By Dennis Dames
About eleven years ago, my wife, along with hundreds of BaTelCo employees, accepted the company’s severance package; the deal was, according to my understanding, to prepare the entity for privatization.
That was sometime in 1999. This is now 2011, and the people’s government of the day has selected a candidate to purchase a 51% stake in the ailing BTC. The masses should be delighted about the good news; but ruckus has clouded the issue at hand and the nation has become bitterly divided over this simple matter.
Okay, let Bahamians buy the entire BTC (100%) and liberalize the market forthwith. Let competition reign!
No one in this 21st century Bahamas should have a problem with that. After selling BTC to Bahamians and giving other Bahamians a chance to compete with it, I wonder what the noise in the market would be then.
Let’s go that route, and give the consumers an immediate choice as to which telecommunication company that they would prefer doing business with; just like the local radio stations that we choose to patronize.
We have had a fax-line problem at our office lately, and it took five different technicians from BTC, on five separate visits to remedy the problem. What a national disgrace!
This is what the unions are fighting to keep; pure incompetence alive at the public’s expense.
It’s time for The Bahamas government to divorce itself of this ineptitude 100% as far as BTC is concerned. So, sell it to Bahamians with money to burn and liberalize the market simultaneously for other Bahamians to capitalize on BTC’s uselessness.
I can’t wait to see the unions demonstrate against Bahamians and competition. Then we shall see their real motives clearly; and that is to protect their lot of backward comrades.
Bahamas Blog International
A political blog about Bahamian politics in The Bahamas, Bahamian Politicans - and the entire Bahamas political lot. Bahamian Blogger Dennis Dames keeps you updated on the political news and views throughout the islands of The Bahamas without fear or favor. Bahamian Politicians and the Bahamian Political Arena: Updates one Post at a time on Bahamas Politics and Bahamas Politicans; and their local, regional and international policies and perspectives.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
The Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) has a credibility problem
Concerning Police Credibility
The Bahama Journal Editorial
There is ample evidence coming in to support a tentative conclusion that, a crime onslaught that has become endemic now threatens to undermine all efforts aimed at building today’s Bahamas on a sounder, more decent and truly honest set of foundations.
The elementary fact of the matter, then, is that our nation’s location and configuration lend support to the thesis that the Bahamas is in truth and in fact a smugglers’ paradise.
And so, in a dreadful kind of way, our country might well be that kind of place where when all else fails, the drugs trade and other smuggling type operations kick in by default, so to speak.
In addition, there is also –as most business owners and operators know so very well – a culture of thievery that is today pervasive; a space where apparently hard-working men and women routinely rip-off their employers.
This culture –so we are told- also pervades some rotten elements in the Police Force, the Customs Service, Immigration, the Prison Service – and other areas of the public service.
And then, there remains all that bounty that accrues to the vast majority of both public and private sector workers who steal time; and who therefore get paid for work they have not done.
This also applies to some of our police officers.
Some of this quite neatly explains how it arises that some of our fellow-Bahamians seem to be doing so very well in what are said to be ‘hard times’.
Indeed, there is a smattering of evidence to suggest that some of these people are benefitting from pain and suffering being endured by their hard-working, decent and also law-abiding brothers and sisters.
Clearly, then, our country is today reeling under hammer blows inflicted by criminals who are currently engaged in an orgy of mayhem – some of which comes packaged in with all that information concerning the rate at which homicide now makes the news.
Notwithstanding some of the bad news coming in, this country of ours owes some of its hard-working police officers – particularly some who now work on the front-lines; those nasty spaces where violence is rampant and where death sometimes approaches in a blazing instance of gun-fire unleashed.
Clearly, some of these fine officers are doing all they can to live up to the challenge inherent in the pledge they made to uphold the law.
We have absolutely no problem with these fine men; and indeed, we wish them well.
Our problem with the Force is today otherwise.
Here we would respectfully suggest that, whether officials in the Ministry of National Security or some in the top brass of the Royal Bahamas Police Force realize it or not, they have on their hands a problem of credibility.
Simply put, there are very many Bahamians who are convinced that, some police officers are corrupt; that some others are grossly inefficient – and that some of the reports they bring in to their senior officers are artful fabrications.
In addition, there are some Bahamians [perhaps a hardy minority of them] who are prepared to suggest that these bad apples [as they are sometimes deemed] are salted throughout the ranks of the force.
We have no reason to believe otherwise.
And for sure, while we have no way of proving any of the allegations made by people who speak to us, we do believe that, there is cause for concern.
That concern is grounded in the fact that, corrupted officers do a mass of damage not only to those of their fellow-officers who are honest, decent and law-abiding – but also to all other right-thinking and behaving residents and citizens living and work in this country.
Here the Police Commissioner might be minded to suggest to each and every police officer under his command should come clean even if as the saying goes, they have to come ‘rough-dry’.
Put simply, zero tolerance for any and all police misbehavior –whether or not that behavior reaches the level of ‘criminal’ wrong-doing - must become the mantra of the police high command, moving forward.
Anything else would be tantamount to failure.
Curiously, we now live in a place and in a time when such slogans and other palaver routinely slides off the lips of this or that highly-placed official; with absolutely no real effect on behavior on the ground.
Here we can recite so very many stories –most of them coming from usually impeccable sources – that speak of instances where police on routine patrol just as routinely shake down Haitian nationals and some equally unlucky others.
Indeed, we are hearing say that some Haitians in our midst are being bilked of some of their money by police officers on the take.
Today that beat continues; and as it does, the credibility of the Force is being further undermined.
January 20, 2011
The Bahama Journal Editorial
The Bahama Journal Editorial
There is ample evidence coming in to support a tentative conclusion that, a crime onslaught that has become endemic now threatens to undermine all efforts aimed at building today’s Bahamas on a sounder, more decent and truly honest set of foundations.
The elementary fact of the matter, then, is that our nation’s location and configuration lend support to the thesis that the Bahamas is in truth and in fact a smugglers’ paradise.
And so, in a dreadful kind of way, our country might well be that kind of place where when all else fails, the drugs trade and other smuggling type operations kick in by default, so to speak.
In addition, there is also –as most business owners and operators know so very well – a culture of thievery that is today pervasive; a space where apparently hard-working men and women routinely rip-off their employers.
This culture –so we are told- also pervades some rotten elements in the Police Force, the Customs Service, Immigration, the Prison Service – and other areas of the public service.
And then, there remains all that bounty that accrues to the vast majority of both public and private sector workers who steal time; and who therefore get paid for work they have not done.
This also applies to some of our police officers.
Some of this quite neatly explains how it arises that some of our fellow-Bahamians seem to be doing so very well in what are said to be ‘hard times’.
Indeed, there is a smattering of evidence to suggest that some of these people are benefitting from pain and suffering being endured by their hard-working, decent and also law-abiding brothers and sisters.
Clearly, then, our country is today reeling under hammer blows inflicted by criminals who are currently engaged in an orgy of mayhem – some of which comes packaged in with all that information concerning the rate at which homicide now makes the news.
Notwithstanding some of the bad news coming in, this country of ours owes some of its hard-working police officers – particularly some who now work on the front-lines; those nasty spaces where violence is rampant and where death sometimes approaches in a blazing instance of gun-fire unleashed.
Clearly, some of these fine officers are doing all they can to live up to the challenge inherent in the pledge they made to uphold the law.
We have absolutely no problem with these fine men; and indeed, we wish them well.
Our problem with the Force is today otherwise.
Here we would respectfully suggest that, whether officials in the Ministry of National Security or some in the top brass of the Royal Bahamas Police Force realize it or not, they have on their hands a problem of credibility.
Simply put, there are very many Bahamians who are convinced that, some police officers are corrupt; that some others are grossly inefficient – and that some of the reports they bring in to their senior officers are artful fabrications.
In addition, there are some Bahamians [perhaps a hardy minority of them] who are prepared to suggest that these bad apples [as they are sometimes deemed] are salted throughout the ranks of the force.
We have no reason to believe otherwise.
And for sure, while we have no way of proving any of the allegations made by people who speak to us, we do believe that, there is cause for concern.
That concern is grounded in the fact that, corrupted officers do a mass of damage not only to those of their fellow-officers who are honest, decent and law-abiding – but also to all other right-thinking and behaving residents and citizens living and work in this country.
Here the Police Commissioner might be minded to suggest to each and every police officer under his command should come clean even if as the saying goes, they have to come ‘rough-dry’.
Put simply, zero tolerance for any and all police misbehavior –whether or not that behavior reaches the level of ‘criminal’ wrong-doing - must become the mantra of the police high command, moving forward.
Anything else would be tantamount to failure.
Curiously, we now live in a place and in a time when such slogans and other palaver routinely slides off the lips of this or that highly-placed official; with absolutely no real effect on behavior on the ground.
Here we can recite so very many stories –most of them coming from usually impeccable sources – that speak of instances where police on routine patrol just as routinely shake down Haitian nationals and some equally unlucky others.
