Naturalized citizens of The Bahamas, take serious note of the Bahamian Constitution ...which speaks in Article 11 of the circumstances that can lead to the Governor General depriving a Bahamian of citizenship

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration has taken note of complaints to the Ministry from Bahamian citizens about the comments made in the press by a purported citizen of The Bahamas who now lives in the United States and the adverse comments about The Bahamas from a state legislator in Florida. The Ministry is investigating the complaints to determine what are the appropriate administrative measures if any that are necessary to protect the sovereign integrity of The Bahamas.

The Ministry reminds the public that the constitution requires all citizens to act in manner which does not prejudice the sovereignty of the state or jeopardizes their citizenship. Any visitor to our country must comport themselves in accordance with the law.


The Constitution speaks in Article 11of the circumstances that can lead to the Governor General depriving a Bahamian of citizenship.

11. (1) If the Governor-General is satisfied that any citizen of The Bahamas has at any time after 9th July 1973 acquired by registration, naturalization or other voluntary and formal act (other than marriage) the citizenship of any other country any rights available to him under the law of that country, being rights accorded exclusively to its citizens, the Governor-General may by order deprive that person of his citizenship.

(2) If the Governor-General is satisfied that any citizen of The Bahamas has at any time after 9th July 1973 voluntarily claimed and exercised in any other country any rights available to him under the law of that country, being rights accorded exclusively to its citizens, the Governor-General may by order deprive that person of his citizenship.

These are very limited circumstances in which the Governor General can act.

The Bahamas Nationality Act says in Section 11 ( 2) (a) (iii) that the Minister for Nationality may by order deprive someone who is a naturalized citizen of his or her citizenship if that person has shown himself by act or speech to be disloyal or disaffected towards The Bahamas.

The point here is that citizenship of The Bahamas is precious and important and worthy. It is not to be enterprised or treated lightly.

I urge all citizens therefore to be mindful that we have in all things to be sure of our conduct. The world marks the manner of our bearing.

The policies are not complicated. They are not targeted at any particular national group.
I am hoping that we have a good discussion this morning.

--
Elcott Coleby
Deputy Director
Bahamas Information Services
326-5833
477-7006

Go to Haiti instead of The Bahamas Ms. Daphne Campbell

By Dennis Dames:

I have been following the illegal immigration debate in our beloved country with great interest.  I was moved to provide my views on it in writing after hearing Ms. Daphne Campbell, Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives give her take on the matter.

Like so many Haitians and those of Haitian descent, Ms. Campbell wants to dictate immigration policies to the Bahamian Government.  She sounded crazy when she said: The Bahamian government officials have one week to apologise and reverse the new policies, or she will travel here with a delegation to address them face-to-face.

Ms. Campbell needs to travel to Haiti instead of The Bahamas to insist to the Haitian Government and people there that they need to plug the illegal migration of Haitians from Haiti.  There is where the outrage should be Ms. Campbell.

For too long the government of Haiti and the elite Haitians have turned a blind eye to the pressing and vexing matter of illegal migration from its shores.  The Bahamas has been delinquent in dealing vigorously and effectively with illegal immigrants for too long.  It’s about time that we restore law and order in our land, and addressing the illegal immigration issue is a major component in our crime fight.

It’s illegal and immoral Ms. Campbell, for illegal Haitians in particular – to feel that they and their children have rights to be citizens in a country where they have entered illegally and have babies galore.  It’s utter madness.

So, instead of advocating the boycott of The Bahamas by all and sundry Ms. Campbell, you should let Haitians leaving Haiti illegally know that they should boycott The Bahamas on their way north and join you in Florida.  That’s a better proposition.

Daphne Campbell, Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives ...vowed to stop at nothing until tourists and international businesses boycott The Bahamas ...because of controversial immigration policies

Florida Politician Calls For Boycott Of Bahamas

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

A FLORIDA lawmaker of Haitian descent vowed yesterday to stop at nothing until tourists and international businesses boycott this country because of controversial immigration policies that came into effect on November 1.

Daphne Campbell, Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives, spoke in Florida about the matter during a press conference broadcast on Channel 7 news yesterday.

At one point during the conference, she exclaimed: “Boycott Bahamas! Boycott Bahamas to end discrimination against Haitian children!”  

Proclaiming to be a “voice for the voiceless,” Mrs Campbell later told this newspaper that she took her position after seeing a video showing Haitian children facing deportation to Haiti being led away during recent immigration arrests.

Distressed Haitian parents in Florida showed her the video, along with other “alarming” photos, she said.

