The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Government was yesterday warned not to make any Immigration policy statements that could be “self-defeating to the foreign direct investment crusade” vital to dragging the Bahamian economy out of recession.

K P Turnquest, the FNM MP for east Grand Bahama and a former president of that island’s Chamber of Commerce, told Tribune Business that while he applauded the intention to give qualified Bahamians “first preference” at any jobs, an “over-zealous implementation of Bahamianisation” could do irreparable harm to Grand Bahama’s industrial economy.

Pointing out that businesses like the Grand Bahama Shipyard, BORCO and Quality Services would always require specialist expatriate labour to perform key tasks from “time-to-time”, Mr Turnquest added that it was dangerous for the Government to make “blanket statements” on work permit/Immigration policy.

He was responding to comments made in the House of Assembly on Monday by Fred Mitchell, minister responsible for immigration, who warned that the Government would start refusing work permits for Freeport’s industrial sector ‘cold turkey’ unless firms started implementing policies to hire and train Bahamians.

Among those singled out were the Shipyard, Quality Services and BORCO, while Mr Mitchell alleged that Grand Bahama Power Company was using work permits and expatriate labour in a bid to “deregister” its existing trade unions.

Nor surprisingly, private sector executives reacted with alarm to Mr Mitchell’s comments. While none wanted to go ‘on the record’, they feared the statements could ‘sink’ Grand Bahama’s industrial sector - the industry that had kept that economy afloat.

The reaction was similar in New Providence, where business executives described the comments as “disturbing”, amid fears the planned policy could retard recovery from the recession and deny businesses the specialist workers they needed to grow.

Calling on the Government to recognise the specialist nature of Freeport’s industrial businesses, Mr Turnquest told Tribune Business: “We ought to be sensitive, having had the experience of the over-zealous implementation of Bahamianisation and the effect that has on industry.

“While I certainly appreciate the need to have our workforce trained and empowered as a matter of first preference, we can’t be insensitive to the need for technical skills to develop these industries.”

He added: “One has to be concerned at what kind of impression these blanket statements make. While I appreciate the Minister’s intention, the Government has to be mindful that these statements have an effect on investors we currently have, as well as investors looking at coming to Grand Bahama and how it might affect their plans going forward.

“We’re on a foreign direct investment crusade. We need foreign direct investment to help us develop and come out of the slump we’re in.

“We don’t want to be issuing any statements at this time that give the impression we don’t want foreign businesses, foreign personnel that are crucial to the implementation of the business plan.

“It seems kind of self-defeating to make these statements, even of we intend to implement them. I don’t think it’s helpful.”

Acknowledging the need to reduce Bahamian unemployment, Mr Turnquest added: “As the tide rises, we all do.”

He called on the Government to instead focus on economic empowerment of Bahamians, and creating spin-off opportunities from foreign direct investment.

“If we focus on that, the issue of work permits becomes less and less important,” he said.