Indeed, we are hearing say that some Haitians in our midst are being bilked of some of their money by police officers on the take.
Today that beat continues; and as it does, the credibility of the Force is being further undermined.
January 20, 2011
The Bahama Journal Editorial
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Policy makers are urged to produce a coherent national development strategy with opportunities for public input and debate... Urgently
A Clash of Economic Models for the Bahamas
by Larry Smith
bahamapundit
"As I watch these students and their families, all so proud of their accomplishments, I cannot help but feel sorry for them...How will they feel about themselves in this tourist industry, playing the role of servant so clearly constructed as being part of the nature of Bahamian culture." -- Dellareese Higgs, 2008 doctoral dissertation
“It is clearly the case that, as a result of tourism, the Bahamas is chronically dependent.” -- Felix Bethel, College of the Bahamas lecturer
“Tourism is a form of ‘leisure imperialism’ and represents ‘the hedonistic’ face of neocolonialism." - Malcolm Crick, British anthropologist
"While direct travel services generated $1.8 billion in export earnings, the economy spent $1.9 billion on the purchase of merchandise imports. it could be suggested that in the (Stafford Sands) model, the state of foreign reserves is in fact the economy’s ultimate monetary target." -- Gabriella Fraser, researcher at the Central Bank of the Bahamas, 2001
"Because of our addictive reliance on foreign investment our appreciation for Bahamian genius is negligible and in so doing we are oppressing Bahamians....Our economic model perpetuates an economic apartheid." -- Olivia Saunders, College of the Bahamas lecturer
"One can argue that Bahamian national pride is to a degree a product of brochure discourse, of touristic marketing; that much of what Bahamians love about their country is what travellers and the tourist industry claim is worth loving." -- Ian Strachan, College of the Bahamas lecturer
"The world seems to be divided between people who predict rain and people who build arks. We know which one is easier. Let them continue to predict rain in the face of these opportunities. We will work with those who are in the business of building arks." -- Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, Minister of Tourism
The preceding series of quotes (except for the last one) is fairly representative of the intellectual discourse over tourism, economics and identity that rages from time to time in the academic and cultural world, both here and abroad.
Interestingly, this normally esoteric debate was thrown into sharp relief last week when Tourism Minister Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace and College of the Bahamas lecturer Olivia Saunders delivered diametrically opposing views at the Bahamas Business Outlook conference on Cable Beach. The theme of the conference was economic diversification.
This discussion began with a description of our current economic model. What is often described as the "Stafford Sands model" for ease of reference, is really just an updated version of the oppressive 19th century colonial system, critics say. It is a typical dependency model, which was fashioned long before Sands was born. And it needs to be overthrown.
Olivia Saunders said the creation of the Development Board in 1914 formalised earlier promotional efforts by paying foreigners to bring tourists into the colony and to develop hotels. In the 1930s, promoters like Harold Christie started selling Bahamian land to wealthy foreigners for second homes and other investments. The influx of foreign capital was driven by the absence of taxes on earnings. And all this set the country largely on the course it travels today.
Although Sands was not the originator of this model, he did take advantage of the global economic recovery after the Second World War to dramatically expand tourism and financial services. Rapid economic growth in the 1950s and 60s was partly due to unprecedented promotional spending to position The Bahamas as a year-round tourist destination.
Saunders summed it up like this: "The Bahamian economic model is designed for the country to relinquish responsibility for its resources and the commanding heights of its economy. It is one where the role of the residents is to provide labour and to be consumers while the owners of the economy, foreign nationals and a small minority of locals, amass great wealth.
This was a model that ensured underdevelopment of our human resources, she said. "We maintain a tax and incentive regime that not only favours the foreign investor but oppresses Bahamians...An economy so designed does not have much need for a local intelligentsia...It is disastrous for us to continue using the present economic model of dependence and economic apartheid."
Saunders offered a vague three-point plan to address these issues. First, leverage the abilities of Bahamians who have the aptitude and expertise to own and operate anything that is vital to nation-building. Second, ensure that Bahamian capital and resources benefit Bahamians rather than foreigners. And third, accept that our current economic model is dysfunctional and incapable of producing the results we need.
"Human beings are more than workers and consumers, and policy makers should not measure how well the nation is doing by how many jobs arise from this or that project or how many cars are purchased," she said to standing ovations from some in the audience. "My advocacy is for a new economy so fashioned that it portrays and liberates Bahamian brilliance; an economy that is congruent with healthy and sustainable communities, and an economy that extends wealth to Bahamian citizens."
Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace offered a different approach. While acknowledging that tourism was facing "stiff headwinds" due to a longer than expected recession, "what is often forgotten is that the most diversified economies on earth are not only going through the same troubles we are, these highly diversified economies are in fact the source of our troubles. And several American states and European countries are now in deeper trouble than The Bahamas has ever seen in recent times."
According to the minister, "any initiatives to grow our economy in the short and long term must be grounded in activities that arise from making existing and accepted strengths stronger, because we know that any effort that requires massive training and retraining of our population, while noble, is for the medium and longer term and is less certain. So yes, I believe in diversification, but not necessarily diversification in the way that consumes so much debate."
He went on to cite statistics that may surprise some readers. For example, if Nassau and Paradise Island were a separate country, it would rank fifth in the number of stopover visitors, second in the number of total visitors and first in the number of cruise passengers in the entire Caribbean. Yet these two connected islands are less than 2 per cent of the total Bahamian land mass.
"Today, this 2 per cent 'country' would be the third wealthiest independent nation in the hemisphere," he said. "If fully developing only 2 per cent of our islands yields these results, imagine what could happen if we began to utilize more of our natural assets. If we want to diversify, why not diversify like Toyota did in extending their brands of cars? Why not diversify within one’s areas of strength and comparative advantage?"
As we all know, the Bahamas is right next door to the United States, which constitutes 25 per cent of the global economy - a proportion that is likely to remain relatively stable for the foreseeable future despite the growth of emerging economies like Brazil, Russia, India and China. Collectively, these nations account for less than 12 per cent of global GDP today.
Vanderpool-Wallace pointed out that despite our proximity to the world's largest economy, "it is much less expensive and takes less time to travel from most places in the US to most competing destinations in the Caribbean than it does to travel to any of our Family Islands. Reducing the cost and time for travel to our islands will most assuredly lead to explosive growth and can turn our economy from the wind in our face to the wind at our backs."
This will also make domestic travel for Bahamians much more appealing compared to the current cost advantages of a trip to south Florida, he said. "The power of low-cost, high-quality air and sea transportation is no longer a debate in our industry. Our Companion Fly Free programme has been the most successful promotion in history, selling nearly 300,000 room nights, and the growth of our cruise business by more than 18 per cent last year is adequate testimony to the value of low-cost access to a Bahamas vacation."
While Nassau and Paradise Island teeter on overdevelopment, Vanderpool-Wallace noted that we have failed to provide adequate inter-island transportation, and argued that "Infrastructure development in an archipelago depends as much on connections between islands as it does on infrastructure on islands."
He advanced a "mission to the moon" vision in which Bahamians living on nearby islands like Eleuthera or Andros would commute to work in Nassau as we begin to develop the other 98 per cent of the Bahamas more completely. "Such commutes are done every day around the world. Why not The Bahamas? Our overall mission must be to go back to the islands through the expansion of inter-island transportation and communications services."
He envisioned a future where containers arriving at the new port on Arawak Cay can roll off vessels and roll onto trucks for transportation to other islands to deliver goods to the resident population, returning to Nassau with farm produce. And passengers would be able to take their personal vehicles with them to travel through the archipelago. This will accelerate the use of first and second homes in the islands and "make that globally desired idea of living and loving the island life immensely more accessible and attractive."
Efforts are already underway, he said, to establish an electronic booking system for all of the air and sea transportation within The Bahamas so that residents and visitors can book and pay for their transportation from anywhere on the planet to anywhere in The Bahamas. Currently, visitors have to go to airports and seaports to make those arrangements in most cases.
"Imagine all of the land, sea and air transportation throughout The Bahamas owned and operated by Bahamians. Imagine the size of aircraft and volume of seats coming into Lynden Pindling International Airport if substantial numbers of those passengers are also connecting to other islands of The Bahamas."
He said the government's online initiatives and a robust telecommunications sector were essential ingredients of this “Back to the Islands” vision. And all that is required for Bahamians to be successful in tourism are “bed & breakfast” facilities that can be viewed and booked online from anywhere in the world along with the necessary air and sea transportation.
"When those difficulties are overcome, we can enable hundreds to enter the tourism business immediately all over the country. And incentives could be offered to Bahamians now living overseas or on New Providence to move to the Family Islands. The largest incentive thus far is the government’s declaration that it will tackle the problem of generation and commonage land," he said. "That will be the greatest distribution of wealth in our history."