She said Bahamian government officials have one week to apologise and reverse the new policies, or she will travel here with a delegation to address them face-to-face.

She also pledged to be persistent in raising awareness around the world about the “injustices” performed in this country as long as the immigration policies remain unchanged.

She said she will hold another press conference in a week if officials here do not reverse the policies.

Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister Fred Mitchell dismissed her threats yesterday.

“She’s a fool,” he said when contacted for comment. “Anyone who talks about boycotting the Bahamas, I can’t have any time for them. That’s absolute rot. It’s amazing the stupidity that’s circulating around this. It’s just astounding.”

He later noted in a statement that her claims about Haitian children being mistreated here are false.

Mrs Campbell said Haitian parents in Florida, expressing their distress over recent immigration apprehensions in this country, have been overcome with emotion as they seek her help even while she campaigns for re-election. 

“I got the information from a group of Haitian parents who came to my office in alarming and overwhelming distress,” she said. “I was preparing my campaign for my re-election. Even though I have a very nasty opponent, I put everything on the side to make sure my office wrote a letter to the Bahamian government, the prime minister of the Bahamas and we even reached out to the consulate in Miami. Plenty people came to my office to complain with videos and pictures.”

“I call on President Obama, Governor (Rick) Scott and the people who are supposed to make sure the voice of the voiceless are heard; we must boycott Bahamas.”

Asked how she planned to succeed in her efforts, she said: “We will do as much we can. I am a lawmaker. I could slap Bahamas with a law in Florida.”

“I will get all my colleagues with me,” she added. “I will get elected officials. We have Cuban elected officials with us supporting that initiative because it involves every culture, everybody who understands the meaning of children.”

She said children born in the Bahamas should never be deported.

“To me it is very unfair (to deport them),” she said. “It’s an injustice. . .for them to be deported to a country they don’t know, a country they can’t speak the language of, with no one to take care of them, to be deported – that’s terrible.”

“Bahamian culture has been doing this for years,” she continued. “I think they have no heart of God of all.”

November 11, 2014

Tribune242

The Talk about Immigration Roundups

No Such Creature as ‘Immigration Round-ups,’ Mitchell Says

By Simon Lewis:

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE – Devaughn Anderson accepts the Award of Excellence honour from the Hon. Frederick Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration during Graduation Ceremony for Class of 2014 – Squad A at Freeport, Grand Bahama on Thursday.  Left is Mr. Hubert E. Ferguson, Assistant Director of Immigration.

FREEPORT, Grand Bahama – Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, the Hon. Frederick Mitchell said Thursday that he was deeply concerned about the talk of immigration roundups.

Mr. Mitchell made it clear that “there is no such creature” and that the Department of Immigration has as it always has done, immigration checks on a daily basis.

“There was nothing unusual about Saturday’s events save for the fact that someone decided to spin propaganda to discredit what is being done on a daily basis.

“All of us must be careful not to be hornswoggled and psychologically manipulated by video images that do not tell the truth,” the Minister stated.

His comments came as he addressed a graduating ceremony for Class of 2014, Squad A at the Gerald A. Bartlett Complex in Freeport, Grand Bahama on Thursday evening.

Ten new Recruits, who underwent some four months of training in Grand Bahama joined the ranks of the Bahamas Immigration Department.  Only one day prior, a similar ceremony was conducted in New Providence where some forty young Bahamians were welcomed into the Department. The graduation ceremony in Freeport is believed to be a first for that island and the first outside of New Providence.

Focusing on the latest Immigration exercise as it related to children, the Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister said that the truth is those children were abandoned by their parents and paroled to a responsible adult within two hours of their being secured by Immigration Officers.

“That is the truth.  But there is an axiom: never let the truth interfere with a good story.  Or don’t bore me with the facts; I have made up mind,” the Minister suggested.

Further, he informed that there are five children who still await the return of a responsible adult, but in the meantime their care is superintended by the Department of Social Services.

Additionally, he pointed out that the third set of children who were in fact housed at the Detention Centre, some 35 of them, came with their parents from Haiti on boats stopped on the seas over the past weeks.

“They had no previous known connection to The Bahamas.  They were repatriated to Haiti on Tuesday,” he advised.

Continuing in his remarks to a large gathering attending the colourful ceremony, serenaded by the the Royal Bahamas Police Force Band, Mr. Mitchell added that the practical fact is that parents who enter the country illegally and are detained may protest their children being kept in separate facilities from them.

“So some accommodation may have to be made for the children in the Detention Centre to stay with their parents, given the sensitivities some have about children in the Detention Centre,” he said.

