Widespread Environmental Degradation at the Sandyport Development - western New Providence Island, The Bahamas

Sandyport owner Hugh Buckner on the question of  Environmental Degradation at the Sandyport Development: ...it must not be overlooked that since the late 1970's he has secured all the requisite approvals from the relevant Bahamas government agencies

A Bahamas Environment Science and Technology (BEST) Commission report reveals that most of the wetlands in the area have been destroyed as a result of the development

Sandyport Bombshell

By Candia Dames

Nassau, The Bahamas

19/02/2004

Government documents obtained in a Journal investigation speak to the widespread environmental degradation officials say was caused by the Sandyport Development in western New Providence.

But Sandyport owner Hugh Buckner told the Journal that it must not be overlooked that since the late 1970's he has secured all the requisite approvals from the relevant government agencies.

A Bahamas Environment Science and Technology (BEST) Commission report reveals that most of the wetlands in the area have been destroyed as a result of the development.

The report was completed in compliance with the National Economic Council's directive which "invited the Minister of Health to cause the BEST Commission, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Works and Utilities and the Department of Physical Planning, to undertake a full review of the Sandyport development."

The wetland ecosystem at the development is approximately 98 percent destroyed and with the remaining wetland being slated for destruction all waterfowl habitat in that area will be lost, the report said.

"Due to the advanced stage of the Sandyport development and the destruction of approximately 98 percent of the wetlands, there is no benefit to the environment should the project be stopped," the report said, "unless extensive restoration attempts were made for the wetlands habitat which at this point is not a practical solution."

But Mr. Buckner on Tuesday insisted that his development has not been bad for the environment.

"We have the full permission of The Bahamas government to do what we've been doing," he said.  "Maybe the different departments should start talking to each other."

He also said that any information that his development has caused the destruction of 98 percent of wetlands in the area is erroneous.

Mr. Buckner said that while the environment may have changed as a result of his development, it has changed for the better.

"It's very beautiful and super," he said of the environment at Sandyport.  "I'm amazed at this complete ignorance and nonsense [of some people]."

BEST also documents a refuse-dumping problem at Sandyport.

"Since the verbal requests to remove the refuse and dispose of it at the sanitary landfill were not heeded, a public health order was served on 9th September 2003," the report added.  "If the problem is not rectified, then a submittal for prosecution will be made.  It should be noted that The Bahamas is a signatory to the RAMSAR Convention which has a mandate for the protection and wise-use of waterfowl habitat."

The broad aim of the RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands is to halt the worldwide loss of wetlands and to conserve those that remain through wise use and management.

The document also notes that the presence of solid waste and its reuse for fill at the site is a violation of the Environmental Health Act and posses a potential health issue as the decomposition of the trash will result in flammable gases seeping from the ground.

Last September, a group of inspectors from within the Ministry of Health and Environment toured the development and documented that several large mounds of contaminated fill (soil and garbage) were present on the eastern portion of the development.

But Mr. Buckner said that outsiders have been dumping at the site, a claim the report acknowledged.

The report supports claims that have been made in recent weeks by the Coalition To Save Clifton, an environmental group led by Senate Vice President Rev. C. B. Moss, who recently challenged Mr. Buckner, to "stop dodging and come clean" about his development.

The BEST report said, "Impacts to the groundwater may be created due to the apparent bulk heading of the marina only to the water level in some areas."

But Mr. Buckner said, "That is quite untrue."

In the latest phase of the development, Sandyport executives are seeking to build a road.  According to Lawrence Glinton, supervisor of construction for the Sandyport development who was named in the report, a portion of the wetland has been designated for a 40-foot road.

The report said that minimal healthy wetland areas remain on site, the most significant area running along West Bay Street from behind a nearby church to the limits of the Super Value property.

The BEST Commission report recommends that "the wetland system at the boundary of West Bay Street be maintained and restored and the proposed road either eliminated or realigned if possible to accommodate the entire east-west wetland area from Super Value to the back of the church to be preserved."

It also said, "The bulk heading of the marina areas to the east of the property may have profound flooding implications for the residents of Skyline Drive subdivision and Gambier as it may prevent the natural underground water flow during heavy rains and hurricanes.  It should be noted that Sandyport wetlands were the natural exist for large volumes of water to the sea prior to the construction of the Sandyport development."

