Prime Minister Perry Christie Nassau Guardian Photo
Prime Minister Christie says Bahamas "New Work permit Policy Flexible" buts notes his government is "grappling with high unemployment…"
Well not only has Mr. Khaalis Rolle (PLP) attempted to "soften" the impact of statements about a "new " work permit policy by the government, none other than the Prime Minister, Mr. Perry Christie (PLP) is quoted in the Nassau Guardian on Saturday past as saying:
"he has an open door policy for business owners and investors who have questions about the government’s work permit policy or a legitimate reason why foreign workers should be hired over Bahamians in key areas."
While the vast majority of Bahamians are sympathetic to the unemployment problems facing the country – most businesses have been suffering over the past five years as well – policies that negatively impact the business and investment climate will, over time, help create more unemployment.
In order to help the business and investment climate with their job creation efforts, why not look to those countries that are successful these days.
Trying his best to allay the ripple effect of fears through the business community after the Minister of Foreign Affairs & Immigration's apparent abrupt policy change affecting The Tribune, with potential impact on other investors and businesses, Mr. Christie added:
“We are partners and I would expect that if a minister of the government makes a particular point that they regard as harmful, if they are unaware of what he is intending by making the point, then they should speak to the minister or myself with a view of getting full clarification,…”
The Nassau Guardian also reported that "The prime minister also acknowledged that there are legitimate concerns over delays in work permit processing. He said he promised to look into work permit delays…"
Kudos to Mr. Christie this go round. Our country can ill afford more unemployment by destabilising investors and business people – Bahamian's and foreigner's alike.
Rick, may we have your position on the issue of work permits clarified, please?
Does your love of liberalisation extend to allowing foreign firms unfettered access to our labour markets, which they could trample over as they see fit?
Just asking the question ….
Of course not S3S. After all we are a sovereign nation, for as long as that lasts, but when the government has failed us so badly with education, what are some employers to do?
Also, how many Bahamians want to do menial work? We been encouraged all our lives not to do so, even if that’s our only survival.
On one hand we encourage FDI, then want to add all sorts of bureaucracy after the horse is out of the gate.
All sorts of issues here, Rick. As I see them, they are as follow.
First, re: Education failings – there are several spin-offs, including ‘brain drain’ and our unbalanced skillset. A significant proportion of knowledge and skills has already left the country. We remain mired in a somewhat dichotomised state, featuring an unhealty (and growing) proportion of lawyers on one hand, and a growing ‘underclass’ of illiterates, on the other, bound together by a strange ‘middle’ comprised of semi-skills and single-country experience that feeds off the public sector.
So, I hear your dilemma – what’s a business to do?
Second, re: flow of labour – the Government is erecting bariers in the wrong places. We don’t need to stop labourers from entering the country but instead must place careful quotas and strict conditions on ‘white-collared professionals’ where our indigenous numbers are low. I am not familiar with The Tribune incident but it does appear to have been a case in which the Editor could have been allowed under ‘strict conditions’.
Finally, we do need to encourage FDI, but again, whilst applying well thought out criteria to avoid the ‘invisible’ FDI we’ve become so famous for ….
No easy answers to any of the above issues, I’m afraid.
Thanks S3S,
In relation to The Tribune.
If they have met the criteria of advertising the position, asking the labour board if they have any candidates etc what “other” restrictions can or should be applied.
Next they’ll be sending them an employee they want them to hire as they do with government hires.
I think what they asked The Tribune to do is appalling.
Also, is it in anyone’s interest to hire a foreigner with all the ancillary costs if they can find a “suitable” Bahamian?
That’s a rhetorical question by the way :o)
The real issue here is the question of leadership as the Captain of the ship-of-state is not at the wheel.. The crew have no discipline and the ship is sinking on the rocks.. In a similar manner, the Bahamas has a PM who has yet to take charge of the country’s economic direction.. Often Cabinet members make sweeping pronouncements which can easily be mistaken for government policy.. Many days later the PM is forced to clarify what the government’s policy actually is in order to elucidate what is the government’s actual policy.. Unfortunately, the confusion caused by such reckless political intentions and pronouncements creates a sense of fear and a lack of trust by the general populous..
This is not good governance.. It is “leadership from behind” similar to what we see in the United States.. It is time for PM to step forward and take charge of his government and bring discipline to his Cabinet so that government speaks with one voice.. Time to move to the front and demonstrate national leadership..
Rick, like your other Blog suggested, just look at what other countries are doing (successfully).
One of my bugbears about our beloved Bahamas is that we often approach problems as though we are first in history to face them.
Using myself as example, in early 1997, I applied for a job I saw in the Sunday Times. At that point, I had ~3 years post-qualification experience to add to my academic qualifications. The firm wanted me so had to make a full application to te Home Office to confirm there was not a more suitable candidate in the UK nor EU! (this has now changed to having to ‘sponsor’ the candidate:
http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/business-sponsors/points/quick-guide-pbs/)
In my case, it took the firm 4 months to get me sorted. My restrictions included inter alia: (a) I could only work for that firm (b) if I wanted to change jobs, I would have to seek approval from the Home Office and (c) my Visa stated my ties to that particular job.
If we wanted to add restrictions, we could ask the firm (in our case, The Tribune) to renew the application periodically (every three years perhaps?); set a date by which an understudy could be trained for the post or ask them to show evidence that an understudy was progressing.
This is not rocket science, but does require a healthy dose of common sense and of course, we have to remove the politics from these decisions.
P.S. Re: your rhetorical question – like I said, the brain drain is underway and likely to intensify ….
Semantics aside, our “basket offers” to the EU-EPA and Carib Can trade agreements include movement of “goods and services” and liberalization of FDI, enacted into law.(straight up? movement of people!)
The first Basket included FDI in Restaurants and Entertainment Fields, which was explained away as “wanting to provide the greatest variety” to our Tourists.
(also the Halving of duty rates on Certain tariff headings if imported from signatory countries)
BS. It was agreed to, scheduled, and is our current policy.
We have missed two “Basket offer” deadlines, 2012 and 2013, one from each Administration.
Trying to join the WTO in the first place is a sure sign of the insanity of our situation:
http://www.weblogbahamas.com/blog_bahamas/2012/10/a-balanced-view-of-trade-why-the-bahamas-must-re-think-wto-membership.html