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Don't shoot the messenger. I'm not expressing opinion. This is what is in the news in the bahamas. Would you really rather not know?
Thanks!
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Pinewood MP Reuben Rahming charged yesterday that the deal related to oil exploration in The Bahamas is “beyond robbery, it’s actually treasonous”.
Rahming challenged “any politician” involved in the Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) offshore oil drilling deal, regardless of their party, to “stand up to show us what is going on”.
During yesterday’s evening sitting of Parliament, he referred to documents indicating the law firm Davis & Co. incorporated Bahamas Petroleum Company in 2005 and called on Opposition Leader Philip Brave Davis and anyone else involved on either side of the political divide to stand up and explain the “shabby” deal to the Bahamian people.
He also urged the select committee of Parliament charged with investigating all matters relative to the natural resources of The Bahamas to “give us some idea, what is going [on] here”.
“If your pen is on this document on the genesis of it to get it all started up, then all y’all stand up and show us what is going on,” said Rahming, who also acknowledged attorney, client privilege may prevent former attorneys of the company to speak about their work for the company.
The MP said whether The Bahamas should drill or not, “whatever we get out of our resources, can’t be what we’ve been seeing on paper so far”.
“Because that’s beyond robbery, it’s actually treasonous that we can get to the point to strip us of all of our benefits, because of the way it looks,” the MP said.
“It looks as if because you’re cushy, these people got their breaks.”
Davis and Co. was one of two Bahamian firms listed as legal representatives for BPC in 2012.
Davis assumed office in May of that year as part of former Prime Minister Perry Christie’s administration, with whom BPC had begun negotiations in 2005.
BPC was initially granted the licenses for exploratory oil drilling ahead of the general election in 2007 and has had subsequent renewals under the Christie and Minnis administration.
Yesterday, Rahming continued: “I am hearing that there are prominent persons that are directly attached to the leadership of the opposition and also prominent persons who are attached to the [FNM] party, who are still playing significant roles in this.“…I want to know did that influence the lousy, shabby, disgusting decision to give such a steal, a giveaway, in concessions to this oil drilling company.”
Rahming added: “Not trying to be controversial, the Bahamian people have been asking this over and repeatedly. I stand here to say also, if there are any FNMs involved, you to need to stand up and give us some idea of what is going on here.”
Rahming said: “I don’t care whether it PLP or FNM because I am concerned with Bahamian people with this because I think it’s a shabby deal.
Before addressing longstanding issues in his constituency, Rahming said he knows politics in The Bahamas is a “very dangerous game”, adding that he knows his family is in da
Lead letter in this morning's Nassau Tribune:
Dear Editor,
Thank you for allowing me to respond to the breathtaking wisdom of Bahamas Petroleum Company CEO Simon Potter, who has once again demonstrated that knows what is best for Bahamians, far better than we ever could.
Speaking on behalf of the “silent majority” of Bahamians who secretly support BPC’s gamble to enrich its overwhelmingly foreign shareholders while we absorb all the considerable risk, Potter is kind enough to inform us that we “have a right to know” whether there is oil here.
A right to know! Well, imagine that. How selfless, how generous of Mr Potter to stand in the breach championing our rights for us, without even being asked.
While he’s at it, I wonder, could Potter also confirm whether or not we have a right to determine our own future and not have it held ransom by condescending overseas petro-colonialists?
What about a right not to see the 130,000 jobs that rely directly on our pristine environment put at risk just so Potter’s shareholders, who should be ashamed of themselves, can make a quick buck?
What about our right not to be treated like ignorant natives to be pacified with arrogant, specious arguments and ready-made sound bites?
“Look!” we are told, “The people of Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname and Guyana are all benefitting from petro-dollars! That could be you!!”
Could it really? When not a single one of those countries can boast anywhere the per-capita income that the Bahamas already enjoys today thanks to tourism – not even close?
Are we really supposed to put it all on the line, risk our Golden Goose, allow our pristine waters to be turned into a toxic wasteland, all so we can be just like… Suriname? Fascinating logic.
Potter goes on to helpfully inform us that the dangers of offshore oil drilling are really not as serious as they have been made out to be. What a relief!
Good to know that the thousands of scientific studies, press reports on spill disasters, testimonials from locals whose environment has been ruined around the world, don’t carry any weight – or at least, not as much as the word of a professional oil opportunist with an admitted vested interest.
