I am advocating for FREE, PUBLIC ACCESS, not just for Winnifred Beach, but for all the designated public beaches in Jamaica!

The government of Jamaica should have no problem funding the environmentally sustainable management of public bathing beaches island-wide for the enjoyment and benefit of our own people, from the Tourism Enhancement Fund. And I am not suggesting that the government do it themselves (God forbid, what concrete ugliness would result!) but they should commission and pay for the highest standards of beach management by private interests, so as to allow free public access. What a difference this would make, not only for the people of Jamaica but for the visitors who want to experience Jamaica in the company of Jamaicans.

Think of the millions spent on ugly, concrete “beautification” schemes such as the one currently being imposed on the town of Ocho Rios! Think of the fortune spent by JAMPRO to woo “foreign investment”, the taxes foregone, the environmental damage and social unrest caused by the mega-resorts, the appropriation of public beaches contrary to Development Orders (for example Bahia Principe at Pear Tree Bottom). Instead of wasting money on ugly concrete planters in resort areas, the government should invest in improving the quality of life for ordinary Jamaicans by giving us access to beaches as good as those enjoyed by rich tourists behind high walls.

  SAMPLING OF FEEDBACK ON THE BEACH ACCESS ISSUE (from NJCA Members):
I do not advocate Free access. There has to be management of Public Beaches and this has to be paid. The Government is not responsible to manage, it has proven this, it can only regulate. There are methods to implement to manage and there has to be a recovery of cost which in turn brings a sense of public responsibility.
– Ainsley Henriques

I think there is a need for a comprehensive review (by NEPA?NGO?) of beach access for the public, both paid as at Porto Seco or James Bond Beach, and free as with the government owned public and fishing beaches and just accessible beaches everywhere. The Government should provide free public access beaches with amenities, and there is also a role for paid access beaches where amenities are provided at a reasonable cost. The trouble is that basically access to good swimming beaches is very limited for most citizens. Existing public beaches and fishing beaches need some management as these beaches are prone to take over by druggists (as at Ocho Rios) with legitimate fishermen and vendors being ousted. It sounds like Fairy Hill is still good and casual the way we would like them all to be. This is something I feel very strongly about and would be willing to work on.
– Ann Hodges

To keep beaches clean and to have facilities, it costs money. I don’t see anything wrong with applying a small service charge to beach visitors, to make that happen….from a principles standpoint, I think this “it’s ours and we should have free access” thing needs to be dismantled.
– Brian Zane

What is meant by Free access? Do we not pay taxes? I makes me mad to go to various “small Islands,” as we contemptuously call them, and to see public beaches open to all and sundry, with lifeguards to boot; and to know that in Jamaica, access is restricted. What is wrong with the ordinary Jamaican? Why should he/she be prevented from mixing on the beach with tourists? Today’s tourist must know that we do not think that blackness is a negative or contagious characteristic from which they need protection. Why should I be accosted by security guards in Negril, while taking a walk on a beach? Too often we fail to recognize that some relicts of colonialism, racism, and classism, need to be abolished,especially for symbolic, if not economic reasons.
We hear so much about reparation, and complain about being excluded from so many countries by excessive visa charges, requirements for police certificates, health certificates,intrusive and insulting searches,etc. and yet some of us advocate exclusion of our people, especially the majority, from what is manifestly their property, on spurious grounds.Unless and until we the people inherit this land,and know it really is ours,-that this is, a fi wi – this country will be faced with problem after problem. The recent demonstration by the JLP politician on not getting an apology for slavery from the deputy PM of the UK was just grandstanding and attempting to grab headlines. What about Jamaicans being excluded from Jamaican beaches? He knows about it. This has been going on forever. Even Michael Manley was once thrown off a beach.
What should be done?
One of the responsibilities of the local government, should be the maintenance, Improvement, and management of beach property for public use. The central government should return a significant percentage of the tourism generated taxes that it collects to the local authorities.(It is too much like a parasite.)They should use that money to clean, police,maintain, beautify, improve, publicly owned property.Good safe beaches cause improvement in economic activity with a positive feedback. Regulatory standards can be set centrally, and enforced. Beaches should not be given to party faithfuls as a sort of money tree.
We should not have to pay additional taxes for what is ours.
What is the position in Barbados?
– Dennis Stephens

