The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

JUST like out of a sandstorm, came the advertisements by the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism (MOT), in the media about them having to host the Bahamas Goombay Festival every Friday until August ends 2024.

Well, suffice it to say that Bay Street, the heart of commerce was selected as the venue, and on the busiest day of the work week (a time when businesses were busy preparing paychecks, and depending on the last minute shoppers traveling to the area by vehicle means and others bi-pedal-gait on foot, many shoppers will likely be deterred, when they sees the traffic gridlock)? But many have asked ‘how is this fair to the merchants of downtown, and the bottleneck traffic were such chaos, that many the public bus service also-were being forced to go-off-route, in order mitigate backups, lost in bus fares and this goes on year, after year with no tweaking ever taking place, not to exclude the tourists either trying to get to check in at their Paradise Island hotel, or making their way to the local International Airport, in Nassau?

I am not advancing the notion that the festival is bad for business and or to be cancelled, for it is a good way for the stall-owners to earn a couple of dollars, which I support wholeheartedly, rather I am attempting to point out that not everything should be held in the city center, consequently, disrupting even the Emergency Medical Service (EMS-was drastically inconvenienced, delayed, constricted, restricted, hampered, risking the lives of its patients, just what ought the costs be? For the sake of selling food and playing band music?) An ordinary course of doing business in the town is disrupted or without reasonable grounds, because so many parks, playing fields, Convention Halls, Clifford Park, Arawak Cay, where these matters could be hosted, but who will make the case to have this madness canceled and put to rest once and for all?

Haven’t made the foundation, what I would like to comment on is the fact that several articles had been published in your publication concerning the deplorable state of not only downtown, but those tiles and trust me, editor, there is something to be said about the level of grease that have gone into our cooking, some of the local cuisines will definitely cause a storm in the arteries, blood vessels subjecting them to have to screamed help, and general condition of one’s health. I know, writer, what are you talking about?

Prior to the start of this year’s Goombay festival, poor state and wear of the tiles on Bay Street (heavy tourists traffic areas), were centred around the garbage receptacles, and sadly, nothing has changed there, but the festival has deposited a new set of challenges from Charlotte to Parliament Streets on the southern side the shopping district, is laden with the black and grime after usage-cooking spilt-greases.

From what is unavoidable, can the authorities post a demand letter to the website of the hierarchies the Bahamas Ministry Tourism, requiring that they clean up their mess, after all, the festival they admitted was orchestrated by their ministry and therefore, the obligation is theirs to undertake, otherwise, what good is having a store like the John Bull Department (flagship) Store, an ideal example in Downtown Of What Stores Should be, and have put in the work daily (supervised from the top to the bottom), to be able to maintain its standards, whilst the promoters of our tourist product has not been holding up their bargain of the deal, but how come?

In conclusion, growing up in North Andros, my grandmother sought it so that we children knew how to wash, cook, clean and be able to properly iron our school uniforms, church clothing and for a reason, she said. You will need to know how to do it for yourselves, not expecting others to do it for you.

FRANK GILBERT

Nassau,

August 26, 2024.