While broader diversification of the economy is a wonderful mantra, Vanderpool-Wallace said the exploitation of our existing tourism assets will be more beneficial over the short term. "Tourism cannot grow without other sectors contributing to that growth and growing themselves. It needs agricultural, legal, accounting, medical, engineering and software services. The more useful mantra is that one must compete in one's area of comparative and competitive advantage. We have not come close to making maximum use of tourism."
Quoting motivational trainer Steven Covey's comment that “the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing", Vanderpool-Wallace said our main thing was "100,000 square miles of the most salubrious waters in the world. If we continue to guard and protect that resource, it does not diminish in size or value over the course of time, unlike the natural resources of many other nations. We have more islands and more beaches than the rest of the Caribbean combined.
"We are now at the beginning of the biggest educational, transportation and electronic infrastructure development in our history," he said. "This is the beginning of the wave to move us all forward, upward and onward together. For the sake of our children and grandchildren, now is the time to give focused attention to the development of our islands."
The contrast between Vanderpool-Wallace's common sense vision of empowerment and the bitter, near Marxist, approach of academics like Saunders could not be more marked. We would urge policy makers to extrapolate this vision, and incorporate other sectors, to urgently produce a coherent national development strategy with opportunities for public input and debate.
bahamapundit
by Larry Smith
bahamapundit
"As I watch these students and their families, all so proud of their accomplishments, I cannot help but feel sorry for them...How will they feel about themselves in this tourist industry, playing the role of servant so clearly constructed as being part of the nature of Bahamian culture." -- Dellareese Higgs, 2008 doctoral dissertation
“It is clearly the case that, as a result of tourism, the Bahamas is chronically dependent.” -- Felix Bethel, College of the Bahamas lecturer
“Tourism is a form of ‘leisure imperialism’ and represents ‘the hedonistic’ face of neocolonialism." - Malcolm Crick, British anthropologist
"While direct travel services generated $1.8 billion in export earnings, the economy spent $1.9 billion on the purchase of merchandise imports. it could be suggested that in the (Stafford Sands) model, the state of foreign reserves is in fact the economy’s ultimate monetary target." -- Gabriella Fraser, researcher at the Central Bank of the Bahamas, 2001
"Because of our addictive reliance on foreign investment our appreciation for Bahamian genius is negligible and in so doing we are oppressing Bahamians....Our economic model perpetuates an economic apartheid." -- Olivia Saunders, College of the Bahamas lecturer
"One can argue that Bahamian national pride is to a degree a product of brochure discourse, of touristic marketing; that much of what Bahamians love about their country is what travellers and the tourist industry claim is worth loving." -- Ian Strachan, College of the Bahamas lecturer
"The world seems to be divided between people who predict rain and people who build arks. We know which one is easier. Let them continue to predict rain in the face of these opportunities. We will work with those who are in the business of building arks." -- Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, Minister of Tourism
The preceding series of quotes (except for the last one) is fairly representative of the intellectual discourse over tourism, economics and identity that rages from time to time in the academic and cultural world, both here and abroad.
Interestingly, this normally esoteric debate was thrown into sharp relief last week when Tourism Minister Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace and College of the Bahamas lecturer Olivia Saunders delivered diametrically opposing views at the Bahamas Business Outlook conference on Cable Beach. The theme of the conference was economic diversification.
This discussion began with a description of our current economic model. What is often described as the "Stafford Sands model" for ease of reference, is really just an updated version of the oppressive 19th century colonial system, critics say. It is a typical dependency model, which was fashioned long before Sands was born. And it needs to be overthrown.
Olivia Saunders said the creation of the Development Board in 1914 formalised earlier promotional efforts by paying foreigners to bring tourists into the colony and to develop hotels. In the 1930s, promoters like Harold Christie started selling Bahamian land to wealthy foreigners for second homes and other investments. The influx of foreign capital was driven by the absence of taxes on earnings. And all this set the country largely on the course it travels today.
Although Sands was not the originator of this model, he did take advantage of the global economic recovery after the Second World War to dramatically expand tourism and financial services. Rapid economic growth in the 1950s and 60s was partly due to unprecedented promotional spending to position The Bahamas as a year-round tourist destination.
Saunders summed it up like this: "The Bahamian economic model is designed for the country to relinquish responsibility for its resources and the commanding heights of its economy. It is one where the role of the residents is to provide labour and to be consumers while the owners of the economy, foreign nationals and a small minority of locals, amass great wealth.
This was a model that ensured underdevelopment of our human resources, she said. "We maintain a tax and incentive regime that not only favours the foreign investor but oppresses Bahamians...An economy so designed does not have much need for a local intelligentsia...It is disastrous for us to continue using the present economic model of dependence and economic apartheid."
Saunders offered a vague three-point plan to address these issues. First, leverage the abilities of Bahamians who have the aptitude and expertise to own and operate anything that is vital to nation-building. Second, ensure that Bahamian capital and resources benefit Bahamians rather than foreigners. And third, accept that our current economic model is dysfunctional and incapable of producing the results we need.
"Human beings are more than workers and consumers, and policy makers should not measure how well the nation is doing by how many jobs arise from this or that project or how many cars are purchased," she said to standing ovations from some in the audience. "My advocacy is for a new economy so fashioned that it portrays and liberates Bahamian brilliance; an economy that is congruent with healthy and sustainable communities, and an economy that extends wealth to Bahamian citizens."
Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace offered a different approach. While acknowledging that tourism was facing "stiff headwinds" due to a longer than expected recession, "what is often forgotten is that the most diversified economies on earth are not only going through the same troubles we are, these highly diversified economies are in fact the source of our troubles. And several American states and European countries are now in deeper trouble than The Bahamas has ever seen in recent times."
According to the minister, "any initiatives to grow our economy in the short and long term must be grounded in activities that arise from making existing and accepted strengths stronger, because we know that any effort that requires massive training and retraining of our population, while noble, is for the medium and longer term and is less certain. So yes, I believe in diversification, but not necessarily diversification in the way that consumes so much debate."
He went on to cite statistics that may surprise some readers. For example, if Nassau and Paradise Island were a separate country, it would rank fifth in the number of stopover visitors, second in the number of total visitors and first in the number of cruise passengers in the entire Caribbean. Yet these two connected islands are less than 2 per cent of the total Bahamian land mass.
"Today, this 2 per cent 'country' would be the third wealthiest independent nation in the hemisphere," he said. "If fully developing only 2 per cent of our islands yields these results, imagine what could happen if we began to utilize more of our natural assets. If we want to diversify, why not diversify like Toyota did in extending their brands of cars? Why not diversify within one’s areas of strength and comparative advantage?"
As we all know, the Bahamas is right next door to the United States, which constitutes 25 per cent of the global economy - a proportion that is likely to remain relatively stable for the foreseeable future despite the growth of emerging economies like Brazil, Russia, India and China. Collectively, these nations account for less than 12 per cent of global GDP today.
Vanderpool-Wallace pointed out that despite our proximity to the world's largest economy, "it is much less expensive and takes less time to travel from most places in the US to most competing destinations in the Caribbean than it does to travel to any of our Family Islands. Reducing the cost and time for travel to our islands will most assuredly lead to explosive growth and can turn our economy from the wind in our face to the wind at our backs."
This will also make domestic travel for Bahamians much more appealing compared to the current cost advantages of a trip to south Florida, he said. "The power of low-cost, high-quality air and sea transportation is no longer a debate in our industry. Our Companion Fly Free programme has been the most successful promotion in history, selling nearly 300,000 room nights, and the growth of our cruise business by more than 18 per cent last year is adequate testimony to the value of low-cost access to a Bahamas vacation."
While Nassau and Paradise Island teeter on overdevelopment, Vanderpool-Wallace noted that we have failed to provide adequate inter-island transportation, and argued that "Infrastructure development in an archipelago depends as much on connections between islands as it does on infrastructure on islands."
He advanced a "mission to the moon" vision in which Bahamians living on nearby islands like Eleuthera or Andros would commute to work in Nassau as we begin to develop the other 98 per cent of the Bahamas more completely. "Such commutes are done every day around the world. Why not The Bahamas? Our overall mission must be to go back to the islands through the expansion of inter-island transportation and communications services."
He envisioned a future where containers arriving at the new port on Arawak Cay can roll off vessels and roll onto trucks for transportation to other islands to deliver goods to the resident population, returning to Nassau with farm produce. And passengers would be able to take their personal vehicles with them to travel through the archipelago. This will accelerate the use of first and second homes in the islands and "make that globally desired idea of living and loving the island life immensely more accessible and attractive."
Efforts are already underway, he said, to establish an electronic booking system for all of the air and sea transportation within The Bahamas so that residents and visitors can book and pay for their transportation from anywhere on the planet to anywhere in The Bahamas. Currently, visitors have to go to airports and seaports to make those arrangements in most cases.
"Imagine all of the land, sea and air transportation throughout The Bahamas owned and operated by Bahamians. Imagine the size of aircraft and volume of seats coming into Lynden Pindling International Airport if substantial numbers of those passengers are also connecting to other islands of The Bahamas."
