Dreaming of investing and planning a development in the tranquil Bahamas? By all means dream and keep dreaming, as the project will become encumbered with lengthy government approvals dismissing all investors, local or foreign, except those with an open checkbook or the secret to immortality.
Our government is our greatest ally and foe. While seeking to protect our land, the bureaucratic departments to process such development proposals are inadequately staffed, or act ineptly, extending the review period in excess of six months or even years.
Only the most forthright developer with an inordinate amount of patience can wade through this tangle of approvals and still decide to invest.
Of course we must protect our natural resources and cultural heritage. Bahamians this past election apparently took to heart the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) campaign slogan to “Believe in The Bahamas”.
But how can we believe in a Bahamas that stymies its own growth? If we do not have the capability to process the smaller developments in tandem with proposed ‘anchor’ projects, how can the small developer survive and proliferate?
There is much talk about encouraging more Bahamian ownership of Family Island hotels and resorts but we have seen little action. Where are the incentives for Bahamian ownership?
The Subdivision and Planning Act of 2010 did little to provide a more transparent and systematic process for development proposals from start to finish. Of most importance to developers is the length of time from initial investment to sale or operation to enable a return on investment.
The developer needs to know in a reasonable amount of time whether his project will be approved or not.
Unfortunately, some property owners commence construction and bypass the approval process completely knowing that penalty for wrongdoing will be slow to come, if ever at all.
So we are left with a country seeking to increase revenues, but unable to comment or commit to proposed developments large and small that may provide economic stimulus.
The Bahamas, rightly, should be wary of unscrupulous investors just looking to make a quick profit with little regard to the environment and social wellbeing of our residents. It is no wonder that we have become so cynical of development, with unfinished and derelict developments scattered across the Family Islands.
Why should we embrace new development only to leave our land scarred and people unemployed?
But if we are too afraid to move forward, we will lose out on innovative and sustainable developments that The Bahamas so desperately needs.
To make The Bahamas more amenable to investment and to secure our natural resources, we must improve and make more transparent the timeline for approval by adequately staffing the responsible agencies.
We must develop a mechanism such as an environmental bond to hold developers responsible for denuding our land of its ecological function and aesthetic quality if they fail to reach completion. And we must also encourage reinvestment in those derelict developments rather than virgin land.
Private developers and the government solicit media coverage on potential largescale and boutique projects to promote a positive economic outlook. But often such media attention is premature and only projects to promote a positive economic outlook. But often such media attention is premature and only serves to boost investor and social confidence. The greater public has learned, much to the detriment of The Bahamas, to simply take note and wait with skepticism to see if such promises come to fruition.
Let us hope the next time a promising new development makes the media headlines that it will come to fruition sooner rather than later.
Editorial, The Nassau Guardian
Published January 5, 2013
