Immigration immune from deficit cutbacks

Financial Services, Trade and Industry Minister Brent Symonette.

As of Thursday, August 17, 2017

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

AUSTERITY measures announced by the government will not affect the Department of Immigration, according to Immigration Minister Brent Symonette, pictured, who yesterday pointed to the high volume of permit applications as the greatest challenge faced by officials.

Mr Symonette explained the inundated system is further exacerbated by outdated manual processing, and limited physical capacity at the aging rented complex on Hawkins Hill.

Targeting the department’s extensive backlog and increasing processing turnaround as his primary objective this term, Mr Symonette spoke of plans for infrastructure upgrades and policy reform during an interview and tour of the department with The Tribune.

He pitched the idea of introducing ceilings on permits for domestic jobs, and other industries; however, he admitted he did not expect the suggestion to be favourably received.

“As you came in the building, we’ve just had to have new windows put into this building, the elevator didn’t work, and the bathrooms have been out of order for months. So when you talk about backlog, that’s some of my problems,” Mr Symonette said.

“When people talk about it being a slow process, it’s a slow process.”

Inside his office on the fourth floor, boxes filled with files littered the floor.

Pointing to one cluster, he told The Tribune it represented a collection of work permit applications of Haitian nationals that have been living and working lawfully in the country for the past decade.

He said he planned to fast track those files in a bid to reduce a backlog that grew incrementally by the thousands each month.

“They would normally have to get enrolled, scanned, put on an agenda, have a board meeting, so to get rid of the backlog I will sign these off without all of that happening,” he said.

“There’s always consideration being given to speed up the process but there are several different problems, and this applies to all permits. Quite often the full requisite number of documents are not sent in, so they’re missing something. Sometimes when they’re sent in, they can’t find the file.

“There are at least, probably a 1,000 applications minimum per week in this building, of all types. We probably do about 5,000 applications a month, that’s coming in.

“We fall behind on the best of my estimation about a 1,000 a month that we just cannot process because of restrictions, so I’m going backwards every month.”

From 9am until around noon, the department is filled to capacity with applicants in a line that spills out the door and oftentimes down the street.

At present, there is no capacity to filter incoming persons and their requests for citizenship, permanent residence, residency, spousal permits, annual visitor and work permits.

“You will see every floor is flooded with people, so we have some serious problems,” Mr Symonette said.

“All of it is not our fault, a lot of it is, but a lot of people come here and their delivery postal address is general post office. They don’t have minutes on their phone, they switch their phone or they see a number come up they don’t want to take the call. So we have letters waiting to be collected that we have no way of getting to these people, and they’ve been approved.

“You don’t send in your birth certificate or it gets lost, and we do tend to lose a lot of documents, that’s a common complaint. Our registry where we keep all the files is too small. If I had it my way and money was no object I’d move certain sections of the Department of Immigration out of here to free up other sections but we have to live with it.”

The government has rented the Hawkins Hill building for more than 30 years, according to Mr Symonette, who noted that the previous administration renewed the lease for another seven years last term.

Since taking up the post, Mr Symonette said he’s reinstated a few policies implemented under the last Free National Movement administration like the extension of work permits to two or three years, and is looking to reinstate his authority to issue permanent residency for spouses. Mr Symonette said he’s also established an agreement with the Registrar General’s Office that will allow immigration officials to look at birth registers to determine independently whether someone has a Bahamian birth certificate. This will drastically reduce waiting times for document verification at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre.

Progress

Mr Symonette told The Tribune that significant progress could be achieved without introducing additional legislation but policy changes. The department is in the midst of transitioning to a new computer system, and the updated programme promises to both modernise and expedite services.

However, he maintained that the high volume of permits was bolstered by an “insatiable demand” for foreign domestic labour.

“There is an insatiable demand by people who live in this country to have people work in their houses and gardens. You would be surprised. A lot of Bahamians don’t want to work in those positions, (but) they’ll work at a hotel.

“I tried it the last time I was in here, to stop issuing permits for gardeners and some of the people were almost ready to kill me.

Mr Symonette continued: “The main problem here that people don’t recognise is volume, just pure volume and there is a lot of corruption involved. People who have false birth certificates.

