The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

LABOUR and Immigration Minister Keith Bell said the Commercial Enterprises Act has to be repealed, adding that he has spoken with Attorney General Ryan Pinder about it.

The Commercial Enterprises Act liberalises the granting of work permits to an enterprise that wishes to establish itself in the Bahamas, and requires work permits for its management team and key personnel. The legislation enables a ‘specified commercial enterprise’ to obtain an Investments Board certificate granting it a specific number of work permits for certain positions.

The certificate allows key personnel to set up the company’s physical operations in the Bahamas before they obtain a work permit. Such a permit must be applied for within 30 days of their entry, and the Act mandates the Director of Immigration to make a decision on approval within 14 days of receiving the application.

The current minister raised concerns about the 14-day timeline.

“Now, based on all of the comments made in the media recently about there being a crisis in the Abacos and in The Bahamas, I would submit that the problem of immigration is an age old problem. We all know that we have our challenges and our concerns.

“But in the face of all of this, we have had the former administration pass the Commercial Enterprises Act in 2017, which mandated that in 14 days of the date of an application, the work permit will be issued, regardless of due diligence,” he said.

“I know having sat in the chair of now, as the Minister of Immigration, that it is almost an impossibility for an application to be submitted today and within 14 days, that we would have done, Immigration Department, have done its due diligence.

“But it has always been a policy of immigration and certainly this government, that when a person applies for a work permit, we have to ensure that they have a medical record. We have to make sure they have a police record. We have to ensure that a labour certificate is issued, we have to make sure that the documents issued are not fraudulent. We have to check with the country from which the individual came, how could that possibly take two weeks to do? But this Act is telling the Bahamian people that in 14 days, if the application is not approved, that it will automatically be approved. And so to me, I think it’s one of hypocrisy.”

Asked if the law is going to be repealed, he answered: “Yes, it has to be repealed. And I have spoken with the attorney general on it, but the Act is still in force.”

When asked how soon can the public see it being repealed, he replied: “Well, I cannot answer that. It is again before the Office of the Attorney General. What I will tell the Bahamian public is as Minister of Labour and Immigration I will not be following this particular thing. There will be due diligence under this administration in respect of all of the applications.”

Asked what was a reasonable time for businesses and individuals to expect their persons vetted, Mr Bell compared the number of permits issued versus applications.

“In my estimation, I would say between six and 12 weeks,” he said, adding that the government issues approximately 15,000 work permits per year.

He said the department goes through approximately 30,000 applications a year.