He said the government's online initiatives and a robust telecommunications sector were essential ingredients of this “Back to the Islands” vision. And all that is required for Bahamians to be successful in tourism are “bed & breakfast” facilities that can be viewed and booked online from anywhere in the world along with the necessary air and sea transportation.
"When those difficulties are overcome, we can enable hundreds to enter the tourism business immediately all over the country. And incentives could be offered to Bahamians now living overseas or on New Providence to move to the Family Islands. The largest incentive thus far is the government’s declaration that it will tackle the problem of generation and commonage land," he said. "That will be the greatest distribution of wealth in our history."
While broader diversification of the economy is a wonderful mantra, Vanderpool-Wallace said the exploitation of our existing tourism assets will be more beneficial over the short term. "Tourism cannot grow without other sectors contributing to that growth and growing themselves. It needs agricultural, legal, accounting, medical, engineering and software services. The more useful mantra is that one must compete in one's area of comparative and competitive advantage. We have not come close to making maximum use of tourism."
Quoting motivational trainer Steven Covey's comment that “the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing", Vanderpool-Wallace said our main thing was "100,000 square miles of the most salubrious waters in the world. If we continue to guard and protect that resource, it does not diminish in size or value over the course of time, unlike the natural resources of many other nations. We have more islands and more beaches than the rest of the Caribbean combined.
"We are now at the beginning of the biggest educational, transportation and electronic infrastructure development in our history," he said. "This is the beginning of the wave to move us all forward, upward and onward together. For the sake of our children and grandchildren, now is the time to give focused attention to the development of our islands."
The contrast between Vanderpool-Wallace's common sense vision of empowerment and the bitter, near Marxist, approach of academics like Saunders could not be more marked. We would urge policy makers to extrapolate this vision, and incorporate other sectors, to urgently produce a coherent national development strategy with opportunities for public input and debate.
bahamapundit
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
A heavy focus is placed on stemming the flow of illegal drugs into The Bahamas... the same must be given to stopping the influx of illegal guns
Gun trafficking and murder in The Bahamas
thenassauguardian editorial
On Monday, The Nassau Guardian in its National Review section published some revealing figures on the homicide rate in the Caribbean.
Out of 15 countries in the region, The Bahamas had the fifth highest homicide rate last year, with 29 homicides per 100,000 people.
The international homicide standard that countries seek to be at or under is 5 per 100,000.
The Bahamas recorded a total of 96 homicides last year, and along with the vast majority of other countries in the region is far off that mark set by the United Nations.
While the latest statistics on gun killings in The Bahamas are not available, it is reasonable to state that the vast majority of killings and armed robberies in the country are done using handguns. A special license is needed to possess a handgun.
So how are these guns getting into the country and what is being done about it?
The Bahamas has reasonably strict laws when it comes to gun ownership. They are among the toughest in the region. A genuine reason must be given to obtain a firearm licence, an applicant must pass background checks, there is a limit on the number of guns any one person is permitted to possess, there is a limit on the quantity of ammunition, and gun owners must re-apply and re-qualify for a firearm license every 12 months, among other regulations.
The maximum penalty for illicit possession of firearms is five years imprisonment and a fine of $10,000.
Local law enforcement agencies must ensure that constant surveillance initiatives are conducted to break up gun smuggling operations to and through The Bahamas.
The government must be commended for putting in place additional tools and key personnel in the battle against violent crime; however, the gun laws on the books must be enforced, and amended where needed.
The government and judiciary should also consider re-establishing a ‘gun court’ in order to expedite the trials of suspects of such offenses.
If we can help stay the flow of guns into the country surely we can impact the troubling homicide rate.
A heavy focus is placed on stemming the flow of illegal drugs into the country, the same focus must be given to stopping the flow of illegal guns.
Special legislation is also needed to punish those found in possession of illegal assault rifles and machine guns. These are weapons of war. Those who use these weapons are usually involved in the drug trade. It would seem reasonable to incarcerate these individuals for a period of up to ten years if they are found on our streets with such weapons.
1/18/2011
thenassauguardian editorial
Monday, January 17, 2011
...wishes and desires for The Bahamas moving forward - 2011 and beyond
My wish list for the Bahamas in 2011
By ADRIAN GIBSON
ajbahama@hotmail.com
WHILE 2010 was a roller coaster year, featuring a myriad of sleaze, an upsurge in violent crimes, mediocre national exam results and, in other instances, nationally recognized accomplishments and highlights, 2011 provides the nation with yet another blank slate in determining its future and proposes to also be an eventful year of high drama in the political arena as a general election draweth nigh.
Last year, the country was beleaguered by crime and an influx of illegal immigrants and saw an upsurge in the unemployment rate. This new year, I've decided to state a few of my wishes and desires for the Bahamas moving forward.
Firstly, the Bahamas' educational system desperately needs to be revamped. The government, parents and educators must all begin to think outside of the box, particularly since our current educational set-up is producing hordes of arithmetically-challenged, illiterate graduates who are soon expected to manage our country's affairs.
This New Year, we must make a conscious, courteous, curt effort to assist and encourage our student population in a united thrust to strive to increase the national GPA from a D to a C. Frankly, I am not an advocate of standardized tests. I firmly believe that while some students may perform well academically, standardized tests cannot measure the full range of the multiple intelligences.
Standardized tests are also criticized for tending to be outdated as a curriculum changes, failing to assess an adequate sample of skills and for failing to meet the standards of their own field, among several other criticisms. The ministry must align the curriculum with the development needs of the country in order to imbue a strong sense of self, speak to nation-building, address the question of self-reliance and entrepreneurship, teach the Constitution, etcetera.
Only the most scholarly of students, in my opinion, should be permitted to sit the BGCSE/BJC exams. To truly diversify and establish a more comprehensive educational system, the government and private entities should also construct technical and vocational schools to teach the less bookish, academically-disinclined students a trade/skill.
It is a misconception to assume that every Bahamian is studious enough to become a doctor, lawyer, educator, or to attend university. There will always be a need for repairmen, handymen, plumbers, masons and so on. At grade nine, teachers and administrators should be able to gauge a student's abilities, and thereby separate the more scholarly students from those with technical and vocational leanings.
Furthermore, consideration should be given to establishing a pilot programme, where male and female students are educated at separate schools/classes. This possibly will revolutionize education and lead to greater productivity, as students of both sexes would have fewer distractions and spend less time seeking to impress one another.
Moreover, classrooms must be outfitted with cable tv/internet to foster interactive learning!
One wish is that this new year, a greater number of parents positively become involved in their children's lives, whilst also constructively reinforcing the lessons learnt at school.
This year, with a newly instated president, the evolution of the College of the Bahamas (COB) to a university must be at the vanguard in advancing the national education system. The transition of the college to university will not only foster academic and intellectual leadership but also assist the country with small island sustainability issues and foster economic diversification. Indeed, a university is a "living" system and grows in response to, or alongside, national development.
Will crime escalate to the point that the US blacklists the country as Jamaica has been done?
Going forward, Bahamians must strive for greater social cohesion and partake in community drives to reduce violent crimes. The past year was the third consecutive record-breaking year for murders and rapes, resulting in the Bahamas being listed high atop the listing of countries--per capita-- where rapes and heinous murders are frequent. We must return to being our brother's keepers.
The government must formally articulate its position on capital punishment. There appears to be a lack of political will relative to the reading of death warrants, which would usher in the finalization of legal appeals so that convicted murderers can receive their court-ordered, just desserts. After a suspect is convicted of murder and sentenced to death, the Police Commissioner should immediately be summoned to read his death warrant, particularly if he has exhausted all appeals. As it relates to capital punishment, the law --as entrenched in the Constitution--must be carried out.
Moreover, a witness protection programme must be established to protect state witnesses who are being bumped off which, as a result, has left many Bahamians afraid to testify about crimes seen.
Much more must also be done to combat human trafficking.
Regardless of the noble fight of drug enforcement officers, is it ever possible for the Bahamas, considering our geographic location, to be removed from the majors list (top 20 countries) of illicit drug-producing or drug-transit countries?
In the fight against crime and other social ills, the Bahamas Christian Council must lead by example, focusing more upon community outreach programmes in helping to curb crime, assisting the poor, socializing our people and playing an active role in the lives of citizens, instead of the usual utterances, self-aggrandizing gambits and apparent politically driven mandates. (This does not apply to Rev CB Moss, who is in the trenches and doing a commendable job).
I continue to await any serious, long-term proposals for sustainable tourism. Our tourism product must be reinvigorated to highlight the distinction and indigenous nature of this country's tourism product when compared to any other country in the wider Caribbean, targeting new markets and nurturing wider market share and by incorporating a focus on regional and Latin American tourism.
Considering the spate of violent crime and other social issues, in 2011 more emphasis must be placed on implementing mental health programmes and a plan to confront rampant alcoholism and drug abuse. Furthermore, I look forward to the broadening of the healthcare coverage--particularly for the elderly and indigent--of the national prescription drug plan!
