EDITOR, The Tribune

Some have said that your opinion of the Andros project should be reserved until all that is proposed comes out.

This sounds like the doctor who, when getting you ready for a colonoscopy, says, “This won’t hurt. I’ll give you a sedative and you’ll sleep through the whole procedure and when you wake up all will be done.”

No, that’s not good enough. It has already been said that they propose mining the land for rock in the fresh water lens. This is not acceptable. So let’s start there.

Rock mined from fresh water is far more valuable than rock mined from salt water. But in order to get this, the fresh water table must be punctured. Andros is known for its fresh water.

Andros is called the breadbasket of The Bahamas. Once that lens is broken, generations of Bahamians yet unborn will no longer be able to grow their crops and till the land.

When the rock has been mined and sold abroad, most, if not all, of the profits will go abroad and Bahamians will be left with barren land. Look at the land in the United States where strip mining has been done. Not even wild animals can live on it.

Is this what we want to leave to our children? Nothing! Barren land!! Our great grandchildren will say, “Our forefathers were greedy, short-sighted and foolish!”

They say that some of the fresh water lens has already been contaminated. If this is so, there can only be two reasons: a hurricane has washed salt water into the lens or, someone has deliberately ruptured the lens.

If the contamination is caused by a hurricane, the salt will eventually evaporate and return the area to fresh water. If someone has deliberately ruptured the lens, the law should be applied, and those responsible should be brought to justice.

The proposal bothers me. In many ways it seems to be a carbon copy of other proposals. It’s not novel but seems to show up more often recently. We give away hundreds of thousands of acres to investors. In return, the very few local investors who participate are well-known, very influential, and powerful people. As soon as this happens everything is granted. Is this a part of the play? I hope not, although it has been quite successful in the past.

I sent a copy of my recent article on Andros to a friend of mine in Europe who has dealt with these kinds of investments in several countries all over the world. She wrote: “Communist China’s m/o is classic and successful. In Africa and Latin America, China finances and implements huge infrastructure projects.” She went on to say, “The Chinese communist implementers (including intelligence operatives) stay. The borrowers default on the loans and have to allow more Communist Chinese incursions.” She concluded by saying: “Communist Chinese economic sway equals political sway”. Do we remember Hong Kong?

Let me point out I have nothing against the Chinese people. They are some of the finest people I have ever known. I do, however, have a problem with any Communist government. It is contrary to our way of life and we should not let them get in a position of political and economic influence here.

Let’s think a little bit beyond our noses. Let’s think of our children and grandchildren. What are we leaving for them?

Next part of the proposal, please. Let’s take it one step at a time.

PIERRE V L DUPUCH

Former MP,

June 28, 2020