The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

THE Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) has been seen off in spectacular fashion, ending ten years of inept governance and corruption.

The arrogance of Perry Christie and many other ministers is a stark reminder that those elected work for the people, not the other way around. New Free National Movement (FNM) ministers take note.

With a sensible and talented Cabinet in place, Prime Minister Dr Minnis has the tools to deliver initiatives that could transform the fortunes of the country. With the sagging GDP and multiple financial downgrades, unemployment is by far the biggest burden to the economy, not going away any time soon with another 4,000 students about to graduate from high school, with little or no chance of finding employment.

The current economic status of the country is such that jobs cannot be created by some sort of waving of magic wand. Like it or not, being the small nation we are, dependence on foreign investment has and is today the main vehicle to deliver job opportunities. Unfortunately, for too many years, we have been xenophobic about encouraging other nationals to come to our shores to set up businesses, establish homes and educate their children.

The rocky fortunes of the Freeport, Grand Bahama, economy for the past 40 years is of course the prime example. In the early 1970s, persons came from all over the globe to open their own businesses, build homes and establish a vibrant community. Equally importantly, they employed countless Bahamians in a wide variety of jobs. Unemployment was virtually unheard of - in fact many persons had two or three jobs. The decline from these halcyon days has been nothing short of spectacular and, never at any time, did it seem that the situation would improve. The reality is that it has got progressively worse.

The catalyst for this “great Idea” was the Hawksbill Creek Agreement (HCA), mandating free trade, industrial and tourist development, no taxes and unrestricted immigration. The HCA has been revisited and tweaked over the years, mostly in connection with duties and tax exemptions. The “open immigration” aspect has been ignored, simply because the mindset for generations is that foreigners are welcome but only in very small numbers.

No successive Government has made a serious or conscious effort to promote or encourage foreigners to come to the country to establish businesses. Indeed, if foreigners might be considering an investment, they are often driven away at the prospect of only being allowed a handful of work permits at exorbitant annual fees. How short sighted can you possibly get? Obviously, there are dozens of ways to offer incentives and thinking “outside the box” is the only way the situation will change.

It is worth noting that the Forbes list of rankings, for the best and worst countries to do business in, out of 139, the Bahamas is not mentioned. Jamaica ranks 53 and Barbados 72.

It seems clear that this new administration, should be thinking and hard as to how to attract new and sustainable investment, not just for Grand Bahama, but for the whole country. Perhaps this should come under the Financial Services portfolio. In any event, there should be some sort of Ministry for Foreign Investment, with a budget for research, planning, marketing and promotion.

For far too long, especially in Grand Bahama, we have been reciting the tired old record, that we have the best infrastructure in the entire region, less than 100 miles from the world‘s richest economy, but we are unable to get anyone to substantially invest here for the past 25 years. Sad but true and unless there is a dramatic change in Government policy very soon, those currently unemployed will remain unemployed and the children that leave school this year will still be unemployed in ten years’ time.

This seems like the prime time to “reset” the Hawksbill Creek Act, its original intentions and vision, and to forge a new path to emerge as a progressive and prosperous first world country. One can only hope that this new administration has the courage and foresight to make it happen.

CHRIS PAINE

Freeport, Grand Bahama

May 19, 2017