Let's not mix up the issue of access and vendors. We have a right to access the beaches as civilians for leisure. However, we don't have a right to set up a business where ever we please.

Are these vendors authorized to operate at this location? Do they have a business license and pay the appropriate fees related to operating a business? Do they have the appropriate facilities to support patrons (parking, washrooms, waste removal, emergency access)? Are they in compliance with the relevant codes (fire, health and safety)

We should be angry at our government, not the victim or Mr. Smith. Imagine you went to the USA on vacation and ended up getting locked up for 7 years with no court case.

If he only sued for 7 years of lost wages it wouldn't be significant enough to get the attention of the government to fix the system.

Are we shocked that our government and public institutions have failed us?

We keep electing the same parties into power thinking they will do better. We're stuck in the cycle of an abusive relationship. Next election vote for the individual, not the party and hold them accountable to their campaign promises. When they don't serve us well as leaders assemble together and demand their resignation. We hire politicians with our votes and they are paid with public money. We also have the power to fire them if they aren't doing their jobs well.

Cruiseships are horrible for our environment and economy

Looks better like this. The Government shouldn't be responsible for this. There are bigger fish to fry.

Should never have been legalized. Wouldn't be surprised if all this gun violence is linked to these gambling bosses.

Tell us who

These are the foot soldiers. To stop this the general/bosses/leaders of these groups need to be targeted.

Lack of education and poverty has created a large pool of desperate people who are easy to recruit and be made a pawn.

Slum under the bridge.

Curious if building codes are upheld in this area. I recall when the Government first built these stalls; they were simple. Over the years operators transformed the stalls into enclosed buildings. Do they follow the same health and safety codes as restaurants? Do they have proper ventilation, kitchen equipment, fire suppression, emergency exits etc...? I assume no, they don't even have a bathroom for you to wash your hands before eating.

The goal should be to elevate ourselves to the standard tourist enjoy on Paradise Island. Governments' only role should be to create an environment where private citizens are empowered to meet or exceed the standards they enforce.

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The more we invest in infrastructure for cruise ships the less bargaining power we will have. Cruise ships can threaten at any time to stop coming if we don't meet their demands and thise multimillion-dollar investments would be worthless without the cruise ships.

This is a trick and I hope the Government sees this. The cruise ships should pay for any infrastructure to support their operation. If Atlantis and Bahamar could sail away anytime things got tough Bahamas would be in rough shape.

The cruise ship industry is destructive to the Bahamas. How many Bahamian jobs per tourist is created by the cruise industry versus the hotel industry? Most of the people working on the cruise ships are foreigners.