Mr. Mitchell also admitted speaking with his friend Mr. Joe Darville of the Grand Bahama Human Rights Association.

“I just wanted to make sure we are on the same page.  This is not 1986 and the Department of Immigration carried out no raid or roundup.

“In any event, I am hoping that that nomenclature is banned forever from our lexicon.  I said in another context that we round up animals not human beings,” he said.

He also pointed out that from the time he became Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration, he said that enforcement of Immigration rules would be consistent and continuous.

“I did not need to be involved in the Department’s operation matters.  My role is a policy one. I have stuck to that. Each day since I have been Minister, Immigration across the country, has been enforcing the law. So what happened on Saturday last was no extraordinary event.

“Those who seek to make it that are perpetrating a falsehood. The checks will continue. That is what Immigration does,” the Minister stated.

Mr. Mitchell also expressed some concerned about the pace of immigration processing at the Lynden Pindling International Airport.

“This is becoming a vexing problem for the tourism product and we have attempted over the past year to fix this problem but it remains stubbornly persistent.  I am examining again methodologies to deal with this in the short term.

“In the long term we are asking the Government to invest in new border management control systems which will make processing faster at the border and introduce biometrics and Interpol checks.  However, we as always are cognizant of the shortage of resources,” he stated.

The Member of Parliament for the Fox Hill Constituency, Mr. Mitchell also made it clear that the Immigration Policies are simple, clear and in the best interest of every citizen of The Bahamas and every resident who lives here.

“There are for the peace and good order of The Bahamas.  So I urge everyone, friend and foe alike to take a deep breath, slow down, be calm and simply comply with the rules.  Life is good believe me.

“1^st November was not an end but a beginning.  If there are issues that arise you all know that you have the most accessible government in the world. We are as democratic as a drawbridge, accessible and consultative to a fault,” he stated.

Mr. Mitchell also took the opportunity to remind the public that they have also indicated that they would wish to introduce a national identity card. 

The Minister also expressed that in the new realities, immigration is no longer a simple Bahamianization proposition but it is still Bahamians first.

“It is our job to monitor compliance with our immigration regulations.  We will be vigilant. In today’s environment, security is paramount for the state and our international partners need to know that we have best practices in security arrangements. Part of this is who belongs to The Bahamas and who has the right to live here,” he said.

Further, he advised that Grand Bahama has peculiar problems and that it has become a staging area for people from South America and the Far East and Africa to enter the United States using safe houses on the island.

He said special operations are conducted by the Department in this city to put a stop to this, and there will be operations of a covert nature to catch these criminals.

“The laws are going to be toughened and the regulations are going to be stricter.  If you want a safer Bahamas that is part of the larger price that we have to pay.  We all pledge to work together with civil society so that we understand the processes and our thinking,” he stated.

He also reminded the new recruits that Immigration will be called upon by our citizens to ameliorate the ill effects of so many things, one of which are the issues of the world economy.

“There is a limited amount that we can do but we have an obligation to act within our sphere of competency.

“That means that where people from the north of us come masquerading as visitors but being gainfully employed as property managers, as bankers and as salesmen, we must ensure that the rules apply to them as they do to gardeners, maids and handymen.

“The criticism that you will receive will not always be logical but you must hold your head and work in a directed and focused manner. You will hear all sorts of drivel.  Your integrity will be attacked but hold your head,” he stated.  (BIS Photos/Vandyke Hepburn)

NEW RECRUITS – Ten young Bahamians in Freeport, Grand Bahama joined the ranks of the Department of Immigration on Thursday.  They were welcomed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Immigration, the Hon. Frederick Mitchell and the Minister for Grand Bahama the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville (seated center).  The new officers are pictured standing. Left to right seated are: Mrs. Fausteen Major Smith, Assistant Director; Dwight Beneby, Assistant Director; Hubert E. Ferguson, Assistant Director in-charge of Grand Bahama; Dr. William Pratt, Acting Director of Immigration; Hon. Frederick Mitchell; Hon. Michael Darville; Ms Cleola Hamilton, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration; Senator Tenisha Tynes; and Miss Sophia Ferguson, Senior Immigration Officer. November 07, 2014 BIS Bahamas

Bahamas Resolve Ltd (“Resolve”) takes over $100 million in troubled commercial loans from Bank of The Bahamas Limited

Government Establishes Company to Take Control of Commercial Loans in Default at Bank of The Bahamas

NASSAU, The Bahamas – A new Bahamian company has been established to take over $100 million in troubled commercial loans from Bank of The Bahamas Limited. The new company, named ‘Resolve’, will focus on recouping the outstanding loan balances owed to the government.  The announcement was made during a press conference held at the Office of The Prime Minister on Friday, October 31. Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie, said that the government made this move in an attempt to ‘return the Bank to its former glory’ as a profitable entity.

