The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter 

krussell@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis was adamant yesterday the environment will be protected as Bahamians await the findings of an environmental impact assessment into the Oban Energies oil refinery and storage facility proposed for Grand Bahama.

Stressing certain obligations have to be met before the $5.5bn project begins, Dr Minnis maintained the government will ensure there is no compromise when it comes to the environment. 

Asked whether he could offer an update on the project Dr Minnis said: “No I have no update, I have no update.”

This comes as Oban officials have said their EIA is progressing, but more time will be needed to complete it. In February, Oban’s former non-executive chairman Peter Krieger said the EIA would be complete within 45 days.

His comments came February 19 during a “ceremonial” signing at the Office of the Prime Minister. Since then, details in this regard have not been forthcoming from Oban, the government or the Bahamas Environment Science Technology (BEST) Commission.

In early April, The Nassau Guardian reported that police were investigating the disappearance of the file on the project, which went missing from the BEST Commission.

“I think at present there are particular committees involving environmental groups and everybody (is) looking at it. There are certain things that have to be met. I have said it then and I say again, our environment will not be compromised. Our environment will always be protected,” Dr Minnis continued when he was asked if he had concerns about the criticisms from the public and environmental groups.

Dr Minnis has the BEST Commission in his portfolio and critics have said he should have wide-ranging knowledge when it comes to the environmental intricacies of the controversial project.

He spoke to the matter on the sidelines of his annual birthday celebration with students at the Gambier Primary School in his constituency. Dr Minnis’ birthday was in mid-April; however, he was out of the country at the time.

He also responded to Transparency International and Citizens for a Better Bahamas’ recent poll, which pinpointed the country’s lack of campaign finance laws and highlighted Bahamians’ perception that the Royal Bahamas Police Force is the most corrupt agency in the Bahamas.

“What everybody must understand is we have been given a mandate of five years,” he said about his administration’s pledge to amend the Public Disclosure Act to include a campaign finance component.

“We cannot complete everything in one year. The promises that we made, we will do. We will complete. We made promises about breadbasket items and many more. During our budget, we will unveil as many as we can, but we were given five years and we will complete our agenda in five (years) and not one.”

In the poll, Dr Minnis fared better than most on the question of corruption, with Bahamians believing he and his office are less corrupt than any other institution or group of people identified in the survey, including religious leaders.

The survey, called the first of its kind in the Bahamas, was conducted by marketing and research firm Public Domain between October 4 and October 17, 2017.

One thousand Bahamians were surveyed via telephone, including people in New Providence, Grand Bahama and the Family Islands. The sample was “distributed across all populated islands in the Bahamas proportionate to population size based on available census data,” according to Lemarque Campbell, chairman of Citizens for a Better Bahamas and author of the report.

“Respondents were selected using a randomised approach from all available respondents in the household,” he said. “Further, the sample was representative of the local population by age, gender, island and social grade/income.”

The survey had a margin of error of 3.1 percent, according to Public Domain President M’wale Rahming.