INSIGHT: Can a case be made for Minnis to serve two terms?
IN The Bahamas, the duty of prime minister has become a “one and done” contract with the Bahamian people over the last three general elections. Much goes into what causes the electorate changing leadership every five years. However, Prime Minister Minnis spoke to the media with confidence last week that he will, at the very least, break the trend to become the nation’s first two-term prime minister in the past 20 years.
WORLD VIEW: Caricom skin in the Haiti game
HAITI’S current fiscal problems that led to four days of riots setting back the country’s already fragile economic and political stability, have implications for Caribbean Community and Common Market countries (Caricom) that cannot be ignored.
LETTERS EXTRA: A path back to progress for Abaco
THE collapse of Freeport provides an unprecedented opportunity to revisit a self-governing state of Abaco. If we are able to learn from their failure, a narrow path back to international status and prosperity could emerge.
INSIGHT: It’s time to bust the marijuana myths
IT is “high” time the conversation of marijuana decriminalisation or legalisation be approached intellectually. This has been a subject of recent debate, particularly gaining momentum at the beginning of the year. CARICOM’s regional assessments led to a town meeting over a week ago, where despite a lack of representation from the people that oppose marijuana decriminalisation or legalisation, there was still a good turnout, as citizens came out in droves to voice their opinions on the issue.
INSIGHT: Speaking with forked tongues
WHILE the government’s decision to increase VAT has been the centre of the nation’s attention for the past six weeks, their plan to revamp the Oban Heads of Agreement was also announced in the latter part of last month. Clearly, this was a decision m
WORLD VIEW: Seeing President Trump in a pleasing light
US President Donald Trump did not sign “The Charlevoix G7 Summit Communique” in Canada in early June. In not doing so, he demonstrated doubts about the group in which the US participates with Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the Presidency of the European Union (EU). The presence of the EU, already represented by Britain, France, Germany and Italy, gives the EU an oversize and unwarranted voice.
INSIGHT: A vision for Downtown Nassau
ALTHOUGH the bulk of the plans for the rejuvenation of downtown Nassau are medium to long-term, Downtown Nassau Partnership (DNP) managing director Ed Fields is adamant the organisation is working to bring significant changes to the city.
INSIGHT: When the rubber meets the road
AS Bahamians continue to wrap their minds around the dramatic increase in what was already one of the highest costs of living in the world, the outlook is daunting. The government, unabashed by dissenting views inside and outside Cabinet, has shot do
INSIGHT: The sleeping giant of Bahamian politics
IN 1967, the small group of families that had controlled The Bahamas for generations were dealt a massive and crippling blow. When the PLP’s nationalist revolution swept Lynden Pindling into power, the world as these entitled oligarchs knew it was brought to an abrupt and jarring end.
WORLD VIEW: CARICOM Summit needs to excite the imagination
I WISH I could say that “all eyes are on the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting to be held from 4 to 6 July in Jamaica”. But, CARICOM events have long since ceased to hold excitement for the people of the 15-member community. They hardly get a glance these days.
INSIGHT: Everything to lose and so little to gain
PRIME Minister Hubert Minnis has been unwavering - perhaps even deluded in his claim that his government will save The Bahamas. But save The Bahamas from whom? It is his own government that could be poised to plunge it into economic ruin.
INSIGHT: Crumbling before our eyes
WHEN I wrote a column last week that started with the words - shame on me - I was fighting back tears. I am a Bahamian citizen and as guilty as every one of us who stands by and lets history crumble before our eyes. Earlier that day, I had stood in front of a building that once housed Pan American Airlines headquarters and realised, just as I had the Sunday before when a young friend and I pushed away the bush to get inside Blackbeard’s Tower, that we are letting our incredible history vanish piece by piece, decaying block by block, day by day.
Top Tips for Landing the First Job After Graduation
COLLEGE graduation is an exciting milestone that marks years of preparation, hard-work and sacrifice for both students and their families. However, the celebration of success is often short-lived for graduates as they anxiously turn their thoughts to what the next steps should be.
INSIGHT: Stop taxing the poorest
ALREADY drowning in a sea of hefty utility bills, high living costs, and archaic business-stifling restrictions, low to middle income Bahamians have just been smacked in the face with a sledgehammer in the form of a regressive, unexpected and misguided tax hike. It is far worse for Grand Bahamians where the economy remains mired in a quagmire of depression.
INSIGHT: We desperately need a new leadership alternative
AS we brace ourselves for the impending reality of increased taxes, the government’s confirmation that it will proceed with the 4.5 percent VAT hike has left many Bahamians feeling disheartened. While the likelihood that they would have come back this week more amenable to consultation after having heard the public uproar was low, many people still had hope.
