The Tribune

“ˆIt’s better in the Bahamas” — or is it?

According to Damien Gomez, Minister of State in Legal Affairs, the Bahamas has gained the reputation of not being an easy place in which to do business.

Mr Gomez pointed out that something had to be done to change that perception because businesses were needed and it was only when they were in a business-oriented setting could commerce grow, prosper and create the jobs urgently needed by this country. Mr Gomez was speaking in the House of Assembly on Monday during the Budget debate. These were not his exact words, but this was the idea that he was trying to get across to his parliamentary colleagues.

It is true what he said. Not only is the Bahamas perceived as not being an easy country in which to do business, we can attest to the fact that much of the time — unless one is prepared to go with the flow — it’s an uphill battle. From the lethargy found in much of the civil service, where time — which is all important to the businessman — seems to mean nothing to the inferior standards of much of the work force, the Bahamas is in serious trouble. We always hasten to say, after making such a sweeping statement that this does not apply to all Bahamian skilled artisans.

There are many stable, hardworking Bahamians in these islands. Many of them could hold their own anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, there are not enough of them to keep this country moving forward at the pace necessary to succeed and create more jobs for young Bahamians soon to join the workforce. It is important for the future of this country that the perception be changed. It is only when the government accepts the problem and has the will to change its own narrow views that something can be done to encourage businesses to expand. In the business community at the moment everything seems to be in a “let’s wait and see” mode.

If Deputy Prime Minister “Brave” Davis hopes to deliver a fraction of the 10,000 immediate jobs that he promised on his government winning the 2012 election, the government has to grasp the problem and act. The deportation of Haitians — and other foreigners — already gainfully employed in local enterprises is not the correct answer. It only further destabilises a business that is satisfied with their work force. However, it is the unemployed non-Bahamian who can no longer be supported.

The Bahamas has always been noted as a country where contracts have been sacred. It has always been taken for granted that a contract signed by one government would be recognised by a new government. But today, even that is threatened.

The change of attitude first raised its ugly head when Sol Kerzner and his Atlantis resort arrived. Mr Kerzner was threatened by the PLP that if he went ahead with his plans, he risked his contract being changed should the PLP become the government. Fortunately, the Kerzners ignored the threats. It was the best thing that happened for the Bahamas, because it was Kerzner with his Atlantis that dragged this nation from the sloth of its own ignominy and put it back where it belonged – among the leaders in tourism. For those years this country prospered.

Now we are back to the same old scenario. Under the FNM, the majority shares in a failing, top heavy, inefficient BTC was sold to Cable and Wireless. This would at least give local telecommunications an opportunity to acquire the needed capital and have the necessary international contacts to make the corporation competitive. BTC, under new ownership, has had its problems — mainly problems that most business people complain about in this country — but it is holding its own and working towards meeting the competition when its exclusivity period ends. Its returns are certainly far better than when it was in Bahamian hands.

However, Prime Minister Christie promised Bahamians — particularly those who have their eyes on BTC as a plum acquisition — to buy back two per cent to give them the majority shares. Mr Christie has always stressed that he would try to get BTC back into Bahamian hands only by lawful means — of course he should have known that government didn’t even have enough money to purchase two per cent of the shares — unless, of course, a raid was planned on NIB funds now that Mr Cargill is out of the way.

Anyway, his efforts failed. We are satisfied that Mr Christie would have liked the matter to have tip-toed quietly out of the back door and be forgotten by his misled supporters.

But yesterday Labour Minister Sean Gibson, goaded by the union because government had not kept its promise to Bahamianise BTC, told unionists that if they wanted the corporation Bahamianised they would have to fight for it themselves. The whole tone of what he said to the union (see today’s front page) gave the impression that he was encouraging them to take a strike vote.

Surely not, Mr Gibson! Here we are being strangled by crime, smothered by unemployment, parliamentarians fighting like cats and dogs in the House for their “legacy.” And now a labour strike against the one corporation making some headway. Has a lunatic asylum opened its doors on our society?

Maybe it’s time for Mr Gomez to talk to his colleagues about what is needed to encourage the expansion of businesses to create employment for the unemployed. If not, our problems will grow.

All of this recalls for us the words of Sir Walter Scott — “Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive.”