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- Bahamas Press says the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection has signed off on the Rosewood Development at Sampson Cay in Exuma.
- The outlet says Bahamian firm BRON has also signed off on the Rosewood project.
- Bahamas Press says Bob Coughlin has yet to proceed with his promised Heads of Agreement at Sampson Cay and is the only figure it identifies as having an issue with his competitor's development next door.
- The commentary criticises former Bahamas National Trust head Eric Carey, alleging the trust was silent after taking a one-million-dollar donation from the Aga Khan during dredging at the National Land and Sea Park.
- No response from any of the named individuals or organisations is included in the published commentary.
A Bahamian news outlet has published a sharply worded commentary on a development dispute in Exuma, saying that the Rosewood Development at Sampson Cay has received regulatory clearance and that opposition to it is being driven by a rival billionaire and his associates.
Bahamas Press wrote that the Department of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) has signed off on the Rosewood project. The outlet also stated that BRON, described as a Bahamian firm with what it called an outstanding track record dealing with thousands of developments and projects in The Bahamas and the region, has signed off on the Rosewood project.
The commentary names Bob Coughlin as the figure it says has an issue with the development of what it calls his competitor next door at Sampson Cay. Bahamas Press wrote that Coughlin has yet to proceed with his promised Heads of Agreement at Sampson Cay. The outlet described him as the only suspect with an issue with the project, adding that others who share that position are people it says are on his payroll.
Bahamas Press framed the matter as a test of whether a wealthy individual can override the country's development process. It wrote that what the Bahamian people are witnessing at Sampson Cay is what happens when a billionaire wants to have it his way or the highway, and that The Bahamas is a free and independent country where he cannot buy everyone.
The commentary also targets Eric Carey, a former head of The Bahamas National Trust (BNT). Bahamas Press wrote that Carey has no credibility in the environmental community and called him a laughingstock who sings a tune for the highest bidder. The outlet said he was the head of the BNT when it was silent after taking a one-million-dollar donation from the Aga Khan to keep their mouths shut while he dredged out the National Land and Sea Park for his yacht. It called him a hypocrite and said he should be the last person to open his mouth in the country when it comes to the environment.
Bahamas Press also named Dianne Phillips and Joseph Darville among those it said fail to understand that private individuals cannot deny or reject development in the Bahamas. The outlet said it had more files on Carey and that more reporting would follow, closing with its standard line that it reports and readers decide.
The commentary did not include responses from Coughlin, Carey, Phillips, Darville, the BNT, the DEPP or BRON. It also did not set out the specific terms of the Rosewood approval, the status of Coughlin's Heads of Agreement, or the details of the Aga Khan donation and the dredging it references. Those elements remain as described by Bahamas Press and have not been independently corroborated in the material reviewed.