Indicating that flooding relief should be provided to residents who live near Sandyport, the report adds that, "alternatives to the hard bulk heading on the eastern boundaries should be investigated to avoid exacerbating the flooding of residences surrounding Sandyport and provisions should be made to facilitate any upstream storm water, particularly from the east and west of the development."

Mr. Buckner pointed out that, "There are probably three public highways, not one of them has a drain.  The road to Super Value was built before our development and there is no drain."

In 1976, Sandyport Development Company Limited was granted approval to purchase approximately 142 acres of land to sub-divide and resell as multi and single-family lots.  A condition of the approval was that the Sandyport Bridge, at the junction of West Bay Street, be constructed before the first lot was sold.  The bridge is in place and, to date, Sandyport has sold a total of 350 multi and single-family lots.

Sandyport recently completed a $48.9 million shopping centre called Olde Towne, which includes 22 retail spaces owned primarily by small Bahamian businesses, restaurants, office space and approximately 50 apartments.

In August 1994, the National Economic Council granted approval for Sandyport Marina Beach Club and Resorts Limited to construct a timeshare and hotel resort.

A memo to Prime Minister Perry Christie from the Ministry of Financial Services and Investments said, "Regarding the environmental impact of the Sandyport Development, the BEST Commission has advised that the Sandyport Development was approved prior to the creation of the BEST Commission and thus no Environmental Impact Assessment would have been done. 

"Various government agencies would have issued permits for work to begin.  The BEST Commission recommends that a review be done of the conditions listed on the permits issued by the Department of Physical Planning and Ministry of Works and Utilities."

But Mr. Buckner insisted that his company conducted an EIA that addressed all environmental concerns and the government accepted that Sandyport would not have posed a significant threat to the environment.

Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Senator, Edison Key Resignation from The Senate

Edison Key on Perry Christie and his poor leadership and lack of direction

PLP Senator Resigns

By Candia Dames

candiadames@hotmail.com

Nassau, The Bahamas

17/02/2004

Slamming the government of Prime Minister Perry Christie for what he called poor leadership and lack of direction, Progressive Liberal Party Senator Edison Key has resigned from the upper chamber.

"I've had it up to my eyeballs," Mr. Key said in an exclusive interview with the Bahama Journal Monday.

He said his letter of resignation - dated January 10 - was hand delivered to the prime minister's office, but he said he has not received any kind of reaction from Mr. Christie.

"I had hoped that Mr. Christie would have printed my resignation in full to the media so that the Bahamian people could see exactly why I resigned," Mr. Key said.

But Prime Minister Perry Christie told the Journal Monday evening that Mr. Key was revealing something to the Journal that he (Mr. Christie) was not aware of.

"I am not in receipt of a resignation from Mr. Key," the prime minister said.  "I have not seen it and I have asked my office to put a trace on it.  He has not telephoned me.  Anyone who has given as much to the PLP as Edison Key has should not demit public office in this way.  He has been a warrior.  He has the greatest admiration from me.  I am surprised that he has chosen to do it this way."

Mr. Key said that he has only been invited to one parliamentary meeting since May 2002.

"I don't feel like I need to waste any more of my life mixed up with this crew here," he said.  "I wish them well but I think they're in for a rude awakening at the end of the journey."

Although Mr. Key said he resigned five weeks ago, there has been no announcement from the government to this effect.

"I am very disappointed in the government and the leadership," Mr. Key said.  "I really serve no purpose in this new government."

But he was quick to add that he planned to remain a member of the PLP.

"I've been a part of the PLP from 1970," Mr. Key reminded.  "I've been through all the struggles and trials and tribulations.  I ran here in Abaco when you [would have been considered] an outcast to even identify with the PLP, especially a white man in an all white area."

When asked how he would characterize the performance of the Christie government since it came to power in May 2002, the former senator said, "On a scale of one to 10?  Maybe a three."

He said he was shocked that the prime minister has kept secret his resignation.  Members of the Senate reportedly did not know up to Monday that Mr. Key was no longer a senator.

