The Tribune

EDITOR,The Tribune.

ABOUT ten years ago I wrote the Rt Hon Perry Christie informing him the government was about to destroy one of the most historic sites in Acklins by giving a purchase lease of the site to a non-Bahamian. Mr Christie did not reply to my letter but a civil servant called me to say that my letter to Mr Christie was passed on to him, and that as soon as Mr George Mackey, Chairman of the Antiquities and Monuments, returned to Nassau from a trip to the United States they wanted to visit the site in Acklins.

A month later Mr Mackey, Dr Tinker and two other men arrived in Acklins on a Charter flight and I took them to Mason’s Bay to view the site. On the top of the hill was a fort, a look out post and slave master’s mansion. On the side of the hill were a number of small huts. These were all in good condition except their roofs were all gone.

The delegation took photographs of the area. The government did nothing to protect this site.

Why was I so concerned about this site? We often refer to the late Sir Lynden Pindling as the “father of the nation”. Research may show that this site was a slave plantation and the Bains of Mason’s Bay were descendants of slaves who lived and worked on this plantation. The late Sir Lynden’s mother, Viola Bain Pindling, was born at Mason’s Bay.

If Mr Christie had taken time to check, he may have been shocked to discover that this land transaction, started under the Ingraham administration, had a very irregular side to it.

Today in Acklins dozens of families have been living on Crown Land for years and have applied to purchase these properties and have received no reply from the government.

A few weeks ago Mr Christie visited Acklins to inspect the progress of road work being done from the Airport to Salina Point. Over the last ten years the people of Salina Point and others travelling to that settlement have suffered tremendous hardship because of the condition of that public highway.

In 2006 the government gave a contract for the reconstruction of that stretch of the main highway to men who had no knowledge of road building. When the government changed in 2007 this contract was cancelled.

At the time of this cancellation the road was in a worse condition than before work started in 2006. Millions of dollars of public funds were wasted.

In 2016 the government gave a contract to a road building company, and work is proceeding. This contract will cost the Bahamian taxpayer more than four times the amount thrown away on the first contract.

To justify this expenditure the government suddenly remembered that twenty years ago I suggested a plan to build a cruise ship port in the area. My plan was not for the government to build the port, but for it to be done by private investors.

According to Mr Christie the Government will construct the cruise ship port at Salt Pond Bight which is about seven miles to the South West of Salina Point. Unfortunately, Mr Christie did not stop there. He said the Government will also construct a Defence Force Base, dredging the salt pond in the area.

That salt pond was one of the reasons I suggested the cruise port be built in the area.

The salt pond is a habitat for wild birds, and in fact, is the only land based tourist attraction within seven miles from the nearest settlement. In fact, this pond is the second largest flamingo habitat on Acklins, and dredging this pond which contains small crabs, fish and brine shrimp on which the wild birds feed will destroy this habitat.

Mr Christie you have no need to destroy one of the natural attractions on Acklins to win the next election in MICAL. If you consult the Bahamas National Trust they would tell you that your proposal to dredge the pond is unwise.

Finally, twenty years ago I took a group of men to Acklins to visit this area.

They included a marine engineer, a representative from a cruise ship line, an architect and a financial consultant.

Under the FNM administration I wrote a letter to Mr Frank Watson bringing this proposal to his attention. About two years ago I spoke to Mr Obie Wilchcombe on the same matter.

Twenty years ago I had plans drawn up for this development, and no one from the government asked me to see these plans.

Mr Christie, before you commit millions of taxpayer dollars to this scheme, please ensure that you understand what you are doing.   

A LOFTUS ROKE

Nassau,

February 22, 2017.