BY KENDENO N. P. KNOWLES
Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Senator Jerome Fitzgerald (Journal file phot)
The Bahamas National Trust (BNT) coming under heavy fire in the Upper Chamber on Monday as Senators passed 16 principal amendments to the BNT Act 2010.
The 16 principal amendments being made to the act; drastically change the makeup of the environmental body. The key amendment gives the BNT autonomy from the government, while it will also be tasked with providing advice to both government and private sector stakeholders on policies, development and conservation and biodiversity issues. But Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Senator Jerome Fitzgerald is not all convinced that the BNT can be trusted with the enactment of this proposed legislation. "I am concerned as we look at this legislation, because it is intended to give the BNT more autonomy and more far reaching powers," Mr. Fitzgerald said. "I’m sure as time goes by, the BNT will be entrusted with more land." Senator Fitzgerald further harped on the fact that initially, the BNT remained silent on the controversial developments at Bell Island in the Exuma Land and Sea Park. This, he said, brings into question the organisation’s integrity and ability to be objective in protecting the country’s wetlands and other protected areas. Mr. Fitzgerald also criticized the BNT for more or less being a cheerleader for the Arawak Cay extension, which he said has adversely impacted the environment, particularly at Saunders Beach. "It appears that when there is a lot of money involved in a development, the BNT remains quiet and in some cases supports the government which to me goes against its original mandate." Meantime, lending his support for the proposed amendments, Free National Movement (FNM) Senator Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace highlighted the fact that there have been no changes to the legislation within the last two decades. "The BNT has expanded and changed dramatically in its 50-year history. But the past 20 years in particular have witnessed enormous change; however the Act has not changed. And so this is why these changes are intended to preserve the original Act and provide amendments with today’s reality," Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace said. Despite criticisms by the opposition and some environmentalists, Mr. Vandepool-Wallace gave a rundown of what the government has done to protect and preserve the environment. "In the mere 10 years between 1992 and 2002, 14 national protected areas were created," Mr. Vanderpool-Wallace said. "Further, this administration has committed to protecting at least 20 per cent of our marine and coastal habitats by the year 2020. That is the legacy of Hubert Alexander Ingraham Administration." The proposed amendments would also broaden membership requirements to include the youth, while making it mandatory for the College of The Bahamas, the Ministries of Education and the Environment to be represented in the membership body. Park wardens will also be given constabulary status to more effectively carry out their jobs once the new amendments are enacted. "I don’t think that the BNT which is the size of a medium size multinational company can’t easily reach out to the Bahamian people about their views. They ought not to have the last say about what happens to our national treasure and our birth right," Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate Allyson Maynard-Gibson said. "The very same BNT is with its eyes open impacting our national security and this is of grave concern. It is in my humble view that if the government is prepared to give the BNT this type of authority, which I believe it ought not to have, their ought to be some reviewing entity where when citizens disagree with their decisions, they don’t have to go through the expense of a judicial review to have the decision of their BNT reviewed. There needs to be a reviewing mechanism that will not put citizens through undue expense."
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