The lofty Wisdom of Potter does stumble at one point, when he claims that citizens who challenge his drill plan are interfering with the Bahamas government’s “sovereign right” to allow for oil exploration.
I’m not sure how it works in Britain, but around here, sovereignty rests with the people of the Bahamas, not elected officials, and if it turns out that Potter is wrong about the sentiments of the silent majority, this administration will swiftly find itself back in the wilderness from whence it came.
Which of course, would suit Potter and his associates just fine. One political party is as good as the next to them. None of what happens here really matters - they are just in it for the drill.
Kind regards,
Essy Bootle
Actually the judiciary is the one entity that is quite independent and rules against the government on a regular basis. Several development projects that had political backing have been halted because of judicial review challenges. I would point you to Blackbeard's Cay.
@CarsCoffee - I can understand why an outsider would conclude that based upon the available info. But you must appreciate the local context. Robbla gets it. The current government feels compelled to support this deal and grant extensions. They fear they will face a backlash at the polls if they sink a "PLP" deal. The only FNM with "the stick" was Papa, as Robbla says. But.... That doesn't mean they won't tank the deal in a second if given the proper excuse. This deal is FAR more tenuous than you guys appreciate. A fact which Potter well understands but has kept quiet.
Oh and I forgot - James Smith, BPC director who was quoted trashing the legal challenge the other day - former PLP Minister of State for Finance.
LOL. This is meaningless in terms of the local conversation. Of course he supports it. He was BPC's lawyer at inception. His predecessor as party leader was BPC's consultant on government relations. A Senator from his party was BPC's local managing director. Now, another Senator from his party is the company's lawyer. The Progressive Liberal Party is well know as "BPC's party". They have had to come out and deny conflicts of interest on several occasions. It would be interesting to know how many of these senior party officials own shares. The REALLY interesting question is how committed the current government is to this deal. We shall see.
If I was in the environmental camp, I would be egging you on in these reckless statements ScareShare, not trying to shut you up.
Can you find any court date? Judgement? Of course not. It was a joke from day one.
ShareScare you are missing the point. A couple of idiots were paid to sign a lawsuit. Yes, it was filed. Happens in the Bahamas all the time. It went nowhere. Everyone in the Bahamas knows is was a bogus farce. We do not want to associate ourselves with that. Just like SC letter. Far more harm than good.
Guys I wouldn't. Fred QC is also a human rights attorney and that is an attack website put up by associates of a child sex trafficker that he took down. One Peter Nygard. Look him up. Everyone in the Bahamas knows the allegations in that article are bogus and we only make ourselves look bad by perpetuating it. Like it or not, you are up against the real deal in this QC. No skeletons to expose and all of his enemies are scumbags.
Peter Turnquest resigned last week amid fraud allegations. Give it a google, I don't seem able to share links here.
@Scarface. Yes I am new here. I am from and in The Bahamas, and just trying to keep you all aware of what is happening here. Sorry if it is perceived as negative. It is the local news. Google: "Oil Explorer Aims To Open Fund To Small Bahamians" if you want to know who I am.
By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
Friday, November 27, 2020
OIL exploration opponents last night said they have “no choice” but to apply for an injunction halting Bahamas Petroleum Company’s (BPC) activities as its drilling ship began its voyage to this nation.
Fred Smith QC, the Callenders & Co attorney and partner, told Tribune Business that the Our Islands, Our Future coalition would seek the Supreme Court’s intervention as early as this week after the 750-foot Stena IceMAX drill ship left the Canary Islands en route to The Bahamas ahead of the planned December 15 drilling start date.
The coalition, which has placed on its website a map tracking the vessel’s movements as it begins its journey across the Atlantic, said legal action was now inevitable given both the Stena IceMAX’s departure and BPC’s failure to respond to its request to provide an undertaking that all activities will cease while Judicial Review proceedings are underway.
Mr Smith, who is Our Islands, Our Future’s lead attorney, said: “Given that they [BPC] have not heeded our respectful request that they confirm they will not drill, I think the Coalition has no choice but to ask the courts to intervene. Therefore we will likely have to apply for the injunction. “We’re going for the injunction, yes. Unfortunately we have to. It is shocking that BPC would ignore the letter that we sent, in which we warned them that legal action is imminent, and would result if they and the Government failed to stop their drilling intentions.”
Mr Smith said his Our Islands, Our Future client was not just concerned about the possibility of an oil spill from BPC’s Perseverance One well, which is to be spudded some 90 miles west of Andros close to The Bahamas’ maritime border with Cuba, but also the fluids that will be used in the drilling process and the carbons and other potentially harmful substances/sediments that may be released.
