The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Private sector leaders yesterday urged the Government to “commit” to making decisions on work permit applications within 20 days, as one of their predecessors warned two Cabinet Ministers to “be very, very careful” about the signals being sent to investors.

Chester Cooper, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) chairman, said it was “not too ambitious” for work permit approvals to be decided within four weeks, given that the likes of Mauritius and Singapore did so within 48 hours.

In a joint statement issued after the BCCEC and Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) executives met Fred Mitchell, minister of immigration, Mr Cooper said: “In a world where, in places like Mauritius and Singapore, you get a response to an application in 48 hours.

“We don’t think it’s too ambitious to ask the Bahamas to commit to an initial four-week response. Improving this measurably over time will help us in cementing our aspiration of becoming a global business hub.”

He and BHTA president, Stuart Bowe, said Mr Mitchell had confirmed there were “circumstances” where work permits needed to be issued.

They also indicated that the Minister had acknowledged “that there is much room for improvement and greater efficiency in the permitting process, and also an urgency to prepare Bahamians to take advantage of some of the employment opportunities which are available and in the pipeline”.

Messrs Cooper and Bowe said the Bahamas needed to target two objectives - preparing a Bahamian workforce to meet the demands of a competitive global economy, while recognising the need to supplement this with specialist expatriate workers when no qualified Bahamians were available.

“It became clear to us that there is an urgent need to better manage the work permit process. Putting this in place with the proper tracking would go a long way towards expediting the approval process,” Mr Cooper added.

Improvements to the short-term and temporary work permit processes were also discussed at the meeting.

“For the tourism sector, we have developed and disseminate regularly to our members fact sheets on the permitting process to promote compliance, ensure systems are in place to develop and find qualified Bahamians, and to avoid delays in the application process,” said Mr Stuart Bowe.

“At the meeting we agreed to continue to do this and to develop similar information which can be disseminated to the private sector regarding short-term and temporary permits.”

Mr Cooper added: “There is a critical need for manpower planning in the Bahamas. Citizens need to understand what opportunities are becoming available, whether it is in Baha Mar and other foreign direct investment projects, oil exploration or in the renewable energy space.

“Failure to do so will further exacerbate the work permit issue. Generally, there must be more transparency in the process in terms of what jobs and how many permits are being applied for.”

Development of a ‘progressive’ Immigration policy “will aid in national planning and development, help in making the Bahamas more competitive and business-friendly, whilst allaying much of the fear brought to bear by perceived knee - jerk reactions”, the BCCEC chairman added.

Mr Cooper was backed by one of his predecessors as Chamber head, with Dionisio D’Aguilar, president of the Superwash laundromat chain, also calling for work permit decisions to be made within 20 days.

“It’s unbelievable to me, in our 40th anniversary of Independence year, that the Immigration Department cannot tell me how long it will take to get an answer,” Mr D’Aguilar told Tribune Business.

“Instead of focusing on denying permits, they should focus on making the system work better. Look at each application on its merits, and give a response in a timely manner - 20 business days.

“It’s very difficult to run a business here, and one of the greatest challenges is bringing in foreign labour is you don’t know how long it’s going to take.. My God, enough, just tell us in 20 days, yes or no.”

Mr D’Aguilar, meanwhile, took issue with assertions by Shane Gibson, minister of labour and national insurance, that the Department of Labour would only issue ‘Certificates of Labour’ in “extreme circumstances”.

These certificates are vital to securing work permits for expatriate labour, as they confirm that no qualified Bahamians are available to do the job in question. Without these, a work permit is unlikely to be approved.

Suggesting that Mr Gibson was supporting Mr Mitchell, his Cabinet colleague, Mr D’Aguilar questioned what the Department of Labour would define as ‘extreme circumstances’.

“I think both he and Mr Mitchell need to be very, very careful about the message they are sending out to the business community, which is no foreigners allowed” Mr D’Aguilar told Tribune Business.

“What has been proven over the years is that foreign labour is integral to the economy of the Bahamas, and to have a very extreme policy of eliminating the foreign component of our economy is frightening many people in the business community.”