AND THE ANSWER TO THAT LAST QUESTION IS…

I think we need examples from other territories… I recall being impressed in Lawrence Gap (?) in Barbados, where the hotel I was in was next to a large lay-by from the road, and you could see people arriving after work, stopping and coming on to the (mostly touristy) beach for a swim, my guess is that the hotels had to maintain the beach for all as part of their getting frontage onto it. I don’t see why the bars and restaurants on our beaches (and hotels too) can’t keep the beaches up. Carving off pay-to-enter beaches means that you have to pay just to look. Has anyone tried to look over Lovers Leap recently??… our party of 16 was told to pay $50 each (and that was years ago) just to approach the view…. a view I felt I had a right to from childhood. Concessions is one thing, but making it another “all exclusive” is another.
– Stephen Hodges

To follow up on Stephen: I can only speak of beaches I have been, often as a runner in the early morning. Antigua, Barbados, Grand Cayman, Cuba (both N and S coasts), Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Belize, Honduras and, yes, even Jamaica have all allowed me free access at any time of the day for any length of time on their beaches. In Jamaica they have been Holland Bay, Hellshire, Canoe Valley, Treasure Beach, Negril and maybe a few small ones in between (I don’t know/like the N coast). They were all free. Some were empty and beautiful, some were crowded and fun. In Honduras the local folks road their horses into the waves, in Cayman I met several expat Jamaicans, etc. So much for the Caribbean. I repeat, they were all free.
Then there were the beaches in Kenya, Tanzania, Algeria, Egypt, Canary Islands, Spain, France, Italy, Grece, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Florida (Miami South Beach, Fort Lauderdale, etc.), New York (Coney Island), where I was a visitor, tourist, and guess what, I was always among Kenyans, Algerians, Germans, Americans etc. (and other visitors), and this was always part of the fun. And guess again, I never paid a cent to get onto the beach. And it never crossed my mind that I should pay or that I would be denied access to the beach – until I came to Jamaica.
There was Doctor’s Cave and I was surprised. My friends in the 70s and 80s told me that we had the right to be on any beach in Jamaica. And I agreed of course, because this was the way it was everywhere else in the world. In the 80s, I did research with a colleague from CAST in Westmoreland and St Elizabeth, and we would jogg in the mornings along many different beaches. We carried wire cutters in our pockets and became very good at rapidly cutting our way through fences, which were illegally put up from houses down to the water or between hotels (the dogs and security guards got used to us). We thought we had a right to do so. And I still believe we had a right to do so.
And yes, once – the only time in my life – I paid to go to the beach. It was in Jamaica, of course, it was a UDC beach, of course, and it was the ugliest and most boring beach I have ever been, with ugly concrete structures in the wrong places and exotic invasive tree species planted (Casuarina and Brazilian Pepper) after they had removed the native vegetation (Sea Grape, Seaside Mahoe, White Mangrove etc.). And there is Lover’s Leap and I am appalled.
So, please stop the crap of telling me that I should be happy to pay to go to the beach – all of a sudden? After having been happy all my life going to the beach without paying? I haven’t read Carole’s introduction into the legal aspects yet, but I was always of the opinion that even in Jamaica it was illegal to keep me off a public beach or to charge me money to get there.
I am tired of all this reactionary and retrograde crap about having different beaches for different people. When are we going to introduce apartheid in Jamaica? The upper class has always had its private retreats, usually small, often around pools off the beach (Portland, St Mary, St. Ann etc.). They are usually low key, I can live with that. But the rest of us, somewhere between 95 and 98 % of the population, must be allowed to enjoy all our public beaches together with visitors, tourists, for free.
It is about time that our tax money goes back into the public domaine, and if the central government cannot get of its ass (because they are too busy giving each other nice little gifts in the form of a beach here and a development there), then maybe the local governments could be activated. They are a bit closer to the people (although they have their own corruption games), and if one parish could set an example, others might follow. Or if UDC wants to do it, fine. I thought, this was actually their mandate. But let’s make sure we check on the EIA – and on the execution of works once they have started. I’ll be happy to see that nasty little beach in Portland be cleaned up of debris and properly maintained, including lifeguards watching children and turtle nests. Beautiful, looking forward. But you cannot charge us to get to that beach! We have paid already, we are paying every day.
Yes to public access! Yes to free access!
- Andreas Oberli