“Digitisation will do a lot of things we’ll be able to track applications. You can track an application down to who last touched it (at the Passport Office), so if we can do that here there will be no excuse for losing files. Where it is, what has come in, and the file just moves electronically as opposed to what you see here of boxes moving up and down floors. You take a picture in the morning there are people lined up on the sides, each floor is full of people just trying to get something done.”

During his national address last month, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis announced a variety of conservative fiscal measures, including a ten per cent cut in spending in all government ministries and no new public sector hiring.

Yesterday, Mr Symonette said: “Austerity has not really hit immigration, we were able to increase in this year’s budget by about $400,000 the amount of money to be spent on repatriation of illegal immigrants, so we have more money in that area. We’re potentially ready to engage a number of recruits so you’ll see if you look at my budget, the emoluments side has gone up by some $4m because of some new trainees that are coming in.

“It’s a huge number, an overinflated number at one time, but we will reduce the amount of overtime. Immigration has a tremendous, overtime bill because of the airports, the various islands we have to cover. So hopefully the new recruits will reduce the overtime bill so there will be a savings that can be transferred over.”

The department spends more than $200,000 a month on overtime pay, he said.

As for the out of order bathrooms, Mr Symonette said they are coming back into service gradually.

TalRussell 7 years, 3 months ago

Comrades! Crown Immigration Minister and empathy - not for keeping election promises to remove VAT from the prices the poor and near poor peoples must pay buy "breadbasket items." Isn't Brent being too cool when he points to one cluster on his office floor of work permit applications of Haitian nationals that have been living and working lawfully in the country for the past decade. He said he planned to fast track those files in a bid to reduce a backlog that grew incrementally by the "thousands each month." They would normally have to get enrolled, scanned, put on an agenda, have a board meeting, so to get rid of the backlog I will sign these off without all of that happening? Anything that grows by the "thousands each month" either has to be a good or a bad thing? I mean, wouldn't you first put a full stop to even processing thousands permit applications each and every month - if that is a bad thing for the Bahamaland? Maybe the minister needs understand what the millions in Haitian population is that are willing and ready to flee their Homeland?

Cas0072 7 years, 3 months ago

Agreed. How is that people with pending work permit applications are also said to have been working lawfully in The Bahamas for years? Did he mean citizenship applications perhaps, and if so, that is even more reason why a box of applications should not be signed off without the necessary due diligence.

DDK 7 years, 3 months ago

This is because Immigration has never been up-to-date in processing WORK PERMIT applications, unless they receive some sort of incentive. The permit is normally issued with a commencement date of some weeks or months before the Permit is actually received by the worker. At renewal time, once the Permit Application is in and payment has been made, the worker is permitted to continue to work until the renewal permit is received. 'Tis better in The Bahamas.

BaronInvest 7 years, 3 months ago

It takes longer than 1 year to renew temporary residency without bribing - so if you don't bribe the immigration officers you will automatically become an illegal... We had to fly back and forth to Miami every 3 month to avoid that. At some point you just give them the 2.000$ to get your residency cards in just 2 weeks...

DDK 7 years, 3 months ago

Don't do it.

SP 7 years, 3 months ago

Brent Symonette is intimating that Bahamians so stupid that they can't do domestic labour!

This “insatiable demand” for foreign domestic labour has to be weighed against the "actual need" for more foreign domestic labour, and why or what is the "real" driving force for foreign domestic labour when the Bahamas is inundated with unemployed Bahamians who could "BE TRAINED" to fill these jobs.

Additionally, since the demand for trained domestic labour is so great, why haven't government initiated training programs to properly prepare low skilled Bahamians to fill these positions, especially when it only takes these foreign domestic workers less than a month "training" at a government subsidized training facility at a cost of less than $150.00 to become "certified" as professional domestic workers?

https://www.helperchoice.com/singapore/…

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-181856…

Exactly what is the governments plan to stop this stupidity? Where does it end? Will the Bahamas continue to relinquish entire sectors of the economy to foreigners?

Brents' stupid comment “I tried it the last time I was in here, to stop issuing permits for gardeners and some of the people were almost ready to kill me", is unacceptable!

A governments main responsibility is protecting its peoples, not pandering to the upper-class that feel they "must have" for no discernable reason foreign domestic labour to fit in with the Joneses.