This year, when electioneering is sure to spring into in high gear, I trust that both major political parties would move forward with the people's agenda, scrupulously working towards bettering the Bahamas instead of squabbling over semantics and other trivial, rather foolish barbs.
Will there be an early election called this year or will the election go on as scheduled for 2012? In the 2008, both parties should begin looking towards the future and start preparing the next generation's leaders to succeed the current head honchos, as no party presently seems to have any plans in place to ensure a smooth transition from one leader to another without there seeming to be a leadership void.
Greater efforts must be made to diversify the economy. We must gradually begin shifting from tourism to other industries or we will become a nation of overly dependent, virtual slaves.
The government must encourage the local entrepreneurial spirit and foster economic diversification through a variation of different industries such as farming, fishing, gaming, research and development, manufacturing and so on. I was pleased to see that the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources recognition of the urgent need to resurrect agriculture and fisheries has, in conjunction with FAO consultants, led to the creation of the first five-year development plan for agriculture and fisheries. In 2011, it is expected that the initial phases of this plan will materialize!
Indeed, this year it is hoped that the rate of unemployment--which skyrocketed during the economic recession--and the country's national debt be reduced.
With a general election on the horizon, it is my fervent hope that the government maintains its position relative to the new straw market, ensuring that the products sold at the market should also be 100 per cent Bahamian-made and the market's occupants are either Bahamian or legally allowed to work in this country. Moreover, regardless of the political pressure, the government must maintain its position to no longer subsidize vendors, but instead require each purveyor to pay a fair rent and a maintenance fee.
The influx of illegal immigrants, particularly Haitians, must be more vigorously tackled.
Since yesterday was the commemoration of the one year anniversary of the tragic earthquake in Haiti, I'm anxious to hear the government's account of what happened to those illegal Haitian immigrants who were released from the Detention Centre for a six month amnesty following the catastrophic event.
This year, the implementation of more stringent laws/regulations to manage the construction of future projects along beachfronts is imperative. Furthermore, more work must be done to protect coral reefs, mangroves and wetlands; greater monitoring must be undertaken relative to developments on private islands/cays, of cruise ships and the disposal of waste products in our territorial waters; attention must be paid to national parks and those foreign sports fishermen who enter under the guise of gaming, but purportedly leave the country with coolers filled with an illegal catch; and there must be more of a concerted effort to address the environmental impact of climate change, particularly as the Bahamas is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world.
Let's face it, one way or the other, BTC must be sold! Even more, corporations such as BEC, Water and Sewerage and Bahamasair should be privatized and demonopolised as well as they are (particularly the latter three) pecuniary albatrosses and a burden to taxpayers. It is time to end all monopolies afforded to local service providers to encourage competition and better services!
Will Cable Bahamas ever fulfil its contract for cable television/internet to the Family Islands since many islands do not yet have cable or only has its services in certain areas? When will Cable Bahamas bring its services to the residents of north Long Island?
Lastly, when will the Family Islands, which are in desperate need of economic upliftment, be a greater priority on the government's agenda?
January 14, 2011
tribune242
By ADRIAN GIBSON
ajbahama@hotmail.com
WHILE 2010 was a roller coaster year, featuring a myriad of sleaze, an upsurge in violent crimes, mediocre national exam results and, in other instances, nationally recognized accomplishments and highlights, 2011 provides the nation with yet another blank slate in determining its future and proposes to also be an eventful year of high drama in the political arena as a general election draweth nigh.
Last year, the country was beleaguered by crime and an influx of illegal immigrants and saw an upsurge in the unemployment rate. This new year, I've decided to state a few of my wishes and desires for the Bahamas moving forward.
Firstly, the Bahamas' educational system desperately needs to be revamped. The government, parents and educators must all begin to think outside of the box, particularly since our current educational set-up is producing hordes of arithmetically-challenged, illiterate graduates who are soon expected to manage our country's affairs.
This New Year, we must make a conscious, courteous, curt effort to assist and encourage our student population in a united thrust to strive to increase the national GPA from a D to a C. Frankly, I am not an advocate of standardized tests. I firmly believe that while some students may perform well academically, standardized tests cannot measure the full range of the multiple intelligences.
Standardized tests are also criticized for tending to be outdated as a curriculum changes, failing to assess an adequate sample of skills and for failing to meet the standards of their own field, among several other criticisms. The ministry must align the curriculum with the development needs of the country in order to imbue a strong sense of self, speak to nation-building, address the question of self-reliance and entrepreneurship, teach the Constitution, etcetera.
Only the most scholarly of students, in my opinion, should be permitted to sit the BGCSE/BJC exams. To truly diversify and establish a more comprehensive educational system, the government and private entities should also construct technical and vocational schools to teach the less bookish, academically-disinclined students a trade/skill.
It is a misconception to assume that every Bahamian is studious enough to become a doctor, lawyer, educator, or to attend university. There will always be a need for repairmen, handymen, plumbers, masons and so on. At grade nine, teachers and administrators should be able to gauge a student's abilities, and thereby separate the more scholarly students from those with technical and vocational leanings.
Furthermore, consideration should be given to establishing a pilot programme, where male and female students are educated at separate schools/classes. This possibly will revolutionize education and lead to greater productivity, as students of both sexes would have fewer distractions and spend less time seeking to impress one another.
Moreover, classrooms must be outfitted with cable tv/internet to foster interactive learning!
One wish is that this new year, a greater number of parents positively become involved in their children's lives, whilst also constructively reinforcing the lessons learnt at school.
This year, with a newly instated president, the evolution of the College of the Bahamas (COB) to a university must be at the vanguard in advancing the national education system. The transition of the college to university will not only foster academic and intellectual leadership but also assist the country with small island sustainability issues and foster economic diversification. Indeed, a university is a "living" system and grows in response to, or alongside, national development.
Will crime escalate to the point that the US blacklists the country as Jamaica has been done?
Going forward, Bahamians must strive for greater social cohesion and partake in community drives to reduce violent crimes. The past year was the third consecutive record-breaking year for murders and rapes, resulting in the Bahamas being listed high atop the listing of countries--per capita-- where rapes and heinous murders are frequent. We must return to being our brother's keepers.
The government must formally articulate its position on capital punishment. There appears to be a lack of political will relative to the reading of death warrants, which would usher in the finalization of legal appeals so that convicted murderers can receive their court-ordered, just desserts. After a suspect is convicted of murder and sentenced to death, the Police Commissioner should immediately be summoned to read his death warrant, particularly if he has exhausted all appeals. As it relates to capital punishment, the law --as entrenched in the Constitution--must be carried out.
Moreover, a witness protection programme must be established to protect state witnesses who are being bumped off which, as a result, has left many Bahamians afraid to testify about crimes seen.
Much more must also be done to combat human trafficking.
Regardless of the noble fight of drug enforcement officers, is it ever possible for the Bahamas, considering our geographic location, to be removed from the majors list (top 20 countries) of illicit drug-producing or drug-transit countries?
In the fight against crime and other social ills, the Bahamas Christian Council must lead by example, focusing more upon community outreach programmes in helping to curb crime, assisting the poor, socializing our people and playing an active role in the lives of citizens, instead of the usual utterances, self-aggrandizing gambits and apparent politically driven mandates. (This does not apply to Rev CB Moss, who is in the trenches and doing a commendable job).
I continue to await any serious, long-term proposals for sustainable tourism. Our tourism product must be reinvigorated to highlight the distinction and indigenous nature of this country's tourism product when compared to any other country in the wider Caribbean, targeting new markets and nurturing wider market share and by incorporating a focus on regional and Latin American tourism.
Considering the spate of violent crime and other social issues, in 2011 more emphasis must be placed on implementing mental health programmes and a plan to confront rampant alcoholism and drug abuse. Furthermore, I look forward to the broadening of the healthcare coverage--particularly for the elderly and indigent--of the national prescription drug plan!
This year, when electioneering is sure to spring into in high gear, I trust that both major political parties would move forward with the people's agenda, scrupulously working towards bettering the Bahamas instead of squabbling over semantics and other trivial, rather foolish barbs.
Will there be an early election called this year or will the election go on as scheduled for 2012? In the 2008, both parties should begin looking towards the future and start preparing the next generation's leaders to succeed the current head honchos, as no party presently seems to have any plans in place to ensure a smooth transition from one leader to another without there seeming to be a leadership void.
Greater efforts must be made to diversify the economy. We must gradually begin shifting from tourism to other industries or we will become a nation of overly dependent, virtual slaves.
The government must encourage the local entrepreneurial spirit and foster economic diversification through a variation of different industries such as farming, fishing, gaming, research and development, manufacturing and so on. I was pleased to see that the Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources recognition of the urgent need to resurrect agriculture and fisheries has, in conjunction with FAO consultants, led to the creation of the first five-year development plan for agriculture and fisheries. In 2011, it is expected that the initial phases of this plan will materialize!
