Just read the “public” document ...

From what I can gather, neither of these Comments are accurate in that there is no Beachfront Land being Granted, merely Inland Scrub being Leased for Tanks, not purchased, and no Employees (Foreign or Bahamian) are getting "any" Exemptions, merely the opportunity to lease or purchase Staff Housing at Preferential Rates. Why would this be bad for us?

Every now and again, I force myself to read what this self proclaimed literary genius has penned and am consistently amazed that such rambling and lengthy drivel has been afforded news print. However, as a Seaman, I am even more shocked that a “supposed” Sailor would see fit to reward and praise what can only be incompetence or outright negligence on a job that by definition requires expertise as a matter of life and death and worse, take offense to our Prime Minister chastising such incompetence. With all the modern technology and tidal information available to a Captain of a sophisticated and modern military Vessel today, it is inexcusable to “run aground”. The fact that we are forced to bear the cost of such incompetence and/or negligence requires the strongest reprimand, as this epitomizes what is wrong with this Country where you can get away with virtually anything without consequence.

I agree, this hardly looks adequate or appropriate for “Public Access” to the Islands most most popular Beach.

From what I can see, the Beach Front is not only “private” (not Crown), but too limited in width to be attractive. The only Crown Land involved is inland scrub, and apparently will be leased, so no Homes going to be built on that either, not that even the Developer would want to build within its industrial facility.

Well explained John. The Sharks are being trained somewhat like Pavlov’s Dogs. In many places now the Sharks are accustomed to the sound of boat engines and simply congregate when the boat comes to a stop in anticipation of their next meal. Just check out the “serious” Sharks permanently hanging out now under the Docks in the Mainas at Clarence Town and Hawks Nest. Anyone accidentally falling off either of those Docks will be devoured in seconds, no exaggeration. These are not “passive” Nurse Sharks like at Highbourne, Compass and Staniel Cays, these are truly the bad boy apex predators!

Contrary to the first 2 comments, I consider the DPM’s remarks well founded, as in a “perfect” World, which unfortunately The Bahamas has long since ceased to be, we could “cherry pick” our Inward Investment Projects, but those days are long gone, so if we are to survive (literally given our murder rate), we need to diversify our Economy to take advantage of virtually “any” Inward Investment Projects ... and then set about trying to strike “as best” a balance as we can, whether it be the Enviroment, Foreign Labor, Foreign Products, Land Ownership, Businesses and Professions traditionally reserved for Bahamians, you name it ... we need to simply get “real”, ... if we are to survive, much less prosper.

The whole of Grand Bahama is completely flat comprising of non-tropical pine barrens with low lying foliage beneath, sadly damaged by repetitive forest fires. The point is this is not “prostine” land, hence why Freeport exists in the first place, as GB was designated our “Industrial” Island in the hope of exploiting the assets it dioes possess, namely deep water and proximity to the US from a commercial perspective, precisely what Oban has said it is looking to do. Yes it has a nice beach running along the South Coast, but my understanding is the piping will run beneath and emerge inland away from the beach where the actual facility will be built, unlike either of the existing two facilities that are both on the Coast.

This Guy is a true “Nutter” spouting off complete and utter nonsense ... and it is distressing that both Dailies saw fit to publish on their respective front pages! I am all for environment, but I detest dishonesty, indeed outright lying in the public domain, as put simply, it is dangerous in a culture of free speech by spreading misinformation in an effort to exploit the less informed. In brief, there is no “gift” of Crown Land occurring from what I can gather, indeed a rent of well over a Million $’s per year is to be paid by way of Lease, not freehold, for what we Bahamians would refer to as “scrub land” ... anything but pristine! Further there is nothing but wide open Ocean to the “South” of the proposed Site ... and Sweeting’s Cay is 20 miles away!! Such lack of basic Geography by a “Teacher” no less certainly explains why are our educational system is in such a dire state today! Worse, by espousing: “end the tired and broken “neo-plantation” development model”, this “Teacher” actually infers a return to slavery ... highlighting regrettably that this “Teacher” is not very astute in English and/or History either!!! As for anyone being held for “ransom”, this is ridiculous and nothing more than exaggerated hyperbole, but not as disgusting as using unfounded reference to people suffering from cancer to misrepresent a point of view. Indeed, if this “political” Organization that originated from a dispute between 2 Billionaire Neighbors in Lyford Cay is to have any future credibility, a Resignation of this “Nutter” is in immediate order.

For the sake of our International Reputation, Govt. can not simply renege on this Deal on account of outcry from various Special Interest Groups opposing, none, or very few at least, appear to actually be from East End Grand Bahama. All Govt. needs to do is work with the Developer to ensure Best Prcatices are adhered to and all effort is made to mitigate any Enviromental Impacts. By doing so, this Project will be “head and shoulders” above the other 2 Oil Facilities on Grand Bahama and in turn, will hopefully help the Island emerge from the Economic Depression that has engulfed the Island for well over 10 years now. As for the nature of the Project itself, namely Oil, Grand Bahama is our Island designated for such industrial development, so unless we are going to put a “Closed for Business” on an already “depressed” Island, we need to work to not only ensure Onan is a success, but encourage many more Oban’s to invest in Grand Bahama.