by Pierre V.L. Dupuch

First published in The Tribune on May 22, 2009 and republished here with the kind permission of the author.

When I was first elected to Parliament in 1982 the vexing problems of the day were the horrendous traffic congestion downtown, and the unsightly freight containers on Bay Street. Almost thirty years later the problems are still there but worse.

I suggested then that a bold decision had to be made to develop a freight port at Clifton Pier. Most people then thought I was crazy. But let us examine what would have happened had my suggestion been taken seriously.

With the freight port moved to Clifton almost one thousand people now employed at the freight companies would be moved off of Bay Street to the new freight port facility. This would also take their cars off of Bay Street thus eliminating the traffic problem ..and at no direct cost to the Government.

Every new city needs a core industry. The new freight port would be it! The newly located employees would need to shop before coming east to their homes, so the grocery people would build a food store there; the ladies would like to buy new shoes or have their hair done so the appropriate stores would be built to fill those needs. In short, a new, very badly needed city would rise, creating more opportunities for young entrepreneurs, more employment and a more stable growth for the economy.

I was told then that such a move would increase the cost of freight because of the long runs that would have to be made between client and the shipper. My response was that a diesel truck, starting and stopping in the noonday traffic was more fuel inefficient than a truck being driven on an unobstructed highway. Furthermore, the trucks would, for the most part, be going west in the morning when traffic was traveling east and east in the afternoon when the traffic was going west, thus creating very little if any traffic problems.

With ugly freight containers moved, the Northern side of New Providence could be devoted to being designed to attract tourists. Rather than seeing an ugly freight facility as they entered the harbour, the tourist would see an absolutely magnificent Nassau, an island full of tourist attractions, and small islands around it to tantalize the imaginations of the young travelers.

Arawak Cay, originally Kelly Island, was formed using the fill dredged from the harbour when it was being extended. It was designed to be developed as a tourist attraction, filled with opportunities for Bahamians who would be put into the mainstream of the tourist market. There was, however, one problem. This was the 1960s and the concept of Kelly Island being developed as a tourist attraction was the brain child of Sir Stafford Sands and the UBP, and that was taboo in those days.

It was in 1967 when the PLP took power that everything that had a smell of the UBP had to be changed. And so Kelly Island was turned into a dump with a customs warehouse replacing the concept of a tourist attraction. On my last visit to Arawak Cay the old, rusty, falling down warehouse was still there as a monument to racial and political stupidity!! So what had untold possibilities is now a dump!

Yes, it would have been..and still could be..a win-win situation!!

But Ive heard some rather disturbing rumours lately. Someone or some group seems to have convinced the Government to put the freight facility on Arawak Cay and extend the Cay west. Oh, god, what next!!!!?? What are we, a freight destination or a tourist destination?

I understand that Arawak Cay is to be enlarged taking it west to or almost to Saunders Beach. When Arawak Cay was originally proposed the public was told that no erosion would be caused by its creation. Anyone who can remember knows this was not the proper assessment. When I was a young man, all the area that is now solid rock was beach.

By moving Arawak Cay west more beach including Saunders beach will erode. Yes, another Bahamian jewel will be destroyed, some say, to fulfill the wishes of a few short-sighted, greedy people.

Today, if you examine the waters on the south-western side of Arawak Cay you will find that, for the most part, the beaches are not only eroded but the water is stagnant. Extend it further west and there will be more stagnation and more erosion.

So lets fast forward ten years, just a generation in our lifetime. The port will be too small then and will need to be further expanded. Since the beaches will have been eroded and the waters stagnant, they will say it only makes sense to join New Providence to Arawak Cay. On the north the two or three small islands which no longer will be used to lure tourists here will too be joined to Arawak Cay. Far fetched? No, not really.

Now lets come back to the present. It is apparently proposed to unload the ships at Arawak, and then transport the trailers to some clearing area on Gladstone Road where they will be sorted and re-loaded for the trip back to their destination in the city. Lets see..thats load, unload, load and unload, most of which will happen at night. Overtime? Cost of freight? Wow!!!

Some say that this will eliminate traffic. True, it may eliminate the large trucks traveling through Bay Street during the day, but nobody seems to have considered the massive number of vehicles still going through a congested area for people to get to work. Traffic jams?? You aint seen nuttin yet!!!

The only conclusion I can reach is that most of the people advising the Government have either no vision or their own selfish agendas. I would suspect both.

Prime Minister I implore you to step back and take a long, hard look at what stands before you. Your decision will be either to put a thing of beauty or a cesspit into our showcase window. The choice is yours.