine traffic and tide flow, and how will it impact the shoreline? Is the Bahamian public going to allow the taking away of another part of our birthright, or is this too a part of a concessionary agreement that has been conveniently left out of the public's eye, and slipped under the public's attention, in line with a "don't ask, don't tell" agenda?
Environmentalists, where are your loud voices on all of this? Bahamians, are we going to speak up?
6) Finally, with regard to the BAIC/BAMSI "requirements" from government for The Pointe to enter into discussions with same to develop "a list of Bahamian suppliers of quality goods, materials and food supplies..."
Let us remember the minister of agriculture's recent debacle in this regard, and be very aware that the foreign entity already has an acknowledged stake in the operation of BAMSI, although to what degree, unfortunately is anybody's guess. Rest assured, however, that the price will be "on point", because they will basically be buying from themselves.
So in conclusion, here, in the real world is a simple but frightening mathematics equation: China = plenty/Bahamas = lil bit to nuttin'.

- Pam Burnside

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