By: Staff Writer
June 22, 2021
A Bahamian entrepreneur with designs for a project on the coveted Paradise Island has erected no trespassing signs on now disputed crown land with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL) that both sides apparently have been granted lease by the government.
Toby Smith, principal of the Paradise Island Lighthouse & Beach Company has been battling RCCL over crown land on Paradise Island for the past several months due to an impasse created by the government of The Bahamas, where the government initially granted Mr Smith parcels of crown land for his project and then months following granted RCCL portions of that same land for another project.
Documents shown to Caribbean Magazine Plus do show that Mr Smith was granted approvals for the crown land several months ago and it is in fact RCCL who is the second mover on the land. The matter is now in court for resolution.
Mr Smith told Caribbean Magazine Plus that the court date to settle this matter is due sometime this week and that RCCL, “asked for my site plan to consider downsizing, they got a crown and lease with a hack job for site plan and announced they aren’t planning on scaling back.”
As a result, Mr Smith has now publically asked for a meeting with prime minister Dr Hubert Minnis, who is also responsible for granting crown land, in an attempt to further settle the matter and calm down the heat of RCCL in their project intentions.
Russell Benford, Royal Caribbean’s vice-president of government relations for the Americas, earlier this month confirmed that the company had received approval for the crown land lease and that construction at Paradise Island for their Royal Beach Club was to begin in July with a targeted date of opening for January 2023.
Not if Mr Smith has anything to say about it as his signs are placed carefully around the tracts of land he has claims to have been granted lease for and he is not backing down.
Where does this got for Mr Smith and RCCL is anyone’s guess?!? RCCL has been investing heavily in The Bahamas, firstly with the prolonged purchase of the Grand Lucayan Hotel in Grand Bahama, a sale that has yet to be finalized in addition to a partnership in Grand Bahama with Carnival Cruise Lines on the Grand Bahama Shipyard, estimated to be worth $350m.
RCCL is also home porting in New Providence and continues to throw its weight around the island, having made additional investments in small business development and also other small donations to several causes.
Mr Smith warned, however, “Since my request was in to respect my boundaries and they since announced they’re not scaling back, it tells me they don’t wish to respect my boundaries.
“They can go on their merry way, it will be trespassing if they come on my parcels and I have posted signs for them to be aware of this.
“RCCL is complicit with the government in negotiating land currently in litigation and it shows pure disrespect to the courts.”
As far as I’m concerned once again it shows that our government has no respect for and can not be trusted by the very people that voted them to power. My words to the officials that were elected by the Bahamian people to protect us, please stop with the dishonesty and serve with integrity.
The Government has no regard for the future of the Bahamian people to thrive. Time and time again they give our resources to the foreigner who promise only jobs of slavery.