"If you notice, it's all about Christie," he charged.  "I wish him well.  I don't want to say too much bad about him."

He added, "I'm surprised that the prime minister hasn't called me.  He hasn't responded to it.  I haven't gotten anything in writing from him.  I'm very disappointed and I just wish them well, but I have had it up to my neck bone."

Mr. Key said he did not feel valued as a senator.

"I've turned in dozens of applications and recommendations and not one of them has been acknowledged in over a year and a half," he said.  "There is no use me wasting my time...I'm not 16 anymore and there is no use me being a part of something that I'm on the outside of and I don't know what's going on. I'm a senator."

He also spoke to what he indicated was the uselessness of the senate.

"The senate has only met several times since the new government [came to office]," he said.  "It's a waste of money for the senators not to be a part of the overall decision making in the country.

"The government only expects when they send bills up there [for senators] to support whatever they send.  It's a rubber stamp and it needs to be considered whether the senate needs to stay in its present form or senators be elected so that they can speak their minds and say what they want to say."

Mr. Key served as a senator in the former PLP government from 1977 to 1982 and 1987 to 1992.  He also served as a Member of Parliament from 1982 to 1987 and 1992 to 1997. Mr. Key also served as chairman of the Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation from 1985 to 1992.

Corruption Rocks The Bahamas Electricity Corporation - BEC

Corruption Rocks BEC

ByCandia Dames

candiadames@hotmail.com

Nassau, Bahamas

10/02/2004

 

 

The Bahamas Electricity Corporation lost about $100 million over the last five years as a result of businesspersons and BEC employees working in cahoots in an unscrupulous practice that involves meter tampering.

 

New figures reveal that BEC lost $18.54 million in 2003 in non-technical losses.  New Providence accounted for $14.79 million in losses and the Family Islands made up for the remaining $3.75 million.

 

This serious leak in the corporation's revenue has reportedly been having a direct negative impact on the corporation's profitability for decades.

 

As a result, BEC is in the process of installing new electricity consumption meters, which can be read remotely and automatically, reducing errors and consequential queries.

 

The meters will be installed at all residences in the Bahamas and in the Family Islands that get their electricity from BEC.  The corporation is also putting in place a more high-tech system to cut back on the losses suffered when BEC workers under read the meters of commercial clients reportedly for kickbacks.

 

BEC officials expect that this will also result in reduced labour costs, a reduction in the need to estimate bills and a reduction in customer service queries as well as an improvement in revenue.

 

The losses occur as a result of wrongful actions taken by some employees in reading residential meters, but primarily among commercial clients, the Journal has learnt.

 

According to documents obtained by the Bahama Journal in a recent investigation, over the last five years, BEC's operating and administrative expenses had an average increase of 42 percent.

 

But the corporation's revenues increased by only 37 percent during the same period.

Actuaries have warned that the disparity in those two figures would create serious concerns for BEC unless the problem is arrested.

 

Corporation officials, who have put in place aggressive measures over the last year to make BEC more efficient, are said to be concerned as well about abuse of overtime and stealing within the corporation.

 

The Journal has learnt that while BEC still has a lot of house cleaning to do, some turnaround is already evident.

 

According to documents, accounts receivables improved by about $40 million as of the end of September 2003, standing at about $60 million, compared to $104 million the year before.

 

But while BEC makes what management has called much-needed strides to improve efficiency, it is faced with reaching conclusion on a new industrial contract for members of the Bahamas Electrical Workers Union.

 

The union is making several demands, including wage increases and improved pension fund benefits. BEC employees make no contributions to their pension fund.

 

As it stands now, the corporation contributes what would amount to 13 percent of each worker's salary to the fund.

 

But a recent actuarial report determined that the plan is under funded to the tune of $22 million. The corporation this year plans to make up that shortfall by increasing contributions to 16.6 percent.

 

This would amount to an annual increase in contributions made by the corporation from $4.5 million to $5.7 million.

 

However, the union is reportedly demanding that that amount be raised to 26.2 percent, which would mean a contribution of $7.6 million.

 

Because of the increases it plans to make as a result of actuarial realities, the corporation says it is in no financial position to address the union's request for a change in the actuarial rate.

