The Tribune

By ANNELIA NIXON

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

FURTHER confusion and uncertainty arose yesterday over future public access to Paradise Island’s Cabbage Beach after some vendors received a letter allegedly offering them $10,000 to relocate.

Dis We Beach, a group that has been advocating on behalf of beach users and vendors, called on the Government and Four Seasons Ocean Club Residences developer to clarify conflicting claims surrounding Cabbage Beach, including whether vendors are being offered $10,000 to sign letters requesting relocation and what guarantees, if any, they would receive to return. However, there is no evidence to suggest the purported letter is authentic or that either has any connection to it.

“I think the onus is on the Ministry of Tourism and the Government to clear up whatever rumours are circulating,” Dis We Beach said. “Is the developer offering packages for relocation, and with what guarantees? Is the beach closing, or will the beach remain open? There’s too many speculations happening about this one situation. One side or the other needs to come out, and they need to say what is what to the public.”

The group said the conflicting information has left vendors and Bahamians relying on hearsay rather than official information. Its concerns centre on claims that vendors are being asked to sign letters seeking relocation in exchange for $10,000.

Alexis Lloyd, one Cabbage Beach vendor, said: “They just need the people’s signature. But the letter, they giving them $10,000 if they sign it… Some people already signed that.” A video circulating among the vendors also shows a man telling them that signing the letter would allow them to request relocation and receive $10,000 from the Four Seasons Ocean Club Residences developer.

“Let’s be clear, the beach isn’t closing,” the man said, while also claiming public access to the beach was guaranteed because the Government now owned part of the access arrangement. A vendor questioned why a fence had been erected on the beach, only to be taken down after public outcry, if access was guaranteed.

The Government, meanwhile, said it has not issued the letter or provided any alleged payments. Phylicia Woods-Hanna, its investments director and Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA) head, said: “If there’s no signatory printed on it, then there’s no way to authenticate that letter. If it’s addressed to the minister, that wouldn’t have been circulated. That wouldn’t have been generated. We haven’t generated any letter from the Government side.”

She added that the Ministry of Tourism has remained in communication with the affected vendors and is working to facilitate alternative locations for them. “We’ve been in constant communication with the vendors,” Mrs Woods-Hanna said.

“I can’t speak to any funds. The Government isn’t distributing any funds, so I cannot speak to any funds. All I know is that the Ministry of Tourism, the minister, is working diligently to make sure that the accommodations are made at alternate locations across New Providence for the vendors, so that they are not disadvantaged.”

Efforts to obtain comment from the Four Seasons Ocean Club Residences developer before press time were unsuccessful. The developers are Access Industries, the existing Ocean Club’s owner, Florida-based real estate developer, Two Roads Development, and the high-end Four Seasons resort brand

Dis We Beach, though, questioned why vendors have become caught in a dispute involving the Government and a major developer. “I think, from our perspective on behalf of Dis We Beach, these vendors didn’t need to be embroiled in this discussion to begin with,” the group said. “They didn’t have to be a part of this at all to begin with because these two entities are two Goliath corporations and government. So you have a Goliath developer, you have a Goliath government coming against the small business owner, which seems entirely unfair.”

The group suggested the Government and developer could resolve the access issue without placing the burden on small businesses. “The Government could buy the land from Access [Industries], or Access could open up another entrance for the beach,” it said.

The dispute has also raised questions about what constitutes a legally-protected public access route to Cabbage Beach. In a social media post, Dis We Beach questioned who the man spreading the letter was speaking on behalf of, and his claims that the Government now owns the access road and that public access is guaranteed throughout construction, noting that it had not seen official documentation confirming those assertions.

The group also pointed to the developer’s plans for access during construction, which it said provides for access to shift between the eastern and western boundaries, with disruptions expected, before a permanent 15-foot-wide access path is established.

Dis We Beach further questioned reports that only ten kiosks would be provided for 27 vendors once the project is completed, and whether any relocation arrangement would guarantee vendors’ ability to return.

The group said the Government and developer should jointly provide clear answers on whether the beach will remain accessible throughout construction, where members of the public will enter, whether restrictions or security controls will be imposed, and whether the promised access is legally protected and permanent.