“The gulf stream goes north between Florida and The Bahamas,” he added. “This is a very risky environmental game that BPC is playing at the potential cost of our billion dollar tourism industry.
“It’s not a domestic issue. The environment is a global phenomenon. It doesn’t respect national boundaries artificially drawn on beautiful maps. This experiment, because that is what it is, to find oil is a potential environmental threat in The Bahamas and to the south-east Florida coast.”
And Mr Smith yesterday argued that, by changing to the Stena IceMAX drill ship, BPCV had requested an alteration be made to its EA. This, the QC said, had brought the application within the remit of the newly-passed Environmental Planning and Protection Act and the stipulation that all changes be subject to further consultation.
“It is not as simple as they think,” he said of BPC.
You don't believe.... a news story? You could just google it.
The National Trust is not an activism group. It is a quasi-governmental agency whose opinion is very influential.
... The Cay Sal MPA protects thriving marine life inclusive of commercially important species, most notably one of the last remaining viable populations of the queen conch. This large MPA also protects crucial marine mammal habitats, coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and open ocean ecosystems.
The country would be sending a careless signal of hypocrisy to the world. The benefits of fossil fuels are finite and insignificant compared to the cost of global climate change. We should not compound the damage of increased storm activity and sea levels due to global climate change with the risks associated with oil exploration. Drilling for oil would require us to ignore the damage of Hurricane Dorian and other storms. We would be overlooking the harm done to Grand Bahama in the Equinor spill. We would be turning a blind eye to obvious risks to our own well-being.
The Bahamas has stood in the presence of the United Nations, demanding urgent action to combat climate change. We cannot, therefore, cry out to the world that our country is being severely threatened by climate change, and still allow the exploration for fossils fuels, one of the main drivers of climate change on the planet.
To learn more about the role that the BNT plays to manage terrestrial and marine national parks, protect species that inhabit them, and inform environmental policy, please visit its website: www.bnt.bs and follow/subscribe to various social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Bahamas National Trust Says No to Oil Drilling And Chooses Our Oceans
Since the release of its last statement on proposed oil exploration in The Bahamas, The Bahamas National Trust (BNT) has closely followed the national and international discussion on this issue. A growing number of Bahamians are clearly opposed to and not willing to accept the risks associated with an oil industry in The Bahamas. The prevailing view is there is simply too much at stake.
As a staunch defender of the Bahamian environment, the BNT is categorically opposed to oil exploration in The Bahamas. The BNT stands with every Bahamian speaking out against proposed oil exploration in our ocean nation.
Bahamian communities rely on healthy ocean ecosystems to support jobs in fishing, recreation, and tourism. The oil industry's track record in often failing to protect the environment effectively makes such developments too big a risk to be allowed in our fragile ocean nation.
An oil spill can irreversibly damage our oceans, threaten our tourism industry, and our very way of life. The 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon disaster proves that no amount of reward from oil drilling is worth the risks of a potential disaster.
The proposed initial well by BPC is incredibly close to the Cay Sal Bank, one of the most ecologically productive and economically important marine systems in the country.
The Cay Sal Bank Marine Protected Area (MPA) was declared a protected area by the Bahamas Government in September 2015. The Cay Sal MPA protects thriving marine life inclusive of commercially important species, most notably one of the last remaining viable populations of the queen conch. This large MPA also protects crucial marine mammal habitats, coral reefs, seagrass meadows and open ocean ecosystems.
Eric Carey, Executive Director, Bahamas National Trust: “The importance of the Cay Sal Bank for biodiversity and the fishing industry in The Bahamas cannot be overstated. Because of its critical importance, any pollution of the area would be devastating for The Bahamas, our fishing industry, and the country’s food security.”
Tourism is the top economic driver of The Bahamas. We risk turning our coastal tourist destination into an oil nation. The nation’s tourism industry relies on clean, swimmable waters and healthy ocean ecosystems to thrive. Oil drilling and exploration threaten clean coastal economies.
Furthermore, The Bahamas is known to be one of the most vulnerable nations on the planet to the impending impacts of climate change, which is now recognized as an existential threat to The Bahamas. The country, our people, and our way of life could disappear if we are not successful as a global community in reversing the factors of a changing climate.
The Cay Sal Bank Marine Protected Area (MPA) was declared a protected area by the Bahamas Government in September 2015....