 

Both sides are also said to be locking horns over a proposed merit pay system, which would reward employees, beginning in the third year of the contract, salary increases between 3 percent and 8 percent according to their on-the-job performance.

 

The corporation estimates that the new industrial contract would cost BEC an additional $16 million over a four-year agreement; but the union is reportedly demanding a $26.9 million increase.

 

Now faced with mounting pressure from the BEWU's leadership, BEC's board executives continue to point to what they say are realities they simply cannot ignore.

 

But the board, led by former banker Al Jarrett, continues to highlight its key accomplishments, like refinancing Inter-American Development Bank multi-currency loans, which will save BEC tens of millions of dollars in interest and exchange rate costs.

 

Other achievements are an historic reduction in electricity rates throughout the Bahamas, which executives say has had a major economic impact on the entire Bahamian economy.

 

There is also now a 3 percent interest payment on all customer deposits; Major savings in oil storage facilities from the signing of a new five-year contract last July; and major savings from the signing of a new five-year oil contract.

 

Mr. Jarrett, who came to the corporation promoting a partnership between BEC's management and union, is now facing increasing accusations from union leaders that he is anti-union.

 

At a recent corporation function, the Chairman said, "We must pay closer attention to the issues that divide us by creating more dialogue with staff members at all levels. We must listen more - be more focused on the vision and the mission, rather than tearing down each other."

Insurance Companies in The Bahamas Unite to Fight Against Colina Insurance Company Acquisition of Canada Life and Imperial Life

The insurance companies have banded together in an attempt to prevent Colina from getting regulatory approval to acquire Canada Life and Imperial Life

Insurance Row Heats Up

Candia Dames

candiadames@hotmail.com

Nassau, The Bahamas

09/02/2004

A group of insurance firms fighting two pending acquisitions by Colina Insurance Company is charging that the Registrar of Insurance Companies reported "erroneous" information to the Cabinet Secretary.

The 10 companies, in a response letter to Secretary Wendal Major, said the Registrar, Roger Brown, drew some unfortunate conclusions on the market share that Colina might enjoy if the transactions were approved, by using the combined health and ordinary life premium levels as a benchmark.

Mr. Brown had written to Mr. Major accusing the companies of lying in a recent PowerPoint presentation to Prime Minister Perry Christie. Mr. Brown also said that their charge questioning the actions of his office as it relates to Colina "is most damning".

The insurance companies have banded together in an attempt to prevent Colina from getting regulatory approval to acquire Canada Life and Imperial Life.  Although there was a media report last week that Colina received approval for Canada Life, there has been no confirmation or announcement in this regard.

Mr. Brown said it was "misleading and or derogatory" for the insurance firms to say that Colina will control 70 percent of the ordinary life insurance market.

In his letter, he said, "The use of the potential 70 percent market share statistic is somewhat disingenuous as in the local insurance market the different companies (other than Laurentide and Atlantis Medical) do not sell just one product."

He informed that, "Life & Health companies sell a variety of products and in this market "market share" is determined by the gross premium income from all Life & Health products."

Mr. Brown said that if all the acquisitions were approved Colina would control 43 percent of the total Life & Health market.

But the companies in their letter to Mr. Major, dated February 4, said it appears that the Registrar "has missed the point entirely."

"Our concern is not only on the level of premium income in the insurance industry controlled by any one entity but is also based on the fact that the transaction, if approved, will create an entity that will control very significant long-term financial assets with significant implications for correlation of the capital markets of the Country."

The Registrar provided Mr. Major a breakdown of the gross premium income of Life & Health companies, but the group of companies against Colina's acquisitions said this information was erroneous.

They said the breakdown in the letter understated Colina's premium income.

"All the premiums would have to be placed on a more comparable basis for the calculations on market share to be accurate or meaningful," they said.

The Registrar, who wrote to the Cabinet Secretary on January 8, said when his office received a report that Colina was soliciting business before its license was approved, letters to cease and desist were immediately sent out.

"In addition, a meeting was held with the principals of the company and a warning given directly that they must stop whatever they were doing," Mr. Brown wrote.

The companies said this action by Colina "speaks poorly of the controls, procedures and corporate governance standards of Colina."

