What does Bahamianisation really mean?
tribune242 editorial
IN THE Senate this week Senator Dion Foulkes, leader of government business in the Senate, asked the question: What is Bahamianisation?
And answered: "Bahamianisation is a policy that promotes the economic, educational, cultural and social advancement of all Bahamians -- black Bahamians and white Bahamians."
That is what it was intended to be, but under the PLP -- the Pindling administration that is -- it was the most effective instrument of torture. It was effective because it quietly got results behind the scenes and out of the public eye.
In the early days Bahamianisation was concentrated on employment -- the promotion of Bahamians to jobs that were not open to them before. The concept was admirable. However, its application did great damage to the country because many Bahamians were appointed to positions for which they were not qualified. Their only qualification was having a friend in high places, and being committed to cast their vote for the right party -- the PLP.
"Who started Bahamianisation?" Senator Foulkes asked.
"In my view," he said, "Bahamianisation was promulgated and introduced in the House of Assembly in 1956 by the late Sir Etienne Dupuch.
"Prior to this," he said, "several black Bahamians like, but not limited to, L Walton Young, Dr C R Walker, Leon McKinney, A F Adderley, Sir Clifford Darling, Sir Randol Fawkes and Sir Milo Butler were also pioneers in the Bahamianisation movement even though at the time it was not called Bahamianisation."
"Later in the mid-1950's and 60's," he said, "many other Bahamians would join the fight for the economic, educational and social advancement of black Bahamians.
"Men like Sir Lynden Pindling, Sir Cecil Wallace Whitfield, Sir Arthur Foulkes, Arthur Hanna, Sir Clement Maynard, Sir Kendal Isaacs, Paul Adderley and Sir Orville Turnquest continued the Bahamianisation movement up to 1967 and beyond.
"Our Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Hubert Ingraham and former Prime Minister Perry Christie are both advocates of Bahamianisation," he said.
The concept that Bahamians should be first in their own country was always advocated by The Tribune, going back almost to its founding.
During the premiership of the late Sir Roland Symonette there was a lose form of screening before a foreigner could be employed by a local firm.
There were no foreigners on the staff of The Tribune in the early days. However, as The Tribune developed it outgrew the abilities of its local staff and a foreigner had to be brought in for advanced training, especially when new printing equipment came on the market. We recall during Sir Roland's administration having to get clearance from Mr Stuart Hall, who headed Immigration at the time. We were required to justify the need for our request.
And then came the PLP under Lynden Pindling and the idea of Bahamianisation became institutionalised with strict rules, and many prejudices.
It was still a good concept, but being administered by the wrong hands.
There only had to be a suspicion that you did not vote for the right party to lose your job -- civil servants suffered most in this category. We recall several sad cases involving teachers. And if you happened to work for a foreign company, pressure was brought to bear on that company to get rid of you. The company did not dare balk if it valued its own work permits.
There are many sad tales to be told in Inagua of how families were destroyed when foreign husbands were forced out of their jobs and had to leave town, or in Nassau where Bahamian women, who belonged to the wrong party, could not bring their spouse to the Bahamas because they would not be granted work permits. The Ingraham government introduced the spousal permit to end this iniquity.
As for The Tribune we could write a book about what we had to go through. It seemed a cruel game was being played in which the two top men in the PLP government at the time took great delight.
For many of us "Bahamianisation" was an ugly word, but when administered as intended it saw the advancement of many qualified Bahamians. The advent of the Ingraham government in 1992 opened opportunities to women. During this period women were appointed for the first time to the posts of Chief Justice, Speaker of the House, Attorney General, Governor General and the Appeals Court.
As Senator Foulkes pointed out, the FNM in its first and second and now third term made "significant progress in Bahamianising many institutions and private sector companies. Many banks, hotels and industrial companies were headed by Bahamians for the first time under the FNM."
The implementation, in the words of Senator Foulkes, means that "qualified Bahamians are afforded the first option for employment. A work permit would not be issued to a non-Bahamian where there is a qualified Bahamian who is able and willing to work."
Today party affiliation and friendships should have no place in considering favourably an application for a work permit where there is no qualified Bahamian "who is able and willing to work."
Thursday, March 31, 2011
tribune242 editorial
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.
