Rick Lowe
The longer the discussion about the privatisation of BTC drags on the more confusing the hyperbole becomes.
The Nassau Guardian told us in its Editorial on Wednesday that:
The decision to sell a major Bahamian state asset to a foreign company, however, is a threat to the national development of the country.
The policy of all Bahamian governments should be to empower Bahamians. They should especially attempt to create more entrepreneurs and to further empower those already in business.
When Bahamians own enterprises, rather than foreigners, more money stays in the country and more Bahamians are usually hired to operate the business.
Furthermore, empowering Bahamians by making Bahamians owners of BTC would allow those Bahamians to then become players in the regional telecommunications industry. Policymakers should be aiming for Bahamians to someday take over telcos across the Caribbean.
Unless I've misunderstood, on the one hand the editorial says BTC should not be sold to foreigners, yet if it was sold to Bahamians we would be able to run off and buy telephone companies in other countries.
So let me repeat. Our phone company shouldn't be sold to foreigners but we should be allowed to buy in other countries!
Surely this is erroneous? Wouldn't we be the foreigners going to buy phone companies throughout the region?
Come on!
Well did you listen to the PM’s remark at the business outlook.
The editors of the Guardian have other motives, why they wrote that editorial, one that they should have stated before, in not to look like they have a conflicting interest, but they didn’t.
I think if foreigners are allowed to invest in the Bahamas, Bahamians should LEGALLY be allowed to invest overseas, by saying it`s wrong to invest outside our country but allowing other nationals to invest in our country surely also must be erroneous
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
You are right, Bahamians should have the right to invest overseas and we do have that right.
There’s an an obstacle though. Exchange Control.
My point is you can’t expect to stop foreigners investing here and then want to invest overseas.