Indeed, this year it is hoped that the rate of unemployment--which skyrocketed during the economic recession--and the country's national debt be reduced.
With a general election on the horizon, it is my fervent hope that the government maintains its position relative to the new straw market, ensuring that the products sold at the market should also be 100 per cent Bahamian-made and the market's occupants are either Bahamian or legally allowed to work in this country. Moreover, regardless of the political pressure, the government must maintain its position to no longer subsidize vendors, but instead require each purveyor to pay a fair rent and a maintenance fee.
The influx of illegal immigrants, particularly Haitians, must be more vigorously tackled.
Since yesterday was the commemoration of the one year anniversary of the tragic earthquake in Haiti, I'm anxious to hear the government's account of what happened to those illegal Haitian immigrants who were released from the Detention Centre for a six month amnesty following the catastrophic event.
This year, the implementation of more stringent laws/regulations to manage the construction of future projects along beachfronts is imperative. Furthermore, more work must be done to protect coral reefs, mangroves and wetlands; greater monitoring must be undertaken relative to developments on private islands/cays, of cruise ships and the disposal of waste products in our territorial waters; attention must be paid to national parks and those foreign sports fishermen who enter under the guise of gaming, but purportedly leave the country with coolers filled with an illegal catch; and there must be more of a concerted effort to address the environmental impact of climate change, particularly as the Bahamas is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world.
Let's face it, one way or the other, BTC must be sold! Even more, corporations such as BEC, Water and Sewerage and Bahamasair should be privatized and demonopolised as well as they are (particularly the latter three) pecuniary albatrosses and a burden to taxpayers. It is time to end all monopolies afforded to local service providers to encourage competition and better services!
Will Cable Bahamas ever fulfil its contract for cable television/internet to the Family Islands since many islands do not yet have cable or only has its services in certain areas? When will Cable Bahamas bring its services to the residents of north Long Island?
Lastly, when will the Family Islands, which are in desperate need of economic upliftment, be a greater priority on the government's agenda?
January 14, 2011
tribune242
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) Privatisation: 1999 to 2011
Privatisation of BTC: from 1999 to 2011
By LARRY SMITH
"What I've found out about change is that when you propose it
people don't want it, when you are doing it it's hell, and afterwards
they think it's always been like that."
- former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
IN EARLY 2008, about 10 months after the last general election, the Ingraham government appointed a new privatisation committee (headed by bankers T. B. Donaldson and Julian Francis), with a mandate to find a buyer for the Bahamas Telecommunications Company as soon as possible.
This was a goal that had been pursued ever since the FNM first came to power in 1992. In fact, even before then the Pindling regime had been seeking to divest state assets that were draining the treasury. By the early 90s the PLP had decided to offload government-owned hotels. And believe it or not, they also had confidential talks with Cable & Wireless about a stake in BaTelCo.
Privatisation continued to be pursued by the PLP during its most recent term in office, from 2002 to 2007. Although the Christie administration eventually cancelled the auction launched by the FNM, they went on to start their own process, and agreed (just before the 2007 election) to sell BTC to Bluewater Ventures, a foreign firm with an uncertain ownership and no operating history.
But the incoming FNM government could find no evidence that a deal had been finalised, although Bluewater - in the shape of American executive John Gregg and PLP politico/lawyer Brave Davis - insisted that the Christie cabinet had shaken hands on an agreement. In mid-2008, the Ingraham administration relaunched the privatisation process, eventually paying Bluewater $1.9 million to cover its out-of-pocket costs.
THE FIRST PRIVATISATION
This was surely a damnable waste of money, but the reasoning behind it was clear. The policy had always been to sell a stake in BTC to a major strategic partner - a company with the technical expertise, operating record, and bulk purchasing power needed to take the corporation to another level. There was no interest in selling to someone who merely had the financial capacity to buy.
In 1999, during the first privatisation exercise, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said that if the government simply transferred ownership of BTC to its employees, the corporation would go out of business as soon as it faced real competition. A strategic partner, he said, would enable BTC to compete and move forward in a transformed market.
"We seek to privatise BTC in the national interest," Ingraham said a decade ago, "and we have sought a phased approach to ensure minimal disruption." More recently he said: "We told Bahamians from day one that it was not possible to continue to have a monopoly in the telephone business and we established policies to prepare ourselves. There are hundreds and hundreds of people employed in the telecoms sector who were not so employed before we began to liberalise the market."
Before the government began downsizing BaTelCo in the mid-90s, the corporation had accumulated a workforce of 2100 to accomplish what experts said should require only a few hundred. And this padded payroll was clearly reflected in BaTelCo's dismal performance up to that point.
In 1992 the corporation's revenue was $120.3 million, with a net loss of $1.8 million that year. But after a 50 per cent reduction in staff (based on generous separation packages), BaTelCo's 2001 revenue was $226.4 million, producing a net profit of $57.3 million - almost as much as the corporation had earned over 10 years from 1982 to 1992.
THE CURRENT PROCESS
In 2008, the government appointed an advisory committee to oversee the new BTC sale process, under the chairmanship of State Finance Minister Zhivago Laing. This group would formulate the final recommendations to cabinet from information presented by the privatisation committee (headed by Donaldson and Francis). The leaders of both BTC unions were full members of the advisory committee.
The advisory committee authorised a new BTC auction in mid-2009, with the publication of a notice inviting bidders to register. Qualified parties were asked for technical proposals, and the best of these were invited to submit financial bids. The privatisation committee reviewed the bids and passed them on to the advisory committee for evaluation.
At the same time, major changes to the regulatory environment were being pursued to support market liberalisation. These included legislation to set up a new Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority to govern both broadcasting and telecommunications. In short, the government was totally reforming our antiquated communications laws.
According to the April 29, 2009 minutes of the advisory committee, Minister Laing said the new legislation was the result of "a vast amount of work and represented a new era for the Bahamas" that would bring clarity to what could, and could not, be done in the telecoms industry.
UNION ISSUES
At the July 13, 2009 meeting of the advisory committee, Minister Earl Deveaux recalled that during the first privatisation exercise, BTC workers rejected the decision and responded "in a way that brought great distress to the nation." He asked the union leaders for assurances that this would not be repeated. The BCPMU is the middle managers union. The BCPOU is the line staff union.
At that meeting BCPMU president William Carroll said the major issue for the unions in 1999 had been the separation packages, and that was why workers demonstrated. He added that treatment of staff should be one of the determinants for a successful bid, but went on to acknowledge that BTC employees now accepted the fact of imminent privatisation.
In response to a comment from BCPOU leader Bernard Evans that Bahamian buyers had been excluded from the process, Minister Laing said the search was for a strategic partner who would have the financial and technological resources to "take BTC to the level at which the government wanted it to be." That position did not necessarily exclude Bahamian proposals, but it was unlikely that a Bahamian group would fit the bill.
According to the minutes, Minister Carl Bethel said the government wanted a strong international connection, a company with experience in all areas of telecommunications and with the financial strength and operating platform to be able to support BTC's infrastructure and mission. He questioned whether any Bahamian entity possessed those qualities.
Minister Laing said that unlike the previous attempt, this time the government was not seeking to shape the product that was on offer, outside of its conviction that privatising BTC would be better for the country, for the economy, and ultimately for the workers. The government was reforming the regulatory environment and selling BTC as it exists today, and the role of the advisory committee was to determine the best buyer.
CABLE & WIRELESS
The BTC auction notice attracted six initial responses, and four were invited to submit bids. Only two were received by the December 11, 2009 deadline - from JPMorgan Chase's private equity arm and from Atlantic Tele-Network, a consortium that included Colina Financial Advisors. Neither was considered to have met the government's criteria.
According to minutes of the July 23, 2010 meeting, the advisory committee unanimously rejected both bids as "departing significantly in their requirements and expectations from the conditions acceptable to the government."
The committee was then informed by Julian Francis that, following its recent restructuring, Cable & Wireless had expressed an interest in BTC. While both union leaders had reservations about C&W in terms of employee relations, the advisory committee unanimously endorsed a recommendation to engage in talks with the company, which is a major regional and international telecoms operator.
In October of last year, the advisory committee met for the final time to consider the report of the working committee on its talks with Cable & Wireless. According to Julian Francis, a non-binding memorandum of understanding had been drafted that valued BTC at $400-450 million, based on a two-year exclusivity period.
"However, Cable & Wireless believes that an extension may be necessary for BTC to prepare for competition, which would be aggressive given the low threshold for investment under the new regulatory regime," Francis said. "In comparison, the Bluewater proposal was for a five-year exclusivity period for mobile, with each year being valued at between $60-70 million by the committee's advisors."
THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
Francis said the MOU called for Cable & Wireless to produce a five-year business plan acceptable to government before a deal could be closed. This plan would spell out Bahamian involvement in the management of BTC and Cable & Wireless' international operations.
