The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

THE government has every intention of granting work permits to foreign workers for positions where Bahamians aren’t readily available, says Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell.

However, it is unlikely the government will step back on its new and strict immigration policy – even though it has sparked a widespread public backlash, he added.

In addition, Mr Mitchell lashed out at former Chamber of Commerce President Dionisio D’Aguilar who recently said that “such things as work ethic, productivity, timeliness and honesty are traits that the Bahamas scores unfavourably in comparison to other jurisdictions”.

Mr Mitchell said: “They say that Bahamians don’t want to do those jobs (but) if the principle is that there are no Bahamians available for those jobs, (then) what is the answer to the question? If you apply for a work permit and there is no Bahamian available to take the job, (you will get it) this is not stepping back.

“In terms of the backlash, a lot of people stop me and say ‘I see you are under a lot of pressure’. I’m not under any pressure whatsoever, believe me. The people who are engaged in the public criticism of this policy are the same suspects who have opposed everything that this government has done from the time we were in power in 1967 to the present.

“We know them and we know what their mantra is going to be. We know that the country would not have progressed would we have listened to them.

“I would also simply urge the civic leaders like the former Chamber of Commerce president to be judicious in their comments and instead of trying to nitpick and attack what is a reasonable and rational policy that they join us in an effort in trying to uplift the Bahamian work force.”

As the government continues to tackle illegal immigration, Mr Mitchell said that the majority of his ministry’s issues lie in the heart of a process that has lagged for many applicants.

“Looking at the internal bureaucracy at the Department of Immigration, I’ve had troubleshooters going through the department over the past few months.

“Our computers have had major overhauls within the last week (and) within the coming weeks we will be talking with the private sector on how we could improve equipment, training and manpower to try and deal with the issues.”

The department is also expected to soon complete a recruitment exercise which will add to the 231 officers now in operation.