In what Prime Minister Perry Christie has called a significant paradigm shift in government policy, the Government of The Bahamas has spent nearly $4 million purchasing 12 acres of beachfront property in Harbour Island.
Prime Minister Christie told The Bahama Journal recently that the plan is to give Bahamians greater access to one of the most beautiful stretches of beaches in the country.
ﾓOn that island where the prices are so high and escalating daily, the question is how do you go about preserving a piece of it for Bahamians,ﾒ he said, adding that the property is believed to be valued at around $15 million so the government got a good deal.
Itﾴs part of an overall plan his government has to purchase beachfront properties throughout the country.
Pointing to a major plan by private developers to develop a multimillion-dollar gated community in the South Ocean area of New Providence, Mr. Christie said the need for Bahamians to have access to beaches will also be made clear.
ﾓI have put into the equation the absolute necessity to ensure that we have beach space for Bahamians and that is something that I am looking at,ﾒ he said. ﾓOne of the concerns my government has is the fact that if we do not exercise sufficient caution in the face of the development proposals we could cause Bahamians to be further disadvantaged when it comes down to access to beaches.
ﾓSo in all of our proposals, we have made it a condition that Bahamians have access to beaches and Iﾴm now looking for additional beaches.ﾒ
Prime Minister Christie, while in opposition, also pointed to the issue. Itﾴs why he had opposed the transformation of the Clifton property, also in southwest New Providence, into a gated community.
Only recently, his government paid nearly $20 million for the land to preserve it, along with the beach.
In the late 1990ﾴs American developers had assured that Bahamians would not be denied access to the beach behind the property, but many people doubted that.
They feared that the blocked access that came as a result of the Lyford Cay development would have been repeated.
In a recent interview with The Bahama Journal, Lyford Cay Club Managing Director Paul Thompson was asked why Bahamians cannot access one of the most beautiful New Providence beaches through his communityﾴs gates.
ﾓI think just kind of out of respect, if you have a home on the beach and you want to go down on the beach, you expect it to be free for your use because youﾴre living on the beach and thatﾴs how it is here,ﾒ Mr. Thompson said.
ﾓOur people who are living on the beach and the club that is built on the beach expect their guests to be able to have access to their own beach and not for it to be overtaken by people who arenﾴt putting any money into the community.ﾒ
He noted, however, that anyone has access to the beach up to the high-water mark, or as far as the water goes on the beach.
ﾓBut you canﾴt get to that access through our gates and thatﾴs how it works and it doesnﾴt seem to be a problem for us,ﾒ he said.
While not speaking to the Lyford Cay issue specifically, Prime Minister Christie noted that the right of Bahamians to access beaches cannot be sacrificed in the name of development.
Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
