This is the reason I have said time and time again that we should do long term leases on private islands instead. We should never, ever sell our islands no matter how attractive the investment. If there is an end date to the lease, it will force them to come back to the table. They must also be made to respect the natural resources on the islands and forbid dredging, etc.

I am always weary when the voice of a few wealthy Bahamians try to stifle the freedom of ordinary struggling Bahamians make their own choices. Because a few well to do Bahamians scream, you punish the majority of people that placed you in office? Do not get too comfortable, if not people will be marching again soon but this time it will be the people that voted for the current administration voicing their dismay. Remember, it was the masses that put you there, not the few.

While at it, an estimated date for the reduction of VAT on bread basket items need to be released. If you cannot reduce the VAT now, then show respect to the masses that stood in the hot sun and voted you in and tell them whether it will be December 2017 or May 2018 or September 2018 etc. They deserve to hear an exact date as to when the VAT deductions will take effect. Stick to your promises and it will be an easy reelection. Disrespect the masses who placed you there and you will suffer the next big defeat.

They need to bring in the experts at FPL (Florida Power and Light). The power in Miami/Ft Lauderdale/West Palm only goes out during a hurricane. FPL engineers are such a short flight away. Bring them in! These island wide outages are unacceptable in 2017.

I agree. By the way, does anyone know exactly how many of our islands have been sold to wealthy foreigners as "private islands." Our islands are priceless and should never be sold. Lease yes, sold no. We soon won't be able to call them the Bahama Islands because we sold our islands away.

The majority of tourists coming to Freeport on The Celebration and Balearia head straight to Port Lucaya. They are told at the port, they can buy souvenirs and eat at restaurants. However, the one thing that they are desperately looking for is an experience and participation in our Bahamian culture. They want to feel and hear our culture. The Ministry of Tourism in partnership with the Ministry of Youth can immediately start providing jobs to talented young singers, dancers, bands to entertain at the Port Lucaya Square daily. I am even thinking of something similar in entertainment to the National Youth Choir and how they blend our culture with fantastic singing, costumes and great lively entertainment. It does not make sense to keep increasing the amount of airlines coming into Freeport or even Nassau if there is nothing to keep the tourists entertained. A happy tourist will tend to spend more. Studies show this to be true.

If the property owners on Bay Street are so cash strapped that they cannot afford some paint to paint the outside of their building, then they should not own a property on the main street paraded by thousands of tourists weekly. The buildings are dirty and no one in enforcing some kind of standard. I am sick of going on cruises and hearing the tourists saying that Nassau is dirty. Let's start cleaning up and revitilizing Bay Street. I do feel there needs to be something similar to Bayside with one exception. The buildings in Bay Street are historic and have been around since the 1800s. I think they should definitely implode the buildings east of East Street but those west of Bay Street have potential. Some can be turned into more pubs/bars/nightclubs to bring the Bahamian people back to Bay Street for entertainmant etc. Tourists too, will have something to enjoy rather than seeing just cheap t shirt stores. There is more than enough to shirts in the straw market to keep them happy.

I agree 'This is Yours'. There needs to be a team that walks through Bay Street weekly and cites buildings that need to be painted as well as roofs that need to be not just repaired but replaced. Kind of like a Homeowners Association (HOA) they have in almost all gated communities in Florida. The board of the association will walk around the area weekly and write up warnings to homeowners whose homes need painting or roofs need pressure cleaning etc. They give you 30 days to act on the warning if not the fines begin. If the fines are not paid within 90 days then it is sent to the court for the warning(s) to be enforced and for the fines to be paid. The store owners need to be held accountable for the condition of their properties. If they fail to follow some type of standards then shut it down and let someone else take over the property that can take pride in their ownership. The Ministry of Tourism should be pushing for this accountability. This is the first street tourists go to when they come off the ships and you can never make another first impression.

All the roofs on Bay Street are old and need to all be replaced with attractive hurricane style roofs. I have been saying that all store owners on Bay Street need to be governed by a separate agency associated with the Ministry of Tourism. Many of the buildings are in desperate need of a paint job and when they are painted they are painted in these dark colors next to a building that is painted in pink etc. It comes off as rather unattractive. In Cayman or even Barbados, there is a consistent color scheme with the buildings in the downtown area. If store owners are given a warning to paint their building and they do not, then they should be fined. This is the main street in the entire Bahamas and it should always look picture ready for the thousands of tourists that come there on a weekly basis. Right now, it is not an attractive place but an unattractive one in need of a desperate intervention.

Anytime the small man tries to make an honest buck in this country the "Haves" like Albury and Rupert tries to shut them down. This country is in desperate need for competition on groceries, clothing and yes, cars. If people have moved away from your business, it's because you are too expensive and in 2017 there are other available options for them including ordering online for them to choose from. Remember, we are not Cuba. We are supposed to be a free people, intelligent enough to make our own purchasing decisions. Stop complaining and get in the game and compete but don't try and "hog" all the business in your field. The small man wants to eat too.

How many Bahamian Islands are now owned by wealthy foreign nationals? Why are we marketing OUR islands as "private" islands and selling them off to the highest bidder. These islands are priceless and belong to the Bahamian people. They should never be sold, but leased. The overseeing government officials should require a significant amount of money to be held in a deposit escrow in the event the leasee does things like unauthorized dredging etc. We need an account as to how many of our islands and cays are foreign owned and how many are still left for the pleasure of the Bahamian people.