“Resolve has taken over B$100M in troubled commercial loans from Bank of The Bahamas, thereby removing this risk from BOB’s books. In so doing, the Bank’s revenue prospects will be immediately and significantly improved.  At the same time, shareholder value and the Bank’s overall financial condition will be enhanced as well.  It will also allow Bank of The Bahamas to return to profitability in the near future and will restore full compliance with Central Bank and international regulatory standards for capital adequacy,” said Prime Minister Christie.

Mr. Christie emphasized that no public funds or National Insurance funds have been disbursed in connection with the assignment of these loans from BOB to Resolve.  Instead, he said that liability for these debts has been transferred to Resolve along with the benefit of the loans and the underlying security.   He explained that as the new owner of the transferred loans, Resolve would be implementing special mechanisms to assist in the collection of the overdue loans.

Secondly, this move, under which $100 million in commercial loan debt has been transferred from BOB to Resolve, was developed in close consultation with BOB’s legal advisors in this matter, Higgs & Johnson, and BOB’s external auditors, Ernst & Young, both of whom have provided affirmative opinions on the transaction. 

And thirdly, Mr. Christie said that this type of transaction is ‘not fundamentally dissimilar to state-led re-structuring’ exercises that have been undertaken in more developed economies of the world, including the U.S in the wake of the 2008 recession.

Mr. Christie said that the Government has plans to take other measures as well.

“In addition to what I have just outlined, I wish to make it known that the Bahamas Government, consistently with its 65% stake in BOB, will be pursuing new initiatives designed to steer more public sector business and public employee credit demand towards the Bank of The Bahamas,” he said. “ In doing so, however, the Government will, of course, be mindful of its obligation to maintain a fair and competitive commercial environment for all banks in The Bahamas.  I have therefore instructed the Ministry of Finance to determine the best course of action for achieving these objectives on a correctly balanced basis.”

There are also plans for BOB to undertake re-structuring action of its own to re-align and re-balance the bank’s business model towards more retail banking, consumer lending and e-banking products.  To this end, Mr. Christie said that BOB’s Board of Directors has been given several directives.

“BOB’s Board of Directors has also been directed to assess its management and cost structure, and to submit recommendations to the Government, as the majority shareholder, for management and administrative re-organization, before the end of 2014,” said Mr. Christie.

BOB is 100% Bahamian-owned: 65% by the Government of The Bahamas, with the remaining 35% being widely held by some 3,500 Bahamian shareholders. The bank has total assets of $771 million dollars, in comparison to only $93 million when the Government acquired ownership of the bank from the Bank of Montreal 25 years ago in 1988. The Bank has approximately 40,000 depositors today with deposits totaling $679 million dollars. It has total loan assets of approximately $650 million dollars and operates through 14 branches in The Bahamas. Currently, the bank employs over 350 Bahamians.

Bahamas Resolve Ltd (“Resolve”) is wholly owned and wholly controlled by the Government of The Bahamas.

November 03, 2014

Bahamas.gov.bs

Better Bahamian-Haitian Relations for Success and Wealth in The Bahamas and Haiti

Selling Haiti as a place to invest in

The Nassau Guardian Editorial:

The Bahamas government recently signed three agreements with the Haitian government intended to further trade development between the countries and lead to a decrease in illegal migration from Haiti to The Bahamas. The signings took place during the last visit of Haitian President Michel Martelly to The Bahamas.

The agreements include a framework for bilateral cooperation, an agreement on trade and technical cooperation in agriculture and fisheries, and an agreement on the promotion and protection of investments. More specifically, the agricultural agreement allows Haiti to export fresh fruit to The Bahamas.

Talking up his country, Martelly said one way to curtail illegal migration would be for Bahamians to invest in Haiti.

“The people that come here, they don’t come here because they don’t love their country,” he said. “They come here because they want a better life.

“So if we can bring the better life to them by getting investors to go to Haiti to invest in bananas, in mango, in corn, in rice and in vegetables... that would be good enough.”

Many Bahamians are stuck in a bigoted view of Haiti and Haitians. That country is the poorest in the hemisphere and its people have long been fleeing to other nations in search of better lives.