Going forward, he said, the government wanted to have a veto over remuneration, staff cuts, the sale of assets and the location of operations. According to Francis, Cable & Wireless was "convinced that BTC should be run by a Bahamian and the government had indicated that management must remain in the Bahamas."
Both union leaders reiterated their focus on job protection, but Minister Deveaux pointed out that taxpayers wanted better service. Sir William Allen, the government's economic advisor, said technology would continue to erode whatever advantages BTC currently had, even if the market was not liberalised.
With respect to workforce restructuring, BCPOU leader Bernard Evans said "voluntary separation packages are an acceptable option once the terms are suitable." Minister Laing responded that there was room for standstill, with compulsory reductions tied to the end of the exclusivity period. Both union leaders agreed that a three or four year exclusivity period would be "more manageable" in this regard.
The advisory committee agreed to recommend only voluntary staff cuts prior to the end of the exclusivity period, and urged government to extend this period "to help with job preservation in the short term." In a closing note, the October minutes recorded that the committee's recommendations would be passed to government for a final decision, with Minister Laing satisfied that that "all major issues have been discussed and agreement reached."
On December 2, the government announced the signing of the memorandum of understanding, as recommended by the advisory committee, on the same day it was signed. Talks then began to develop more precise contract language to clarify all issues. The agreement included a three-year exclusivity period for mobile and a voluntary workforce restructuring.
POLITICAL RESISTANCE
But within days of that announcement, the two union leaders and the PLP had begun a drumbeat of opposition to the deal - which was already 13 years too late. "This is just not the right time," said BCPOU leader Evans. "We don't support Cable & Wireless - period." He insisted that separation packages offered to workers should be more than BTC employees got in 1999 (which cost the country some $90 million), and should be enough to last workers a lifetime.
According to the prime minister, "the PLP agreed just before the election to sell BTC to a foreigner, who some think was fronting for some of them. And they never told the public a single word that they agreed to sell BTC. The reality is that the union and the PLP are at one in their fight against this exercise. And you can figure out why the PLP, which agreed to sell to a one-man show, is now opposed to selling to a $2.5 billion publicly traded company that operates around the world.
As the minutes of the advisory committee show, the plain fact is that the union leaders were part and parcel of the entire privatisation process, and after seeking concessions from the government they signed off on the major components of the memorandum of understanding.
"We went out of our way to protect jobs at BTC to the public's disadvantage," the prime minister told a meeting in Grand Bahama recently. "As night follows day, rates are high because BTC has more people employed than they need, and they are seeking to protect what they have because there's plenty juice there for them."
As for the prospects of general strike similar to that which occurred in 1958, it seems clear that the BTC unions' action is a greedy attempt on the part of special interests to hold the nation to ransom rather than a struggle for democracy. And as for the question of Bahamian as opposed to foreign ownership, why hasn't this been raised before?
What do you think?
Send comments to
larry@tribunemedia.net
Or visit www.bahamapundit.com
January 12, 2011
tribune242
By LARRY SMITH
"What I've found out about change is that when you propose it
people don't want it, when you are doing it it's hell, and afterwards
they think it's always been like that."
- former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
IN EARLY 2008, about 10 months after the last general election, the Ingraham government appointed a new privatisation committee (headed by bankers T. B. Donaldson and Julian Francis), with a mandate to find a buyer for the Bahamas Telecommunications Company as soon as possible.
This was a goal that had been pursued ever since the FNM first came to power in 1992. In fact, even before then the Pindling regime had been seeking to divest state assets that were draining the treasury. By the early 90s the PLP had decided to offload government-owned hotels. And believe it or not, they also had confidential talks with Cable & Wireless about a stake in BaTelCo.
Privatisation continued to be pursued by the PLP during its most recent term in office, from 2002 to 2007. Although the Christie administration eventually cancelled the auction launched by the FNM, they went on to start their own process, and agreed (just before the 2007 election) to sell BTC to Bluewater Ventures, a foreign firm with an uncertain ownership and no operating history.
But the incoming FNM government could find no evidence that a deal had been finalised, although Bluewater - in the shape of American executive John Gregg and PLP politico/lawyer Brave Davis - insisted that the Christie cabinet had shaken hands on an agreement. In mid-2008, the Ingraham administration relaunched the privatisation process, eventually paying Bluewater $1.9 million to cover its out-of-pocket costs.
THE FIRST PRIVATISATION
This was surely a damnable waste of money, but the reasoning behind it was clear. The policy had always been to sell a stake in BTC to a major strategic partner - a company with the technical expertise, operating record, and bulk purchasing power needed to take the corporation to another level. There was no interest in selling to someone who merely had the financial capacity to buy.
In 1999, during the first privatisation exercise, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said that if the government simply transferred ownership of BTC to its employees, the corporation would go out of business as soon as it faced real competition. A strategic partner, he said, would enable BTC to compete and move forward in a transformed market.
"We seek to privatise BTC in the national interest," Ingraham said a decade ago, "and we have sought a phased approach to ensure minimal disruption." More recently he said: "We told Bahamians from day one that it was not possible to continue to have a monopoly in the telephone business and we established policies to prepare ourselves. There are hundreds and hundreds of people employed in the telecoms sector who were not so employed before we began to liberalise the market."
Before the government began downsizing BaTelCo in the mid-90s, the corporation had accumulated a workforce of 2100 to accomplish what experts said should require only a few hundred. And this padded payroll was clearly reflected in BaTelCo's dismal performance up to that point.
In 1992 the corporation's revenue was $120.3 million, with a net loss of $1.8 million that year. But after a 50 per cent reduction in staff (based on generous separation packages), BaTelCo's 2001 revenue was $226.4 million, producing a net profit of $57.3 million - almost as much as the corporation had earned over 10 years from 1982 to 1992.
THE CURRENT PROCESS
In 2008, the government appointed an advisory committee to oversee the new BTC sale process, under the chairmanship of State Finance Minister Zhivago Laing. This group would formulate the final recommendations to cabinet from information presented by the privatisation committee (headed by Donaldson and Francis). The leaders of both BTC unions were full members of the advisory committee.
The advisory committee authorised a new BTC auction in mid-2009, with the publication of a notice inviting bidders to register. Qualified parties were asked for technical proposals, and the best of these were invited to submit financial bids. The privatisation committee reviewed the bids and passed them on to the advisory committee for evaluation.
At the same time, major changes to the regulatory environment were being pursued to support market liberalisation. These included legislation to set up a new Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority to govern both broadcasting and telecommunications. In short, the government was totally reforming our antiquated communications laws.
According to the April 29, 2009 minutes of the advisory committee, Minister Laing said the new legislation was the result of "a vast amount of work and represented a new era for the Bahamas" that would bring clarity to what could, and could not, be done in the telecoms industry.
UNION ISSUES
At the July 13, 2009 meeting of the advisory committee, Minister Earl Deveaux recalled that during the first privatisation exercise, BTC workers rejected the decision and responded "in a way that brought great distress to the nation." He asked the union leaders for assurances that this would not be repeated. The BCPMU is the middle managers union. The BCPOU is the line staff union.
At that meeting BCPMU president William Carroll said the major issue for the unions in 1999 had been the separation packages, and that was why workers demonstrated. He added that treatment of staff should be one of the determinants for a successful bid, but went on to acknowledge that BTC employees now accepted the fact of imminent privatisation.
In response to a comment from BCPOU leader Bernard Evans that Bahamian buyers had been excluded from the process, Minister Laing said the search was for a strategic partner who would have the financial and technological resources to "take BTC to the level at which the government wanted it to be." That position did not necessarily exclude Bahamian proposals, but it was unlikely that a Bahamian group would fit the bill.
According to the minutes, Minister Carl Bethel said the government wanted a strong international connection, a company with experience in all areas of telecommunications and with the financial strength and operating platform to be able to support BTC's infrastructure and mission. He questioned whether any Bahamian entity possessed those qualities.
Minister Laing said that unlike the previous attempt, this time the government was not seeking to shape the product that was on offer, outside of its conviction that privatising BTC would be better for the country, for the economy, and ultimately for the workers. The government was reforming the regulatory environment and selling BTC as it exists today, and the role of the advisory committee was to determine the best buyer.
CABLE & WIRELESS
The BTC auction notice attracted six initial responses, and four were invited to submit bids. Only two were received by the December 11, 2009 deadline - from JPMorgan Chase's private equity arm and from Atlantic Tele-Network, a consortium that included Colina Financial Advisors. Neither was considered to have met the government's criteria.
According to minutes of the July 23, 2010 meeting, the advisory committee unanimously rejected both bids as "departing significantly in their requirements and expectations from the conditions acceptable to the government."
The committee was then informed by Julian Francis that, following its recent restructuring, Cable & Wireless had expressed an interest in BTC. While both union leaders had reservations about C&W in terms of employee relations, the advisory committee unanimously endorsed a recommendation to engage in talks with the company, which is a major regional and international telecoms operator.