MORE OPINIONS from previous discussion…

I as a born Jamaican would like to be able to go to any beach here that is presently blocked off from “the locals”. I agree with Andreas 100%, and I think that Ainsley is concerned about indiscipline and crime by “invading” locals. If proper security were to be put in place that everyone could “mix up” and feel comfortable, safe and welcome, and have respect for the rules and the natural flora and fauna, then that is the ideal situation. And as for “busloads” – that could be organized properly too, so that everyone is happy and no harm is done.

Corruption is a perfect word for what is destroying this country, and Greed is the key word for what is destroying the earth we live on.

Lawd a massy, effen mi cyaah ketch likkle sea bath inna fi mi country, is what reely a gwaan????
– Tammy Duperrouzel

It would in fact be wonderful if all public beaches were free. The question is, who goin’pay fa? It would be delusional to believe that the government will invest one cent in maintaining and managing beaches so that we can all have free access. There are significant costs involved in maintaining a beach in really good condition: water, electricity, solid waste management, access roads, a body or bodies to clean the beach, lifeguard (s) and management of all of the above. I certainly do not appreciate bathing at a free beach that is dirty. So while I agree that we all pay taxes and should expect the government to properly maintain and manage our beaches it is not going to happen. What the government will do is write all sorts of regulations for beaches and put up signs to tell us where we cannot bathe. So what do we the people do if we are to ensure that we retain and maintain our beaches? As long as our public beaches are not managed and maintained by somebody they remain free for the taking for ‘development’. Winnifred Beach now has a committee and they have opened a bank account for the beach in order to collect donations to defer all the legal costs being incurred in the fight to save the beach as well as to fund improvements. Water and electricity bills in the many, many thousands that have not been paid will also have to be paid if these services are to be restored. We can rest assured that the government will not be footing any of these bills nor financing any future costs of maintaining the beach. So, where is the money to come from? It seems to me we will have to look at a nominal fee for beach use which would, in the case of Winnifred for example, go the committee established by the citizens to maintain the beach. There is a lot of work to be done at Winnifred: establishing a parking area away from the dune, relocating the toilet facilities away from the beach and ensuring that they are environmentally sound, cleaning the beach and employing a contractor to remove the garbage so that it does not have to be burned, erecting garbage bins, fixing the roads, and so on and so on. So while we yearn for free beaches we must recognize that clean, beautifully maintained beaches come at a cost, and if want the enjoyment of these beaches we should be prepared to pay to use them. I should point out that it would be a big bee in Jamaica’s bonnet if we could have our beaches Blue Flag certified, but guess what, Blue Flag will only certify managed beaches. So why do we the people not take control of our beaches and truly make them the most beautiful and enjoyable places for Jamaicans and visitors. Perhaps when we truly control the beaches big investors, udcs, government and whoever may find it more difficult to take them away from us.
– Barbara Walker , Mocking Bird Hill

Dear All,

Three cheers to Andreas Oberli!!! I like those comments.

When we, Jamaicans, get our priorities right, we will set up intelligent local infrastructure to manage not only our beaches but other attractions as well. Here is an example of how not to treat local people at “tourist attractions.” Can anyone imagine that I was asked to produce identification before paying to enter Reach Falls one month ago? They have two prices, one for tourists, the other for locals. I had to prove that I was a local. I found this incredible, and demanded that they take my fingerprints and be prepared to scan my irises to verify my identity. The last time I visited Dunn’s River Falls with foreign visitors, I had a “fight” at the gate over the same thing. My taxes were used to “beautify and develop” those place, and yet I was being treated in this contemptible manner.

