By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
Foreign developers are forcing Bahamian taxpayers to “foot the bill” for defending their interests in Judicial Review actions brought by environmental activists, a well-known QC said yesterday.
Fred Smith QC, the Callenders & Co attorney and partner, said that by failing to actively participate in court hearings, developers were forcing the Government to defend their investments and projects on their behalf.
He argued that this situation, which had occurred over the Resorts World Bimini and $12 million Blackbeard’s Cay projects, was now being repeated in the legal battle over the Abaco Club’s Little Harbour marina project.
Mr Smith, who is acting for Responsible Development for Abaco (RDA) against the project, said that despite the developer’s attorneys, Higgs & Johnson, being present at every court hearing, they were not playing an active role.
As a result, he argued that the Abaco Club was forcing the Government to defend its interests, with Bahamian taxpayers having to cover its legal costs.
This interpretation was rejected by Tom Southworth, vice-president of development at Southworth Development, the Abaco Club’s main owner, who said any Government/taxpayer expenditure was only being incurred because of RDA’s legal action.
He told Tribune Business: “We’ve done everything the Government asked us to do, including multiple public hearings.
“RDA sued the Government with respect to the process, and now are complaining that the Government has to spend money to respond.”
But Mr Smith, referring to the Abaco Club’s response via Tribune Business to previous legal filings by RDA, said its comments should have instead “been put into evidence and relied upon in the court case”.
“They have been conspicuously absent in their participation,” Mr Smith told Tribune Business. “The Judicial Review process provides an opportunity for affected parties to be heard.
“In accordance with the court Order, we have sent them [the Abaco Club] all of the papers in the matter. Despite their attorneys being present at each hearing, they have said nothing and failed to participate.
“This highlights that the Bahamian taxpayer is always footing the bill with the Government defending proceedings on behalf of the developers, as with Blackbeard’s Cay and Bimini.
“It is high time that the Government of the Bahamas recognised it is not a Siamese Twin of foreign developers. It is high time the Government called on all these developers to foot their own bill in defending their secretive, closed doors, behind-the-scenes deal they both concoct.”
Mr Smith questioned who would benefit from the Abaco Club’s marina development, but emphasised that the RDA action was “all about process”, and the Government’s failure to follow its own statutory permitting/approval regimes - especially the need to consult with affected parties.
Pointing out that Southworth Development would have gone through such processes in the US and the UK, he added: “The Bahamas is no different.
“As a director of Save the Bays, I emphasise that Save the Bays, RDA, Save Guana Cay Reef Association, reEarth and all the NGOs are not against development; they simply wish for development to occur in accordance with the Planning and Subdivision Act and all the other legislation that provides for due process and fair hearings for all these developments, and all those affected.”
Mr Smith continued: “We’re not against development; we simply wish to be considered. Having little fly-by-night Town Meetings trying to bulldoze projects through, without taking into account the interests that will be affected, will only continue to generate legal challenges which, unfortunately, delays and prevents development and sustainable economic growth.”
Comments
alleycat 7 years, 8 months ago
Fred tells it like it is...
And Tommy Southworth tells it like it isn't - again. His "multiple public hearings" are actually three, and two of those were requested by Little Harbour, not by the developer or by Government.
The first was Jan. 2015, where Daddy Southworth said "I don't know" to most questions, and got the facts wrong on the others (like a maximum boat size of 35 feet, when half the slips- according to the plans - are for 50 to 60 foot boats). The second was Sept. 2015, where Tommy and co. said they would have a full time generator, R/O plant, and waste treatment plant, all of which Daddy denied a few days later. And the third was June 2016, where Tommy told everyone that Little Harbour was full of E. coli and unswimmable, which also got denied by Daddy a while later.
So nobody has ever even told us what they really plan to do, let alone asked us what we think about it. But by now, they've probably figured out what we think about it...
Likeitis 7 years, 7 months ago
Before he bought the Abaco Club in 2014, David Southworth requested (this is all in the Higgs & Johnson affidavit, which is part of public record) the following from the Bahamian Government. Residents don’t at present know how much of this ended up in the Heads of Agreement, but hopefully we will soon. We have requested this information, but have not received it. What they have asked for: Exemption from customs duty on all materials, equipment, etc. Exemption from stamp duties and excise taxes for all materials, equipment, etc. Exemption from property taxes for 30 years. Exemption from taxation of any earnings, including rentals etc., for 20 years. Waiver of customs duty and stamp tax on any vehicles, including golf carts. Waiver of customs duty on livestock. Waiver of taxes on fuel. Whatever Crown Grants they might need, plus dredging permits, plus permits to mine sand from Little Harbour to put on the golf course and Winding Bay beach. Also landing fee concessions at the airport 27 long-term work permits and residency cards.
We’re not saying they got all this – but who knows? But you can be sure they got a lot of it. And it adds up to a whole lot of money that is staying in the Developer’s pocket when it should be going into the Public Treasury. It makes you wonder, what exactly is the advantage of having them on Abaco for the Bahamas. All the advantages they have mentioned seem to have been covered in the points above. The BS Government is pushing this through aggressively, why? Who is making the money? because is isn’t the Bahamian People.
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