The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

ENVIRONMENTAL activist Joseph Darville yesterday criticsed Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis for comments he made last week regarding Disney's proposed development at Lighthouse Point in South Eleuthera.

"That is one of the most craziest statements I've ever heard," the Save the Bays chairman told The Tribune.

He was referring to Dr Minnis' comment during a town hall meeting last week in which he said: "The argument about the destruction of the land will hold no water."

Mr Darville's comments come amid concerns Disney's project is gaining traction in the absence of a completed environmental impact assessment.

He continued: "Environmental concerns do matter because if we're not going to have an EIA and to establish exactly the damage that is going to be done, then it means that we are not using wisdom, we're not using heart and we're not using intelligence. And so to make a statement like that…it is one of the most ridiculous statements one could ever utter publicly, it does matter.

"If you've gone there it is like you're in heaven," he said, referring to Lighthouse Point.

He said the older generation must be mindful to leave a protected environment for future Bahamians.

"...We got to be mindful that we've got to leave something for them of beauty in this country," he said.

During the town hall meeting last week, Dr Minnis insinuated the argument that Disney's project could damage the environment of the 700-acre peninsula in South Eleuthera would not sway the government as it weighs approving the project.

He said at the time this was because a more damaging project - one that never materialised - was approved for the area in 2008 under the FNM government of Hubert Ingraham, of which he was a Cabinet minister.

"In 2008, a project was approved for South Eleuthera which allowed dredging and multiple canal networks in that same property," he said last week, "dredging of the salt pond into the ocean, creation of marinas for mega yachts, provision of land for different homes, boutiques, etc, and this was what was approved for that property and some may argue that the land will be destroyed but this project which was approved would've caused more destruction than what is being looked at today.

"...The argument about the destruction of the land will hold no water."

Dr Minnis' statement at the time was thought to be a blow to environmental groups like the Bahamas National Trust, reEarth and Waterkeepers Bahamas which have sought to block Disney's development and promote efforts to preserve the Lighthouse Point property. In 2008, a joint venture between The Related Group and Mortgage Hospitality Group for an 884-acre site in south Eleuthera was approved in principle. That proposed project, which came amid the recession, never took off.

Dr Minnis also sought to diminish expectations that the government could intervene to preserve the Lighthouse Point property. "The other thing which is very significant which is important for you to recognise is that the property in question is not owned by government," he said. "It's private property, one private investor selling to another. The government's responsibility is to ensure its people get the maximum benefit."