There has apparently been a lot of changes for the cruising community coming to the Bahamas over the past year. From immigration visa in consistencies, including a $200 per person charge for extensions, to port authority staff inconsistently issuing anywhere from 30 -180 day visas with no rhyme or reason.

I totally get that a poor country needs to generate revenue and the Bahamas only has tourism as an industry so they need to utilize that to add to their coffers.

The latest attempt at this is the recent plan by the government to install mooring balls in many of the locations in the Exuma Island chain. The rationale is to manage the damage to their marine environment caused by cruisers dropping their anchors in coral and sea grass areas causing long term ecological damage. Their intention is to have an outside agency do the retrofit and manage the rental fees going forward. On the surface it is an extension of the small amount of mooring balls which already exist. Abut they are also intending to charge boaters to anchor at all locations as well so this flies in the face of their plan to eliminate anchor damage. Below is an article that was recently posted about this debacle.

https://youtu.be/VMO3YNoNyTY?si=VGIK4OqbvnVDTSPi

*EXUMA TIMES 242*

MAJOR SCANDAL ROCKS THE OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER: SECRET DEAL, HIDDEN CONNECTIONS, AND A POWERFUL TRIO EXPOSED!

Shocking new details have emerged about a high-level web of influence inside OPM, exposing a secretive deal that granted a 21-year seabed lease for over 4,000 acres in the Exumas to a company with direct ties to government insiders. The scandal, which has left officials scrambling for cover, reveals a stunning conflict of interest involving former Cabinet Minister Jerome Fitzgerald, senior government officer Sandra Hylton Kemp, and her husband, Philip Kemp II, the president of the company at the center of the controversy Bahamas Moorings Ltd.

For weeks, questions have swirled about how the lease was quietly approved, why no public consultation took place, and who really stood to benefit. Now, the answers are trickling out, and they are explosive.

For years, insiders have whispered about the undeniable bond between Fitzgerald, Sandra Kemp, and Philip Kemp, a trio known for operating in the shadows, maneuvering deals, and staying just out of reach of scrutiny. But their latest move may have finally caught up with them.

The scandal erupted when Sandra Hylton Kemp a senior official in OPM was revealed to have signed as a witness on the very lease that handed over a massive stretch of the Exumas to her husband's company. This revelation sent shockwaves through the political world, raising serious concerns about how much influence was exerted behind the scenes to push the deal through.

But the deeper you dig, the dirtier it gets.
Long before this scandal, Sandra Kemp and Jerome Fitzgerald were already business-linked, working together at a company called Pieces of Eight, a high end boating and excursions venture. This was no small side hustleit was a lucrative marine tourism business, and it cemented a partnership that has been working the system for years.
Jerome Fitzgerald, a known political operator, has long had a reputation for wheeling and dealing behind closed doors. Those close to him say his real talent lies not in public governance, but in private maneuvering. With Sandra Kemp working directly inside the Office of the Prime Minister, the ties between them raised serious red flags but it was Philip Kemp's involvement that made the whole arrangement impossible to ignore.
The man who stood to profit from the Exuma seabed lease? Sandra's husband, Philip Kemp.
This wasn't just a case of cutting corners. The government issued a cease and desist order only after it became public that moorings were already being installed without approvals from the relevant authorities.

The Exuma Cays Administrator blew the whistle, revealing that mooring buoys had been dropped into the waters without clearance from environmental regulators, the Port Department, or local government officials. The people of Exuma had no idea what was happening until they saw the installations for themselves.

And then came the cease and desist letter, a document that officially called out Philip Kemp for breaking the rules. That was the moment when the government could no longer keep the secret hidden.

For days, the Office of the Prime Minister has struggled to explain how one of its own officers was able to sign off on a lease that directly benefited her husband. Did no one think this was a problem?

No one can say exactly who approved what, but sources inside OPM are now whispering that this wasn't just an unfortunate oversight it was part of a much larger pattern.

• Why did Jerome Fitzgerald, a former Cabinet Minister, have such a strong interest in this deal?
• Why did Sandra Kemp, an officer in OPM, sign off on a document benefiting her own family?
• Why was this lease pushed through without public consultation or a competitive bidding process?
• Who else inside OPM knew about this and stayed silent?
The answers to these questions could shake the highest levels of government.
Now that the scandal has gone public, the government is trying to distance itself from the debacle, claiming that the lease was always contingent on regulatory approvals. But no one is buying that excuse.
The reality is this was a done deal until it wasn't.
With the venture now collapsing, the government is rushing to assure the public that it still believes in the concept of a regulated mooring system but now wants to put it through a competitive process. The problem? It was never competitive to begin with.
This was a handshake deal crafted in the corridors of power and signed off by the very people who stood to benefit from it.
Now, OPM is in full damage control mode, but Bahamians are demanding answers.
Will there be an investigation? Will anyone be held accountable?

Or will this just be another case of insiders helping insiders, while the public is left in the dark?
One thing is certain: the trio that once operated in the shadows is now fully exposed--and this scandal is far from over.

Today's shot of Whardrick Wells anchorage where you can only use mooring balls due to the narrow channel. there's no room for swinging on anchor lines here.