Given that as of January 8, the Registrar's Office had not seen a signed Heads of agreement or a Purchase Agreement, the companies said, "In view of that reality, we do not understand how it was possible for the [Office of The Registrar of Insurance Companies] to approve the letter sent under date of December 1, 2003 by Imperial Life to the affected policyholders.

"This is particularly in light of the fact that Imperial's letter stipulated a deadline which clearly would have been arrived at long before the ORIC could even begin to review the merits and implications of the proposed transaction."

Fighting Colina's acquisitions are executives of Atlantic Medical Insurance Limited; Bahamas First Holdings Ltd; Fidelity Bank & Trust International Limited; British American Insurance Company; Insurance Management (Bahamas) Ltd; Sunshine Insurance Ltd; Family Guardian Insurance Co. Ltd; Security & General Insurance Co.; J.S. Johnson & Co. Ltd.; and RoyalStar Assurance Ltd.

Customs Officer Accused Of Terrorizing Investors

By Candia Dames

candiadames@hotmail.com

Nassau, Bahamas

09/02/2004

Customs officials have reassigned a senior officer who had been stationed at Ocean Cay, near Bimini after he clashed with an executive of the AES Corporation, which operates an aragonite mining operation there.

 

In a report to Customs Comptroller John Rolle, Sandy Stubbs, the officer involved in the recent incident, said he feared for his life due to the "aggressive attitude and action" of AES Project Director Aaron Samson.

 

But Mr. Samson, whose company is also seeking the government's permission to build a liquefied natural gas plant on the cay, has denied that he was out of order in dealing with the customs officer, who he claimed was "terrorizing" AES workers.

 

The Customs Comptroller said that his officers are investigating the incident to determine exactly what happened and who may have acted improperly.

 

The whole matter stemmed from another incident that happened weeks earlier.

 

AES officials reportedly believe that Mr. Stubbs, who was stationed on the cay on a rotational one-month basis, was a good friend of a Bahamian AES worker who had been suspended by his supervisor. It is believed that Mr. Stubbs held a grudge against company officials.

 

Following the suspension, Mr. Stubbs allegedly ordered that AES Operations Manager Bruce Fitzgerald and diesel mechanic, Johnny Stott, be deported even after Immigration authorities on Bimini assured him that the expatriates had the necessary documents for their employment in The Bahamas.

 

But Mr. Stubbs insists that he was following proper procedures.  He reportedly confined the men to their quarters for hours then redirected an AES charter plane back to the United States with the workers on board.

 

Mr. Samson flew to Ocean Cay the following day to deal with the matter, which was reported to Trade and Industry Minister Leslie Miller and made an informal complaint to the Customs Department.

 

In his report, Mr. Stubbs said that Mr. Samson asked him to meet him at the AES office so that he could call the Minister, who had reportedly asked Mr. Samson to get the customs officer on the phone.

 

But Mr. Stubbs said he wanted to first call Customs headquarters in Nassau to inform authorities about the situation.

 

"I spoke to Mr. Miller and relayed the incident to him," he wrote. "Mr. Miller agreed with me for following instructions and procedures. However, he did ask if I could be more lenient with them (AES). He then went on to tell me about the LNG project in details and the benefits of such a project."

 

Minister Miller recently told the Bahama Journal that AES is "very close" to getting approval for the LNG project and the government expects to bring in millions of dollars annually as a result of the investment.

 

Mr. Stubbs said Minister Miller also asked him to come and see him when he came to Nassau.

 

Minister Miller confirmed to the Journal that he did speak with Mr. Stubbs regarding the incident, but he suggested that Mr. Stubbs may have exaggerated it.

 

The Minister also said he asked the customs officer to treat the foreign investors "in a delicate manner and with respect".

 

"I stated to him that I was concerned that you are ill treating foreigners," Minister Miller said. "I spoke with him for less than a minute. I asked him to be careful how he deals with foreign investors."

 

He also confirmed that Mr. Stubbs had locked away the foreign workers.

But Mr. Stubbs, in his report, claimed to be the victim.

 

Mr. Stubbs said after being approached by Mr. Samson, "I asked him if he was threatening a government official. He then asked me what kind of official do I think I am? He told me again that I was on his Cay. His and Leslie Miller."