The above is symptomatic of an attitude of the ruling classes and their ‘dogs,’ -(Animal Farm) -which is just two removes from apartheid. Democracy, independence, and representative government are not their default positions. They are still scared of the natives The new set of Rulers with their security guards believe that they have a God given right, -a la Portia-, to own and to govern, the natives are too stupid to manage their own small affairs. What is rightfully, common property, must be taken from the natives, and sold back to them.

{For Ainsley, the Lyssons experience could possibly be avoided if a local NGO infrastructure was created, to, for example, employ that unnamed beachcomber, provide him with a uniform and authority, to monitor, clean, and preserve any facilities of that beach, and to fire him if he was incompetent. Local people would then have an interest in tourists and tourism and would use the attractions for free, or at a price that all of us could afford.}

After slavery was abolished, the people migrated away from the plains to the hinterland to cultivate land unsuitable for sugar estates, and to set up the small hillside towns we know today. This scared the planters and their allies in the House of Assembly of the day and they tried to seize all the lands for themselves. The Morant Bay Rebellion was the result. This unrest was principally about land and so the Assembly, scared of giving up the land to the former slaves and dispossessed natives, gave it back to a Colonial government..

At Independence, our rulers did not think that the ordinary man in the street was also the beneficiary of that freedom, and instead of making it their duty to orderly manage the common property, and to transmit independence, democracy and freedom down to the grass roots, decided to sell it- and its contained resources- to benefit themselves and those genetically linked to them. The plan to destroy the Cockpit Country and make what was a Public beach, inaccessible to poor local citizens, are the illegitimate children of the same impecunious progenitors.

The rulers will, eventually, migrate to Miami or Atlanta for their retirement.
– Dennis Stephens

The Dead-End or Buccaneer Beach in Montego Bay is free and public, maintained (very nicely) by the small group of guys who sell coconut/jelly, jewelery, drinks etc… on the beach. They maintain it for their customers. No toilet or safety facilities. An example of informal ownership/stewardship.
– Andrew Ross

OPINIONS, cont’d.

There are ways to have both public and free access to beaches. I have seen it happen in other (Caribbean) Countries with much success to boot. The point is that if we start out by seeing the hiccups then only the hiccups will be realised. If the ultimate goal is to have free public beaches, we can find a way to make it happen. It is alarming that this battle for keeping Jamaica’s beaches accessible to Jamaicans has been going on for so long. AND ALSO THAT THE REGULAR JAMAICANS ARE ON THE LOSING END OF THE STICK.
Wherever there is political will, things have a tendency to move.
Have we stopped to consider that in Barbados no hotel has exclusive rights to any beach? All beaches are accessible by all Barbadians, regardless of the proximity of the hotel. – I never thought it was possible until I stayed in a hotel on the coast and did the island tour of Barbados myself.
Several questions come to mind.. Do we dare entrust those responsible for beach maintenance…. UDC? The government of Jamaica with the awesome task at hand?? Historically all the best beaches belong to the hotels and tourists.. Jamaicans have to sneak onto these premises.
I am offended by it. I have been for a long time.
There are still some things that should remain free and accessible to all Jamaicans. While the access may be free, activities, food, etc may be provided in concessionaires stands etc., on the beach to help defray maintenance costs.
As for the drug run beaches – it simply means a matter of higher level of maintenance. A “drug beach” does not happen over night. There are few criminals who will carry out their activities in a patrolled area which is abuzz with activities.
I know my opinions cast a simplistic look at the situation – but then I believe that most problems are solved with simpler approaches than complex ones. I am longing for the day when I can go beach hopping.
I do believe that we have the most beautiful beaches in the world and it is criminal to withhold this commodity from Jamaicans who may not have the resources to pay fees to enter.
Good luck with the fight. Keep in mind that we need God to show us the way forward…. lest we perish in all our attempts.
- Candy Bain
I think that for public beaches we should create committees with locals with a supervisor to administrate the beach and, as we do for Winnifred, ask on the weekends for a small volunteer contribution. Plus we can think on assigning most of the maintenance of the vendors Each on of them should have a peg to take care of Plus again we can plan some small events, such as a concert a family fun day which can be utilized as fund raising. It is a long way to go because it also means to educate the people working on the beach but it builds a mentality, cooperation, working in team, mutual help, which is important.
– Maria Carla Gullotta