"People who live in this country" cannot be allowed to come in and make rules that are detrimental to the country. At which point does this nonsense end?

What really "surprises" me is Brent continues insulting our intelligence with the age old narrative that "a lot of Bahamians don’t want to work in those positions, (but) they’ll work at a hotel", while successive administrations could find literally THOUSANDS of Bahamians for these low skilled jobs and any number of Bahamians for job training programs at the drop of a hat just prior to an election!

SHUT UP & G-O A-W-A-Y BRENT!!

sealice 7 years, 3 months ago

He's talking about idiots like you that think they are too good for a gardener or housekeeper position

JustSo 7 years, 3 months ago

Thats' your response? No rebuttal to set the record straight on the specific facts and you call SP an idiot? The idiot in this is obvious!

Well_mudda_take_sic 7 years, 3 months ago

Brent will be spending most of his time at immigration ensuring his favoured wealthy friends in gated communities get the longer term permits they want for their foreign nannies, house maids, gardeners, etc. who are of a much desired 'lighter hue'. He will also be ensuring that the wealthy foreign buyers of residential property developed by wealthy foreign real estate developers get the residency permits they need, as well as their spouses and children where applicable. And finally, Brent will be diligently working behind the scenes over the next five years to ensure both the value and earnings of the many highly lucrative businesses that he or his family beneficially owns or has a significant partnership interest in with his cronies are greatly enhanced through the leveraging of his political influence as a cabinet minister, one who can open 'the right' doors for Minnis in places where our PM might not otherwise be welcomed. Yes indeed, Brent expects to be a very very busy man - he just won't be working for all of 'the people' - Wink, wink!

OldFort2012 7 years, 3 months ago

Nothing to do with the "lighter hues", I can assure you. It's just that there are ZERO responses from "darker hues" to job adverts for such occupations. My guess is because they don't want to travel out west and the pay is lower and the work harder than in the state sector. But that is just my guess.

Well_mudda_take_sic 7 years, 3 months ago

You cannot be that naive and you certainly shouldn't attempt to deceive others about the reality of the situation. It has everything to do with the prejudices against the 'darker hues' and I've attended way too many cocktail and dinner parties, club functions, etc. with friends in Lyford Cay, Old Fort and Albany at which this subject has come up time and time again, much to the embarrassment of both my wife and I. There is a reason the weekend masses held at St. Paul's Catholic Church just outside of the gates of Lyford Cay have become crowded in recent years with Filipinos, Peruvians, Dominicans, Guatemalans, El Salvadorians, etc. Most of these foreign hired 'servants' actually live in designated servants' quarters within the large estate homes of the wealthy living in their gated communities. Their elitist employers readily admit they perceive them to be cleaner (more hygienic), to have a better work ethic and be much more trust worthy than their much 'darker hued' Bahamian counterparts. This is an undeniable all too well known fact.

OldFort2012 7 years, 3 months ago

I am certainly not attempting to deceive anyone. I am narrating my own experience. If yours is different, so be it.

DDK 7 years, 3 months ago

Mudda, you are probably right!

Reality_Check 7 years, 3 months ago

I would like to know which PLP muck-a-muck owns the dilapidated Hawkins Hill Building that government has been renting for 30 plus years, and that the corrupt Christie-led PLP government renewed the leasing of for another seven-year term. We have a right to know Brent, after all, it's the people's money (our tax dollars) being used to pay the outrageously high rent for this building that has not been properly maintained by the owner (landlord). Come on Brent, we want you to do your part in helping Minnis make good on his often repeated campaign promise that the new FNM government would set the gold standard for transparency.

TalRussell 7 years, 3 months ago

Comrade Be careful Reality_Check, don't be embarrassing your own red kinds. Even some high-up in the red shirts party - are major landlords to government?

DDK 7 years, 3 months ago

We must bear in mind that an FNM Minister has occupied an office in the building in question for at least half of those thirty years........

DDK 7 years, 3 months ago

What a deplorable, embarrassing mess! That building could have been paid for and owned by The People after being rented for thirty years. I wonder who has been the recipient of the rent these thirty years. One can only wonder what sort of a lease they have if windows need replacing and bathrooms and elevators are not in working order. For shame! I would have thought the Minister would have some ideas as to how to move forward on what appears to be an acceptable situation.

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