In October of last year, the advisory committee met for the final time to consider the report of the working committee on its talks with Cable & Wireless. According to Julian Francis, a non-binding memorandum of understanding had been drafted that valued BTC at $400-450 million, based on a two-year exclusivity period.
"However, Cable & Wireless believes that an extension may be necessary for BTC to prepare for competition, which would be aggressive given the low threshold for investment under the new regulatory regime," Francis said. "In comparison, the Bluewater proposal was for a five-year exclusivity period for mobile, with each year being valued at between $60-70 million by the committee's advisors."
THE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
Francis said the MOU called for Cable & Wireless to produce a five-year business plan acceptable to government before a deal could be closed. This plan would spell out Bahamian involvement in the management of BTC and Cable & Wireless' international operations.
Going forward, he said, the government wanted to have a veto over remuneration, staff cuts, the sale of assets and the location of operations. According to Francis, Cable & Wireless was "convinced that BTC should be run by a Bahamian and the government had indicated that management must remain in the Bahamas."
Both union leaders reiterated their focus on job protection, but Minister Deveaux pointed out that taxpayers wanted better service. Sir William Allen, the government's economic advisor, said technology would continue to erode whatever advantages BTC currently had, even if the market was not liberalised.
With respect to workforce restructuring, BCPOU leader Bernard Evans said "voluntary separation packages are an acceptable option once the terms are suitable." Minister Laing responded that there was room for standstill, with compulsory reductions tied to the end of the exclusivity period. Both union leaders agreed that a three or four year exclusivity period would be "more manageable" in this regard.
The advisory committee agreed to recommend only voluntary staff cuts prior to the end of the exclusivity period, and urged government to extend this period "to help with job preservation in the short term." In a closing note, the October minutes recorded that the committee's recommendations would be passed to government for a final decision, with Minister Laing satisfied that that "all major issues have been discussed and agreement reached."
On December 2, the government announced the signing of the memorandum of understanding, as recommended by the advisory committee, on the same day it was signed. Talks then began to develop more precise contract language to clarify all issues. The agreement included a three-year exclusivity period for mobile and a voluntary workforce restructuring.
POLITICAL RESISTANCE
But within days of that announcement, the two union leaders and the PLP had begun a drumbeat of opposition to the deal - which was already 13 years too late. "This is just not the right time," said BCPOU leader Evans. "We don't support Cable & Wireless - period." He insisted that separation packages offered to workers should be more than BTC employees got in 1999 (which cost the country some $90 million), and should be enough to last workers a lifetime.
According to the prime minister, "the PLP agreed just before the election to sell BTC to a foreigner, who some think was fronting for some of them. And they never told the public a single word that they agreed to sell BTC. The reality is that the union and the PLP are at one in their fight against this exercise. And you can figure out why the PLP, which agreed to sell to a one-man show, is now opposed to selling to a $2.5 billion publicly traded company that operates around the world.
As the minutes of the advisory committee show, the plain fact is that the union leaders were part and parcel of the entire privatisation process, and after seeking concessions from the government they signed off on the major components of the memorandum of understanding.
"We went out of our way to protect jobs at BTC to the public's disadvantage," the prime minister told a meeting in Grand Bahama recently. "As night follows day, rates are high because BTC has more people employed than they need, and they are seeking to protect what they have because there's plenty juice there for them."
As for the prospects of general strike similar to that which occurred in 1958, it seems clear that the BTC unions' action is a greedy attempt on the part of special interests to hold the nation to ransom rather than a struggle for democracy. And as for the question of Bahamian as opposed to foreign ownership, why hasn't this been raised before?
What do you think?
Send comments to
larry@tribunemedia.net
Or visit www.bahamapundit.com
January 12, 2011
tribune242
Saturday, January 15, 2011
FNMs against the Free National Movement (FNM) Government's Policy on the Proposed Sale of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) to Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC)
FNMs speaking out against party policy
thenassauguardian editorial
It was surprising to read published comments by two Free National Movement (FNM) members this week on the sale of the majority stake in the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) to Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC).
Bamboo Town MP Branville McCartney said he would wait to see the memorandum of understanding the government signed with CWC, as well as the details of the proposed sale, before he gives his support in Parliament.
“I cannot make a decision without having the facts,” McCartney said to The Nassau Guardian on Tuesday. “I don’t have all of the facts.”
The government has promised to make all the details of the proposed deal public before it comes up for debate in the House of Assembly.
“Once all the facts are in hand, I’ll be able to make a decision as to whether or not it’s the right thing to do or otherwise,” McCartney added.
FNM Vice-chairman Darron Cash, who is a former party senator, wrote a long opinion piece that was published in The Guardian on Monday. In it, Cash set out why he strongly opposes the BTC sale to CWC.
“I disagree with the government’s proposed action. I believe it is wrong for the country,” said Cash.
“This decision sells the country short. It is a betrayal of future generations, and like a bad stock on BISX—in which you have little confidence—the government is selling the next generation (my generation) short.”
Cash then used more than 5,000 words to explain why he disagrees with the deal.
Hubert Ingraham has run his FNM in a different manner than Perry Christie has run the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP). PLPs have regularly criticized Christie and the party publicly.
Ingraham’s troops are not known for this behavior. From all accounts, Ingraham, like the late Sir Lynden Pindling, ensures order is maintained by inflicting painful political consequences for dissent. Christie’s followers seem to have little fear of him.
The FNM has had a tough time in the public relations war over the sale of BTC. The union movement, the opposition and some prominent church leaders have opposed the move.
That public relations fight becomes more difficult when FNMs join the public fight against the sale. When young party members question the party’s actions, or disagree with it, the party is weakened during a war.
The danger for the FNM is that these young members of the party can do more damage to it than the PLP.
The PLP has no credibility when it comes to the BTC debate. It too wanted to sell a major chunk of BTC to foreigners.
The PLP is only protesting the CWC sale in an attempt to cause trouble for the government in the run up to the next general election. The opposition is not concerned about the real debate that has emerged surrounding privatization policy and Bahamianization.
But when FNMs speak out publicly on the issue at the risk of being savaged by the party’s leadership, it appears as if the messenger attempting to convince the country of the wisdom of the CWC sale has turned on itself.
The FNM would be wise, for its sake, to conclude the BTC deal as soon as possible. More public dissent from within the governing party will not stop the deal, but it would weaken the FNM at a time when it is attempting to convince Bahamians it should serve another term in office.
1/13/2011
thenassauguardian editorial
thenassauguardian editorial
It was surprising to read published comments by two Free National Movement (FNM) members this week on the sale of the majority stake in the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) to Cable and Wireless Communications (CWC).
Bamboo Town MP Branville McCartney said he would wait to see the memorandum of understanding the government signed with CWC, as well as the details of the proposed sale, before he gives his support in Parliament.
“I cannot make a decision without having the facts,” McCartney said to The Nassau Guardian on Tuesday. “I don’t have all of the facts.”
The government has promised to make all the details of the proposed deal public before it comes up for debate in the House of Assembly.
“Once all the facts are in hand, I’ll be able to make a decision as to whether or not it’s the right thing to do or otherwise,” McCartney added.
FNM Vice-chairman Darron Cash, who is a former party senator, wrote a long opinion piece that was published in The Guardian on Monday. In it, Cash set out why he strongly opposes the BTC sale to CWC.
“I disagree with the government’s proposed action. I believe it is wrong for the country,” said Cash.
“This decision sells the country short. It is a betrayal of future generations, and like a bad stock on BISX—in which you have little confidence—the government is selling the next generation (my generation) short.”
Cash then used more than 5,000 words to explain why he disagrees with the deal.
Hubert Ingraham has run his FNM in a different manner than Perry Christie has run the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP). PLPs have regularly criticized Christie and the party publicly.
Ingraham’s troops are not known for this behavior. From all accounts, Ingraham, like the late Sir Lynden Pindling, ensures order is maintained by inflicting painful political consequences for dissent. Christie’s followers seem to have little fear of him.
The FNM has had a tough time in the public relations war over the sale of BTC. The union movement, the opposition and some prominent church leaders have opposed the move.
That public relations fight becomes more difficult when FNMs join the public fight against the sale. When young party members question the party’s actions, or disagree with it, the party is weakened during a war.
The danger for the FNM is that these young members of the party can do more damage to it than the PLP.
The PLP has no credibility when it comes to the BTC debate. It too wanted to sell a major chunk of BTC to foreigners.
The PLP is only protesting the CWC sale in an attempt to cause trouble for the government in the run up to the next general election. The opposition is not concerned about the real debate that has emerged surrounding privatization policy and Bahamianization.
But when FNMs speak out publicly on the issue at the risk of being savaged by the party’s leadership, it appears as if the messenger attempting to convince the country of the wisdom of the CWC sale has turned on itself.
The FNM would be wise, for its sake, to conclude the BTC deal as soon as possible. More public dissent from within the governing party will not stop the deal, but it would weaken the FNM at a time when it is attempting to convince Bahamians it should serve another term in office.
1/13/2011
thenassauguardian editorial
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