The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Generally speaking, the average Bahamian would want the gold rush administration, led by the Rt Hon. Perry Gladstone Christie (PLP-Centreville) and the Hon Philip “Brave” Davis (PLP-Cat Island) to succeed. Of course, by the same token, there are some who are salivating that they and their administration would fail. Failure, however, in my considered opinion, is not a national option if we are to continue, collectively, to write the book called The Bahamas. To do this, we must all, politicians and the so-called movers and shakers especially put our shoulders to the wheel. Rational national policies must be implemented.

When the gold rush was in opposition it cried the proverbial “blood of Jesus” on the now defunct FNM and its hologramistic leadership over their immigration policies, or lack of them, and the blanket issuance of work permits. Now that the size 15 shoes are on the other foot, those same policies and initiatives remain in place and may have bloated into the thing with very big ears and an exceedingly short tail.

It is commonly accepted that some 45,000 Bahamians, who want to work, are unable to find employment and many of them have stopped looking for work in a depressed economy. Mind you, many of them may lack marketable skills and may not even be capable of holding down the most rudimentary of jobs. That is absolutely no excuse or justification, however, for our gold rush leaders and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration to continue to issue work permits as if there was no end in sight and to be seen to be bemoaning the “backlog” of applications.

A job availability assessment should be done and while it is being done there should be a moratorium on the fresh issuance of work permits. The defunct FNM was infamous for bragging about how many millions of dollars flowed into the public coffers as a direct result of issuance of work permits and certificates of residency and the like. The then PLP opposition raked that administration and the then erstwhile, if sometimes comical, Minister of Foreign Affairs cum Deputy Prime Minister over the coals. The beat continues unabated and the gold rush’s Minister of Immigration and his Director of Immigration have yet to rationalise our work permit and immigration policies or lack thereof. A remarkable thing about our home grown politicians and their political minions is that they are so thinned skinned when in government. They will “hate” you and set up all sorts of professional road blocks in your path if they perceive that you are critical of their performance or lack thereof while in office. I find this puzzling and disturbing in a democratic country, as we profess to be. No one politician or individual has the “solutions” to what may be ailing the nation. Yet, far too many of us preen and posture as if we are the sage of the age.

The PLP, in opposition, demanded that the now defunct FNM reveal the number of persons who would have been granted paper citizenship in the months leading up to the general elections. It has been in power almost five months and not a single statistic has been released in the public domain. Is this the way the cookie will continue to crumble? The gold rush administration is poised to create a game changing legacy if it so wishes, but it must always be cognisant of the simple fact that the Bahamian electorate is extremely fickle and that this generation of voters is not that of our fathers. You gold rush honchoes and tin goddesses will “ignore” the legitimate expectations of the people at your own peril. Ten thousand “new” jobs were promised by the then PLP opposition during the campaign. Then opposition politicians could be accessed by a mere cell phone call. Now, people are still being laid off, right left and centre, and the seated politicians are granting jobs within the public sector to selected political cronies and sycophants. The same old same old appears to apply and if you are not “buddy buddy” with someone, you need not apply.

I want the gold rush to succeed and to succeed magnificently. All hands must be on deck and all shoulders must be to the wheel. The administration, however, must become more inclusive and it must get beyond the classical tribalism which has dominated and decimated our society for decades. This is, I submit, no way to build a nation where no one will go hungry; where no one will lack a meaningful job; where not a single reasonable and hard working entrepreneur will be stifled; where not a single Bahamian will run the real risk of dying due to inability to afford medical health; where the tears will be wiped away from every eye and where the political loaf of bread will be sliced in such a way as to guarantee all Bahamians at least one slice.

The urgent rationalization of our work permit and immigration policies is crucial to the way forward. Yes, some will “blame” the current inscrutable and dour Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration for the mess up at the Department of Immigration but it must be kept in mind that he is no “one man band”. The gold rush cabinet is the Immigration Board and as such, all of its members are accountable and responsible to the continuing saga. If the Christie lead interregnum “feels” the unemployment pain and trauma of genuine Bahamians, as I believe that it does, it must show greater empathy and real compassion towards us. All most of us want is a level playing field without undue competition from work permit holders and immigrants, legal or otherwise. No freebies are wanted and none are expected. In our own country, however, the scarce jobs which might be available should be made available to “real” Bahamians first. It is my postulation that only where absolutely necessary should an employer or investor be allowed to import foreign workers.

In any circumstances, to subject a human being to gross and rank unemployment is debilitating and a societal factor which could and will destroy families; self worth and community. To God then, in all of these mundane but vexing things, be the glory.

ORTLAND H BODIE Jr

Nassau,

October 7, 2012.