The discussion here when it comes Haiti is too often just about the illegal migration of Haitians to The Bahamas. There is money to be made in Haiti by Bahamians.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects Haiti’s real GDP to grow by four percent this year and the same amount in 2015. The World Bank notes that the positive trends in Haiti’s economy can primarily be attributed to a pick-up in agricultural production and the construction and industrial sectors – particularly the textile and garment industries.

In his opening remarks at a luncheon hosted by the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) at the British Colonial Hilton during his visit, Martelly challenged the international perception of Haiti as a country dependent on donations and international aid, stating that the country is “distancing [itself] from aid and inviting trade”.

Members of Martelly’s delegation stressed the opportunities in the power, construction and agricultural sectors that Haiti offers Bahamian businesses, also calling for Bahamian assistance in strengthening Haitian financial services.

While some Bahamians remain stuck in the view of Haiti as an eternal basket case from which our immigration problems originate, BCCEC CEO Edison Sumner is wise to the gradual transformation down south, describing the growing market in northern Haiti as a “new hot spot for the incubation and expansion of business” between the two countries.

Bahamians and Haitians now need to shift the myopic discourse that has evolved between us. We need to focus on the wealth that can be created by doing business together, rather than being paranoid about the number of Haitians living in The Bahamas.

November 01, 2014

thenassauguardian

International conservationists, Biminites and other Bahamians want Bimini’s ecological heritage preserved

International Experts Call For Protection Of Bimini’S Environment

Tribune242

INTERNATIONAL conservation experts are urging the government to fulfil its promise and protect Bimini’s unique ecological heritage and the local industries that have depended upon it for generations.

The experts, hosted on a tour of Bimini by environmental advocacy group Save The Bays (STB), this week called for the official establishment of the North Bimini Marine Reserve. Among other important natural resources, the reserve would protect mangrove forests that serve as a nursery for the abundant sea life that has attracted visitors to the island over the years.

“From an ecological perspective, it’s incredibly important to maintain these mangroves in order to maintain the whole marine ecosystem,” said Rachael Silverstein, the Waterkeeper for Biscayne Bay, Florida.

“This is one of the only mangrove locations in this area and all of the important species that come from the Gulf Stream that people like to fish have habitats here and live in the nurseries here,” she said. “If we destroy that we also destroy our fishing industry and our diving industry and the repercussions can be felt across the Caribbean, across the Bahamas and certainly in Miami – we won’t be able to come here anymore to fish, to dive or snorkel.”

The global Waterkeeper Alliance is a leading non-governmental organisation that co-ordinates more than 200 stewards of the marine environment, or Waterkeepers, who are assigned to rivers, bays, lakes and coastal areas.

Sharon Khan, international director of the Waterkeeper Alliance, said the North Bimini reserve is one of several key protected areas for which the organisation is advocating around the world.

“I believe there is nothing more important than establishing marine reserves in ecosystems throughout this world that sustain our global life,” she said.

Wetlands

Alex Matthiessen, former Hudson Bay Waterkeeper and now CEO of the Blue Marble Project, said: “The (Bahamas) government has already established that they want to create this reserve, but they need to formalise it. They need to make it a legal reserve. The wetlands at the north end of the lagoon are incredibly important and are therefore vital to the local businesses and industries here.”

International conservationists have added strength to the concerned Biminites and other Bahamians who want to see the island’s ecological heritage preserved.

Prime Minister Perry Christie has yet to respond to these entreaties, including a letter from Bimini’s local council requesting that the reserve become reality as soon as possible.

The council asked that the Christie administration commit to the protected area swiftly, in an effort to ensure that developers do not construct a golf course on the island and to prevent further development on its northern tip.

The letter said: “It has become commonplace that major developments occur on our island without notice to its residents or to this elected council. We, therefore, respectfully ask that you respond to these requests as quickly as possible.”

The golf course was among the plans for Resorts World Bimini’s resort and casino development, which environmentalists claim has already caused extensive damage to the island’s renowned reef system, including many of the top dive sites.

Local advocacy group the Bimini Blue Coalition has issued a petition calling on the government to establish the reserve as repeatedly promised.

It has more than 600 signatures to date.

Despite Resorts World’s insistence that the golf course is now off the table, STB director Romi Ferreira said the pattern of frequently changing plans has left many sceptical and in need of official assurance.

As for the claim by Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources V Alfred Gray that the government is only waiting for conservationists to decide on the boundaries of the reserve, Ferreira pointed out that its proposed parameters have long been established.

In 2012, the Bimini Marine Protected Area Campaign submitted detailed images and descriptions of the proposed boundaries to government, including precise map co-ordinates.

October 30, 2014

Tribune 242