By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

CONCERNED residents say they are feeling powerless and violated as a 450-foot dredger from Europe named the Niccolo Machiavelli is expected this week to begin tearing up the seabed off the coast of Bimini in a government sanctioned action likely to destroy that area’s highly sensitive and “valuable” ecosystem.

Fred Smith, attorney for the environmental Save Bimini Association, said his organisation will sue the government for failing to act in accordance with legislative statutes demanding that residents be consulted before certain projects are initiated.

“The Italian Machiavelli was a political schemer so this dredger is aptly named,” Mr Smith said. “It represents the conspiracy between the government and the various developers as the government proves shortsighted and monumentally indifferent to the culture and society of what remains of Hemingway’s Bimini, the magic and lure of what remains of small fishing and the intimacy of what remains of small islands.”

The expected dredging comes as part of Resorts World Bimini’s controversial decision to construct a ferry terminal to accommodate the docking of its Bimini SuperFast ferry, a project that is already the subject of an ongoing court matter.

The resort’s plans are expected to continue despite a Court of Appeal Justice’s warning to developers that they should not continue with their plans as the matter faces a legal challenge.

According to Mr Smith, the project has been shrouded in secrecy, with repeated demands for information on permits issued and details about what exactly will be done going unmet.

“There has been no publication of any application for permits under the Coastal Protection Act or under the Town Planning Subdivision Act or other public meetings or notifications for an opportunity for people in Bimini to be consulted and to express their views on any applications,” Mr Smith said.

“Yes, there have been different public meetings but they have been held in a vacuum of information. It’s been form over substance, typically under the pretence of a meeting and consultation rather than actual consultation. For consultation to be meaningful and effective, there must be a sharing of plans ahead of time, giving those who have an interest an opportunity to properly consider the information and give a meaningful contribution to the process.

“The people of Bimini have been wandering in the dark while the government and the developers have been scheming at the expense of the environment and the culture of that beautiful island.”

“We’re going to be suing for judicial review,” Mr Smith said, adding that “the court action will teach central government a lesson, which is to stop making decisions and signing agreements that override local government decision making.”

“If there was a Freedom of Information Act and every opportunity provided for public consultation before deals are struck, Bahamian people would know what’s going on. But we are kept completely in the dark. This is not a criticism of the PLP. This is criticism of PLP and FNM. For decades, both of them have had an opportunity to do the right thing, but in continuing to do government business in secret, they have failed the people miserably.”

Mr Smith claimed that central government officials continually meet developers and sign onto agreements without regard for Parliamentary procedures. “It’s total lawlessness,” he said, adding: “Much of what we do is to try and reestablish the rule of law.”

Amid persistent calls from residents for a Freedom of Information Act to be enacted, Mr Smith said: “Neither the PLP nor the FNM has had the guts to empower Bahamians by passing a Freedom of Information Act so that we the people would know what the government is up to and who is making what profit at what expense and what prizes are given away for political capital.”

“We want a Freedom of Information Act so we could follow the money. I can guarantee you that many backdoor deals have been made, between who, I don’t know. But if we had a Freedom of Information Act and proper consultation then we would have a government of the people, by the people and for the people. At the moment, we have a government by the developers at the expense of the people as our politicians tow the line for tiny trinkets.”