 

He continued, "As I walked to the Customs office, he continued to follow me shouting at me and using degrading remarks to refer to me."

 

Mr. Stubbs also said in his report that, "After the phone conversation [with Minister Miller] Mr. Samson in an angry and loud voice, asked me who do I think I am and how dare I embarrass his people! I told him I was only doing my job and following procedures. He then said he don't quite care about procedures.

 

"He told me that he was having a meeting with his staff at the cafeteria and that I dare not come around there if I know what's good for me. I continued to walk to my office in silence and then proceeded to write this report."

 

But Mr. Samson said, "I categorically deny that I threatened him. It was an unfortunate incident. I got involved so that an unruly official would stop terrorizing and threatening my employees."

New Offer For Bahamas Telecommunications Company - BTC

New Offer For BTC

Candia Dames

candiadames@hotmail.com

Nassau, Bahamas

06/02/2004

The final bidder pushed out of the race to purchase a minority ownership in the Bahamas Telecommunications Company is preparing a new offer to make to the government, the Journal has learnt.

 

But the Tenders Commission is not now open to any new proposals, as it has started another phase of privatisation, which would take on another form from the effort initiated more than five years ago.

 

Still, Blue Telecommunications plans to approach the government with a more fine-tuned and "more convincing" plan.

Company officials are hopeful that the government would at least be willing to entertain them.

  

The group's President Lindbergh Smith on Thursday was not prepared to speak to such reports.  But he did hint that his company is still interested in having a stake in BTC.  "The Minister of State for Finance alluded to the fact that BTC still has to be privatised," Mr. Smith told the Journal. "As a Bahamian, I am encouraged by the fact that the government is still committed to privatisation."

 

Financial Secretary Ruth Millar, who chairs the Tenders Commission, has told the Journal that the government has given the Commission a new mandate to review other options for privatisation of the telephone company.  But Mrs. Millar declined to say much else.

 

One source close to the Commission said Thursday that it is "utter nonsense" for Blue to still be working toward a plan for BTC.

 

"Their plan was rejected because it was not in the best interest of BTC or The Bahamas," he said.  "The Commission has been instructed to end that entire phase."

 

In rejecting Blue, the Commission revealed that there were serious concerns regarding the company's financial structure.

 

Blue reportedly planned to help pay for its stake in BTC by using the phone company's assets to borrow.

 

But a Blue official has since denied this saying that was, "totally untrue.  That was not so.  It was totally speculation that was pushed by some of the members of the Commission who do not favour privatising BTC."

 

According to the official, it was Blue's original plan to borrow on the assets of the company.

 

"The government was not comfortable with that and wanted a clearer transaction," he explained.

 

He said that in its revised plan, Blue was prepared to do an all-cash transaction.  While Blue is reportedly preparing its comeback, BahamaTel Consortium, which was headed by Tom Bain, has given up on BTC altogether.

 

Shortly after the government rejected the BahamaTel offer due to what Mrs. Millar called a deficient business plan, Mr. Bain told the Journal that his group had come to the end of the line.

 

State Minister for Finance James Smith has said that the government is "shifting gears" as it relates to the privatisation of BTC.

 

In the meantime, he said BTC has to "continue to do things to develop and expand its managerial capabilities, develop its staff, while at the same time look for efficient ways of government having to divest its interests."

 

The plan of the former government was to privatise the then Batelco and give it time to prepare for competition before opening the market.

 

But with that process failed, the new government is looking more toward liberalization of the telecommunications sector with its Telecommunications Sector Policy reportedly being revamped.

 

The idea now is reportedly to prepare BTC for the onslaught of competition that is surely to come in the near future.

 

Speaking at the Bahamas Business Outlook seminar on January 20, Minister Smith said the privatisation process "ought not to be abandoned since a privatised BTC would not only provide additional funds to government for debt reduction in 2004, but should also provide increased capacity for expanding technology including high speed data transmission capabilities which are essential to the e-commerce development effort." 

Andros Island Seen as The Breadbasket of The Bahamas

The Potential of Andros as The Breadbasket to Feed The Entire Bahamas

Farming clearly should be and will be the lifeblood of Andros...

