THE GOVERNMENT GIVES THE LAST LAND AT P I

Vice President for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Russell Benford

So the Vice President for Government Relations for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines ( RCCL) Russell Benford was doing the round of talk shows to make the case for them getting for next to nothing the last crown land on Paradise Island.  They argue that they are not creating an exclusive enclave on the island with their proposal to acquire beach front on Paradise Island but that this will be beneficial to Bahamians and will get more people to come off the cruise ship in the city of  Nassau.  According to the VP, Nassau has a problem in that less people come off the ship in Nassau than anywhere else. He thinks that this Paradise Island project will cause the number of people to come off the ship to increase. The problem is no one believes him, except the Government. Of course the FNM, they are so hopeless, they believe anything a man in a suit and an American accent tells them.  He met with the Opposition leader Brave Davis on Friday 13 March 2020 after doing a round of interviews with the press and on radio and television.  No one believes him for a moment. This is the sweetener in the deal for Freeport and the purchase of the Grand Lucayan Hotel. The details of  that purchase have not been disclosed but it is like this.  You take the hotel off our hands and we give you the land for next to nothing on Paradise Island.