The Tribune

PRIME Minister Perry Christie suggested that fellow Caribbean heads of Government meet in the Bahamas “at the earliest opportunity” to discuss the issues of the region at an appropriate forum in both Nassau and Freeport during his lecture at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago.

“I shared at the last Heads of Government meeting the fact that in many areas, my government was inviting professionals to come to the Bahamas to offer advice and expertise on the conduct of Environmental Impact Assessments, to share the results on research and development and to advise on new policies.

“In my discussions with fellow Heads, I discovered a wealth of information and expertise available within the region itself.

“Further, when there are shortages of skilled artisans in the Bahamas requiring the country to recruit from outside the Bahamas, the region is the place to which we should be able to look to find workers to supplement our workforce. We both suffer from the lack of proper exchanges about information and development. It is important for us to change these perceptions and for there to be an increased exchange of ideas,” Mr Christie said.

The University of the West Indies, as the premier regional institution should be front and centre in this interchange, the Prime Minister added.

“I should not have to look to the University of Florida or the University of Miami alone for the expertise to develop some of our own institutions. As we speak, we are seeking to develop the Bahamas Agricultural and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI).

“This is being developed in Andros which is the largest island in the Bahamas. This is a landmass which is larger than the island of Trinidad but with a population of less than fourteen thousand people. We are seeking to make a concerted effort for The Bahamas to develop its agricultural potential, and train farmers and fishermen who will not only conduct research and development but will grow food for our country. This is a determined effort to make the country more self-sufficient in food production. An expert from the Caribbean was central to developing our ideas on the subject. However, more of this can and should be done,” he said.

Mr Christie also thanked the government of Trinidad and Tobago and other key stakeholders for their assistance in producing a post-Lenten Carnival for the Bahamas.

“The Bahamas Carnival is a post-Lenten multi-layered cultural festival that would be underpinned by indigenous Bahamian expressions in music, art and Junkanoo. It will be similar in concept, but not in content to the Trinidad Carnival and other income-generating cultural festivals and Carnivals around the world. We hope that this will also bring increased synergies for our tourism product and therefore grow the industry and attract more people to the country.

“In addition, I have mandated our Minister of Sports to put in every island sporting facilities so that the children of the Bahamas can have access to such facilities, and the opportunities which these facilities can open up to them. No discussion about the region today, however, will be complete without some discussion on the question of access to capital. Each country in the Caribbean faces the question of how to obtain capital for development,” he said.