The Tribune

Three days. That’s how old I was when I first became a part of Eleuthera, after my mum and I were discharged from PMH. I was raised on Eleuthera until the early 1980s when, like so many Eleutheran families, the financial and educational realities forced my family to move to Nassau. I was lucky with scholarships and received a graduate degree with a focus on economics. I returned home to Eleuthera to get married and we take our children there at every possible opportunity.

Ten years ago. In 2008 I had a television show on JCN called Dialogue. It came to my attention that Lighthouse Point (LHP) was being considered for a high-impact development by the foreign partnership of Meritage Hospitality Group and The Related Group. BREEF, an organisation committed to ensuring the sustainability of Bahamian fisheries and marine resources, sponsored our travel for a show highlighting South Eleuthera and this threat.

It was around that time I was made aware of a group of Eleutherans focused on ensuring that special space would not be exploited by foreign developers who would negatively impact the environment with little economic growth for South Eleuthera. They began planning for LHP to be held by the community, and then developed in an environmentally sensitive manner to ensure continued economic benefit for Bahamians. They created the report, “A Shared Vision for South Eleuthera” and eventually became what is now known as the One Eleuthera Foundation.

One week ago. That’s when I saw the unlikely results of the survey by Public Domain, which was paid by Disney to report on the Bahamian public’s opinion for their proposal to build a cruise ship port at LHP. I’ve conducted surveys around the world and have worked alongside Public Domain in the past, and know their technical capacity. When I saw the surprising results, I contacted them to say that while I appreciated their skills, I was greatly concerned about the way the questions were worded.

The highly biased wording of the survey shocked me. It began with a description taken from Disney’s PR materials, including this phrase “Disney has stated that they will protect and sustain the natural beauty of the site, provide economic opportunity for Bahamians, help strengthen the community and celebrate the culture of The Bahamas.” This would influence the respondent for all future questions in favour of Disney.

Alternatively, if someone was writing a survey against Disney, they could include equally biased phrases, which would lead the respondent to be opposed. For example: “A new cruise ship port is being proposed for South Eleuthera which already has two cruise ship ports within 15 miles of Bannerman Town, yet neither have managed to lessen the community’s economic woes. The negative environmental impacts of cruise ships are well known - the Disney Magic which travels to Castaway Cay, received an “F” on their report card for air pollution.”

In contrast, a non-leading phrase would have been: “Disney is proposing to add a new cruise port in Southern Eleuthera.” Many follow-up questions were additionally leading. I was concerned that not only were results of a skewed survey being circulated by the media as factual, but could potentially be used by Government as evidence that a decision to approve Disney’s development was in-line with what Bahamians wanted, regardless of the bias.

Five days ago. That was when my belief in Bahamian due process was crushed.

I flew to Eleuthera for the meeting in Green Castle advertised on the Prime Minister’s FB page (with only one day’s notice) to discuss “the development of the economies of Central and South Eleuthera”. As a local economist, I felt a duty to attend. I was warned there would be lots of people as a motorcade with Disney supporters greeted the PM at the airport. I showed up early and at 6:30pm was surprised as the government-advertised meeting commenced with a gentleman wearing a pro-Disney shirt saying welcome to the “pep rally” portion of the evening. Over the next 90 minutes, multiple speakers came to the microphone to discuss their positive thoughts regarding the proposal. At just past 8pm the PM’s entourage walked in, including MP Hank Johnson whose wife Shelly sat behind them, also wearing a pro-Disney shirt. The PM began to speak and started with good news about free education at UB and affordable housing options.

But, then, in a truly astounding display, he brought out a large printed poster from the Disney proposal. It was of the 2008 development I discussed above. He stated that 2008 project would have “caused more destruction than what is being looked at today” and insinuated that because no one stopped that project being approved, then “the argument about the destruction of the land will hold no water,” when discussing Disney’s plans today.

Regardless of the fact BREEF and others opposed the 2008 proposal, and resistance to it led to the creation of the One Eleuthera Foundation and development of an alternative sustainable development plan for South Eleuthera, it is perplexing that the Prime Minister held up a Disney poster to defend that a Disney proposal would seemingly not be disqualified even if shown to be environmentally detrimental. This shows a lack of willingness for Government to adhere to the due process of approving a foreign company’s development.The crowd was then asked to provide their input. In a disconcerting manner, this portion was moderated by a Disney-t-shirt wearing supporter. A variety of individuals from the community shared their stories of economic distress and how the proposal was providing them with a sense of hope.

Additionally, some South Eleutherans stood to share why they were not in support of Disney, but rather would prefer for a Bahamian-led partnership to develop the land. Those not in favour of the Disney proposal were shouted at when they tried to speak.

Appallingly, not a single government official stood to ask the crowd to quiet down and respect the speaker. Not MP Johnson, nor MP Mackey. Not Minister Johnson. Not the Prime Minister.

One of the most disturbing moments of the night occurred when a young woman, Charvette Strachan, shared how she felt talented young Eleutherans could be successful entrepreneurs and that a foreign company wasn’t required. Her comments were drowned out by the Disney supporters, in a clear attempt at intimidation, and no one from government intervened. Similarly, when Pastor Miller discussed his commitment to a Bahamian-solution for the situation, boos were allowed to continue without official intervention.

Before the meeting ended, the PM stated that LHP is privately owned. However, survey maps from Department of Land and Surveys show there are portions of Crown Land, and the seabed which would be used for a pier and marina, is fully under Government control. Unless those designations have changed, the Prime Minister seemed unaware of all the land ownership being discussed.

Today. The Prime Minister failed to attend the Lighthouse Point Partners (representatives from BNT, the Leon Levy Preserve and One Eleuthera Foundation) meeting on Friday to hear their proposal. His comments at the town meeting indicated he had incorrect information. He stated that environmental factors will not be considered in the decision-making process. Previous activities include a biased survey being used as evidence of the public’s support and an OPM-advertised Town Hall Meeting which was led by Disney-supporters during which other pro-Disney folks tried to stop LHP-Partners’ supporters from having their voices heard. No Due Process.

The Future. Tomorrow, the Prime Minister has stated that Cabinet will vote on whether or not to initially approve Disney’s proposal. Given the lack of due process to date, this would be a sad example of a government putting aside their stated commitment to transparency and accountability.

However, I suggest that, at a minimum, the factors above highlight the need for additional time, so all facts are available for consideration before a rushed decision is made.

In 2017, Minister D’Aguilar stated: “Previous governments have given these cruise ships these islands, and they take the tourists to these islands and that’s not really helping Bahamians.”

This government has a unique opportunity to create a new legacy – moving away from the old model which puts profits in the pockets of foreign corporations like Disney, and instead believing in our people and moving towards a sustainable development proposed by Eleutherans and other Bahamians for the economic empowerment of the country.

• Etoile Pinder is a social sector analyst and consultant who has worked on a multitude of labour, education, health and social protection projects for the World Bank, UNICEF, WHO and governments spanning the globe, including here in The Bahamas. She is an expert in using survey research and data analysis to create evidence-based policies which improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government spending.