North Andros to Feed the Nation

 

By Gladstone Thurston

BahamaSeaWeed@groups.msn.com

Bahamas Information Services

February 6, 2004

 

 

Nicholl’s Town, Andros – The North Andros High School came in for commendations from Agriculture Minister V Alfred
Gray in its quest to feed the nation.

North Andros High is “the model for farming in all the secondary schools in The Bahamas,” added Labour and Immigration Minister Vincent Peet, the Member of Parliament for the area.

“I am pushing to get additional scholarships at the College of the Bahamas for those who want to take farming seriously,” Mr Peet told students.  “Until we can elevate farming to the level of respectability where it belongs, then many of you will still look at farming as a blue-collar work for somebody else to do.”

Mastic Point Primary won the H Newbold floating trophy for excellence in farming, a programme spearheaded by North Andros High last year.  Red Bay Primary was second, and Bowen Sound Primary came in third.  All primary schools in the district including those in the Berry Islands participated.

Ministers Peet and Gray led a delegation from Nassau to the North Andros High School agriculture rally and exhibition on Thursday staged by the North Andros High 4H Club in collaboration with the agriculture science department.

Also present were Deputy Permanent Secretary/Ministry of Agriculture Ursula Chisholm, Agriculture Extension Officer Stephen Adderley, District Superintendent Harcourt Davis, Administrator Dr Huntly P Christie, and Chief Councillor Alphonso Smith.  Joel Lewis is the principal at North Andros High.

“(The agriculture exhibition) comes at a time when we feel that providing food for ourselves is very, very necessary,” said agriculture science teacher and 4H Club co-ordinator Rai Budhu.  “We hope to motivate you to strive towards self sufficiency.

“It is important for a nation to be self sufficient in food.  A country, which is unable to provide its own food, can be in great problems.  You can eat every day the things that are produced right here in North Andros.”

Agriculture exhibits at the school’s sprawling farms, adjacent to its campus, featured a wide variety of edibles – pumpkins, cassavas, yams, potatoes, broccolis, cauliflowers, tomatoes, grapefruits and nonis - the latest cash crop.

Chickens, pigs, goats and ducks are also raised as part of the programme.

Already North Andros High provides a Nassau-based hotel and restaurant with fresh fruit and vegetables.

“I see Andros as the breadbasket of today and tomorrow,” noted Agriculture Extension Officer Mr Adderley.  “While there is limited farming going on at present, the potential for Andros is as a breadbasket to feed the whole nation.”

Mr Peet said the government is going to do much more to empower Bahamians, “especially you here in Andros where farming clearly should be and will be the lifeblood of Andros.

“Farming is something to look forward to.  It is a profession, which pays, and you would be doing a very valuable service to yourselves, The Bahamas and the world.

“The farmers in Andros have been frustrated for years.  We are about to ease that pressure for all farmers because farmers need to be respected and given the tools to earn a decent living.

“This exhibition is a very good example of the importance and the value that North Andros High is putting on farming.”

Agriculture Minister Gray urged Bahamians to consider agriculture as “serious business.”

He pointed out that farming provides an avenue through which the country’s economic base could be broadened while contributing to the country’s food security.

He warned of the “almost total reliance” of the country on a single industry – tourism, “an industry that is very sensitive to and is always driven by external forces over which we in The Bahamas have little or no control.

“It is important therefore for us to expand the pillars of our economy to include the agriculture and fishing industries.”

Another reason for agricultural economic expansion has to do with The Bahamas becoming more self-reliant.

“The fact is that we as a country rely too heavily on imports,” said Minister Gray.

In its effort to motivate farmers, the government has put in place a package of incentives, which include the provision of farmland, assistance in land clearing, duty-free exemption on equipment, and loan guarantees.

Mr Gray said he will be recommending to the government the granting of ‘start-up’ money for persons “who are serious about becoming involved in agriculture and who are willing to farm for produce, which are in high demands.

“I challenge you, therefore, to become partners with the government in making agriculture and fishing strong pillars in our country’s economic life,” said Mr Gray.

“I can assure you that those who are willing to become so involved would find this government’s attitude very embracing and supportive.”