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MONDAY, AUGUST 16, 2021
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Activists in new court filing over oil drilling By FARRAH JOHNSON Tribune Staff Reporter fjohnson@tribunemedia.net
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WO leading environmental groups have filed a Supreme Court application to discontinue a judicial review of the government’s approvals concerning Bahamas Petroleum Company’s exploratory drilling in Bahamian waters. Earlier this year, Save the Bays (STB) and Waterkeeper Bahamas (WKB) jointly launched the challenge to confirm whether BPC had received all of the necessary approvals and permits required to carry out exploratory offshore drilling. The action also sought to have the courts establish the “proper and lawful” procedure for projects of a similar nature going forward. The recently filed consent order seeks for the judicial review action to be discontinued and for each party to bear its own costs. The environmental groups said despite the government’s
FRED SMITH QC and developer’s efforts to “price advocates out of justice”, their legal challenge has proven to be a “huge success”. In a statement, STB and WKB said oil companies could “consider themselves warned” since their judicial review challenge not only “sparked global awareness,” but also relayed a “strong warning” to those that would seek to pursue a similar venture in the future. STB legal director, Fred Smith, QC, said he lamented the fact environmentalists continued to be priced out of justice by the
Governance reformer: Secure procurement process, integrity By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net SECURING procurement integrity must be two-fold with a specific process for resolution as well as any legislation having strong technical systems in place, says a governance reformer. Matt Aubry, the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) executive director, told Tribune Business that securing the integrity of the Public Financial Management Act (PFMA) by creating a provision that allows public servants to have an “objection to direction” needs to have a two-fold approach,
MATT AUBRY providing for a “specific process for resolution” in addition to “content” to the legislation. Mr Aubry said: “There needs to be a very specific process for resolution and it has to be very clearly advertised and promoted, systems
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Eleuthera calls bridge upgrade ‘waste of time’ By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net SOME Eleuthera businesses say it is a waste of money to repair or rebuild the Glass Window Bridge and it would be better to build a causeway on the Bahama-bank side instead. Tony Bethel, owner/ operator of Big Rock Bar and Restaurant, told Tribune Business: “I feel like repairing what’s there now is a waste of time. I think we need to try concentrate on doing a causeway on the
lower side. “They have spent millions of dollars on repairing that bridge in the past. “It would be better to build a causeway because the Glass Window is dangerous to go past if you have a rage on, then it has to be closed. But if you have a causeway you don’t have to close it. A lot of tourists come down from North Eleuthera and they can’t come because the bridge is closed, or they have to go out and its difficult for them to go out.”
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government and developers who “ganged up” on environmentalists and small business owners. “Whether you are Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) or any other entity, consider yourself duly warned: The Bahamas has a strong, outspoken environmental activist community that will aggressively challenge any project if it appears that the procedures mandated by law might not have been followed,” Mr Smith’s statement read. “...Sadly, the drill went ahead before these questions could be determined by the court. With that ship
having already sailed, so to speak, we then offered to streamline the matter, as it had become impossible because of KYC challenges to set up the security ordered by the court, to focus on the all-important second question of proper procedure and which laws apply to oil drilling. “However, BPC were unwilling to cooperate and so we had no choice but to accept their counter-offer that all parties mutually agree to bring the case to an end. But make no mistake, this challenge was a huge success. BPC and any other company that may be seeking oil drilling licensces in Bahamian territory now know that they will be carefully scrutinised every step of the way.” In their joint statement, Rashema Ingraham, executive director of Waterkeeper Bahamas, also noted the “enormous attention” the legal case drew to issues surrounding oil drilling in The Bahamas both
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$5.28 CHESTER COOPER
Cooper: AG suggestion of change to beneficial ownership act ‘laughable’ By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net PLP deputy leader Chester Cooper has called the attorney general’s explanation of how money was spent from a $250m International Monetary Fund loan “laughable” as well as a possible “violation” of the terms of the loan. Mr Cooper, the Exuma and Ragged Island MP and shadow Finance Minister, said in statement to the media: “The suggestion by the AG that the only way to supply the auditor general with the names of the beneficial owners of companies that received pandemic contracts funded by the $250m IMF loan is to change the Register of Beneficial
Ownership Act is laughable. “In his own statement, he acknowledges his office could have provided the names, and surely the minister of finance and the minister of state for finance, who were both present when the act was being debated, know that.” Mr Cooper’s comments come after AG Carl Bethel made comments in the senate saying the request for information under the Register Beneficial Ownership Act limits the Ministry of Finance from asking for information on beneficial owners. Mr Cooper also said: “The Register of Beneficial Ownership Act was set up to ameliorate concerns
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