The Tribune

• Opposition leader defends law targeted for repeal

• Denies it ‘throws the system widen open’ to expats

• Private sector: Little impact, but still ‘bottleneck’ fear

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Opposition’s leader yesterday launched an impassioned defence of the fast-track work permit process introduced by the Minnis administration, and asserted: “This was not a dismantling of Bahamianisation.”

Michael Pintard, responding to a Cabinet minister’s determination that the Commercial Enterprises Act “must be repealed” (see other article on Page 20B), told Tribune Business that “skills transfer”, knowledge transfer and training of Bahamians were pre-conditions that expatriate investors must fulfill to access the benefits of the law’s liberalised work permit regime.

Denying that the Act “throws the system wide open” to foreign workers to take Bahamian jobs, he emphasised that its intent was to improve the ease of doing business and help attract new, high-end and technology-based businesses to The Bahamas that would grow the economy and create well-paying jobs.

Questioning what the Davis administration will do to replace the Commercial Enterprises Act, Mr Pintard also urged the Government to present its “overall strategy for attracting new industries to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas”. 

Speaking after Keith Bell, minister of labour and Immigration, argued that the Commercial Enterprises Act “has to be repealed” because it is “an impossibility” to meet the deadlines and timeframes it sets for conducting the necessary due diligence and approving work permits, the Opposition’s leader warned the Government not to mislead Bahamians over the Act’s intent.

 “The purpose, as he [Mr Bell] must know, with the Commercial Enterprises Act was to attract industries that were not necessarily operating and moving into this jurisdiction,” Mr Pintard told this newspaper. “The thought was that we could attract industries, talent and investment to The Bahamas in growing these often unique elements. That was the genesis behind this Act.

“If these people came in, they would bring their businesses, bring their networks, their access to international markets and contacts with them. They are then able to transfer those to Bahamians. Training was listed in the Act as one of the pre-requisites to set up or establish a business. There has to be a transfer of skills.

“This was not a dismantling of Bahamianisation. The PLP does not have a monopoly on a commitment to empowering Bahamians. We love our country as much as they do. We are committed to Bahamian ownership first, and then job creation second. Our priority is protecting Bahamians through protection of our patrimony,” the Opposition leader continued.

“His [Mr Bell’s] suggestion that this throws the doors wide open through Immigration is a narrow and incorrect view. The goal was also to improve the Immigration processing system. We sought to go cashless, and we took a lot of the personal discretion that could lead to unfortunate decisions by some. We wanted to have a modern, transparent system supported by technology to make that happen. We wanted to make the system efficient.”

However, many Bahamians viewed the Commercial Enterprises Act as providing a means for expatriate workers to take jobs that local can perform when it was passed by Parliament in 2017 during the early months of the Minnis administration. The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), then in opposition and headed by now-prime minister Philip Davis, pledged at the time it would repeal the Act if voted into office.

Private sector executives, though, yesterday suggested the Commercial Enterprises Act had made little to no difference in either attracting new industries/investments to The Bahamas or in easing the bottlenecks and frustration encountered in seeking to obtain timely work permits for skilled expatriate labour from the Immigration Department.  

One attorney, speaking on condition of anonymity, said of the Act: “It never did anything did it? No, nothing ever changed. Brent [Symonette, then minister responsible for Immigration] was trying to do some things, but he was gone before that could happen”. And Carey Leonard, the Freeport-based Callenders & Co attorney, added: “Has it really had any major impact? I guess it’s not going to make much difference. I haven’t seen any great results from it.” 

Others, though, voiced concern that - absent a replacement - the Act’s repeal could remove any impetus to improve the ease of doing business and efficiency in how work permits are processed and approved. Peter Goudie, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) labour division chair, said the law was designed to “get business going and get rid of the bottlenecks”.

He told Tribune Business: “We’re going to go back to having the bottlenecks at Immigration itself that have been complained about for years. If they repeal a ‘fast track’ process you’re going to end up with a slow track process, that’s all I can say. Immigration has been a bottleneck for years. 

“I don’t know why they want to remove a fast track process. I don’t understand it. We’re trying to improve the ease of doing business, so if we take a ‘fast track’ process out of Immigration that’s not going to make the ease of doing business better; it’s going to make it worse. I’d love to know what they’re going to replace it with. If you take it away and don’t replace it with something better, you’re going to have problems. That’s easy to figure out.”

The Commercial Enterprises Act presently allows senior foreign management and key personnel to enter The Bahamas and establish physical businesses - but only in the targeted industries stipulated - without possessing a work permit. 

The necessary 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. Should the director not respond within that timeframe, the work permit is “automatically deemed to have been granted”.

The Act is targeted at industries that are foreign exchange earners, and which were cited by the Minnis administration as part of its economic growth and diversification strategy. Financial services led the way with reinsurance; captive insurance; investment fund administration; arbitration; wealth management; international trade and international arbitrage included in the ‘fast track’ work permit sectors.

Also listed in the Bill were technology-related industries such as computer programming; software design and writing; bioninformatics and analytics; nano technology; and biomedical health facilities. Other sectors included boutique health facilities; data storage and warehousing; aviation registration and ‘approved’ aviation maintenance operations; call centres and manufacturing and assembly/logistics businesses.

Mr Pintard said the “automatic granting” of work permits after 14 days, if no response was received from the Immigration Department, was “not to throw the doors wide open” to expatriate workers. Describing it as “a sunset clause”, he added: “The view was that the way we operate is entirely too slow. This was to speed up the process based on the nature of the job and industry being applied for.”

The Opposition leader said these timelines did not compromise the Immigration Department’s ability to vet expatriate work permit applicants and, if deemed necessary, ultimately deny approval and subsequently ensure the subject person left The Bahamas.

“This was not an abandonment of any due diligence,” Mr Pintard told Tribune Business. “The Government reserves the right to revoke any permit issued to someone working in The Bahamas for a short, medium and long-term period.  

“If his [Mr Bell’s] concern is that, in multiple circumstances, this is not happening and due diligence is not being carried out within the timeline, he can amend the timeline and look at best practice in other jurisdictions where they have been able to put in place system of vetting and due diligence for certain industries they want that did not create havoc and did not erode sovereignty of a particular jurisdiction.

“I believe he’d find the answer or intent was to improve the turnaround time to establish a bank account, the ability to obtain a Business Licence, go through Immigration’s vetting. It was just done to reduce red tape, improve the efficiency and effectiveness of our system and reduce the amount of frustration for Bahamians and others doing business in this space.”