Wednesday, July 9, 2025
EDITOR, The Tribune.
I was happy to see the grand opening of Celebration Key this month. It is an important step forward for our economy and a proud moment for Grand Bahama and for our entire nation. Any project that brings jobs, economic opportunity, and new life to our islands should be celebrated. But as a resident who’s followed this development closely from the beginning, I feel compelled to speak up: we must give credit where it’s due.
This $350m investment didn’t appear overnight. The groundwork for Celebration Key was laid under the Free National Movement. It was during their administration that the deal was initiated, land was secured, and the investment was first publicly announced. Years of negotiations, planning, and vision made what we’re seeing now even possible.
Crucially, the project received formal approval by the FNM, and the FNM administration signed and executed the Heads of Agreement with Carnival. That agreement laid the framework necessary to make Celebration Key a reality. Without it, there would be no project to celebrate today.
So yes, it may be opening under the current government, but it was born under the FNM.
That’s not a jab; it’s simply the truth. And if we want to foster a culture of transparency and good governance in this country, we must be willing to tell the whole story, not just the convenient parts.
Celebration Key is a win for The Bahamas, for Grand Bahama, and for the cruise tourism sector. But let’s not forget it’s also a reminder that bold ideas and long-term planning matter, and when those ideas take root under one government, it is dishonest for another to take all the credit.
We should all be proud. But let’s also be fair.
RYAN THOMPSON
Nassau,
July 6, 2025.
Comments
Porcupine says...
Yes, the more of The Bahamas we sell off to corporations and the rich, it doesn't matter which party sold out our land, water and heritage.
Jobs, jobs, low paying jobs.\
We need to learn about basic economics. The money that the cruise ships bring in, goes right out of this country.
It is all about ownership folks.
We haven't encouraged it, therefore we don't have it.
Posted 29 July 2025, 7:24 a.m. Suggest removal
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