We were treated yesterday to an explicit video, of the gospel according to Rodney Ramazan, a well-known beach bully, who makes his living in a variety of ways, I will let your imagination fill in the blanks.
He was having a pissing contest with the owner of Delphi watersports, Robert Leeuwe, who is a decent individual according to my sources. Their violet exchange stands in stark contrast to its gorgeous backdrop, Aruba’s #1 asset, Palm Beach, which now gets less than favorite reviews, when it is titled busy, crowded, loud, not the beach to relax.
Think about it. Palm Beach services 4,548 rooms, more than 12 resorts along an approximately two-mile stretch, without regulation or enforcement.
As we all know, the Beach Policy promised in 2014 set out to regulate all beach activity on the island. IRONICALLY the process of permit application empowered the beach vendors to claim more territory and add umbrellas and chairs to their menu of activities besides jet skis, catamaran rides, and parasailing.
And why not? There was no one to stop them from expanding their empires, they saw an opportunity, and they pounced on it.
The hotels were told to back off, and retreat into their boundaries. Obviously, they complied. And since there is no vacuum of power, someone was bound to fill in the space.
And fill they did. Chairs and umbrellas, umbrellas and chairs. For cash, an endless supply of unreported income.
Last year, I seriously pointed out that we are at the tipping point, where there is no way back. Things went out of hand, and it would be immensely difficult to re-introduced civility to the beach.
Without enforcement and supervision, the breakdown of law and order on our beaches has gone far.
For the umpteen time: All beach vendors must be licensed, and their license must spell out their does and don’ts and should be on display at their place of business, specifying the permitted scope of their activities.
The hotels welcome any legislation, it is in their interest, in the country’s interest, but GOA will have to take enforcement seriously. Why are the beach vendors above the law? Why are they protected? Why doesn’t the Police crackdown on illicit activity? Who really owns these beach concessions? Why are they allowed to ruin our quiet beach enjoyment experience?
Why do you torture the restaurants into compliance with health and safety regulations and exercise a hands-off policy on the beaches?
From a column last year: We recently saw pictures of our beaches, with chairs and umbrellas covering every inch of white sand. Apparently, the Beach Vendors have recently expanded their activities, they cleverly diversified, adding the sale of chairs and umbrellas, to their already obnoxious water sports portfolios.
Apparently, the sale of drugs was not as lucrative in recent years, with the aging Aruba tourist population, and the no-brain chair and umbrella scheme proved immensely successful for this uneducated, frumpy, badly behaved segment of the population.
A chair is a wonderful thing. Rent it out once, then rent it out again the following day, no maintenance, no need to even wipe it down; charge $30 in cash per piece, and literally piss on whoever attempts to bring their own chair to YOUR beach.
Just look menacing, strut around barefoot, beer belly hanging over tattered shorts, and if someone threatens to call the police – they don’t come anyway, set their palapas ablaze.
How did this saga begin: In July 2014 a certain misdirected bureaucrat was appointed by the MinTour, who decided to shoot himself in the foot, to write a Beach Policy.
The man wrote a studious brief. He measured, he spelled out the rules, the way he saw them. And like every other piece of legislation, it was NOT implemented.
http://www.dip.aw/RRIS%202013%20-%20Directive%20-%20decided%20on.pdf
