Reflections on 49 Years of Bahamas Independence

Bahamian Independence: Where is the Strategical Empowerment of the Average Bahamian?

BAHAMIANS - TO BE INDEPENDENT OR NOT INDEPENDENT, THAT IS THE QUESTION?

By Dr Kevin Joseph Turnquest Alcena

LLB (Hon-1st Cl.), LLM (Hon-1st cl.) Ph.D. in Economics/Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology/Ph.D. in Public Health/Ph.D. in Herbal and Holistic Medicine/Ph.D. in Biogenetics/M.D. Titular Professor, Lawyer July 9 9 2022

As we here in The Bahamas stand on the precipice of celebrating forty-nine (49) years as an “independent” nation, I ponder on the idea of whether we have indeed attained real freedom. What then does it mean to be independent? What have we really achieved in pursuit of liberty? What have we gained in our ambitious attempt to climb the ladder to sovereignty?

Well, according to Maria Montessori, “Independence is not a static condition; it is a continuous conquest, and in order to reach not only freedom, but also strength, and the perfecting on one’s powers, it is necessary to follow this path of unremitting toil.”

Have we understood the conditions necessary to thrive as an independent nation? Or have we deceived ourselves into thinking that we have prospered in this capacity?

If we were to be honest with ourselves, have we carried out the mandate that was left behind by our forefathers to ensure that we are ‘one people united in love and service?’ Can we look through the dispensations of time and say that we have done all that we can as Bahamians to ensure that we are leaving this nation as an inheritance for our future generations?

Proverbs 13:22 says, “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children…”

Have we done justice to that which was left behind by those that went before us, or have we carelessly squandered the resources and ignored their pleas of guaranteeing the next generation is taken care of?

Let us review what has been done over the past forty-nine (49) years.

Firstly, can we call a ten-billion debt advancement? Over the years to free ourselves from the bars of being dependent on other countries we have accumulated an astounding amount of debt that has left us I daresay, more bound than ever!

We see no improvement in terms of debt management. We have regressed as we have made ourselves slaves in our own country to China, the United States, Europe, even our neighboring Caribbean countries.

John Adams said it best, “There are two ways to conquer and enslave a country. One is by the sword. The other is by debt.”

How can we say we are truly free when we depend on everyone to feed us, keep our economy running, keep our cars on the road, our environment secured, even our borders safe? How are we uninhibited when we do not see a need to break free from the chains of our self-created bondage?

We have become so complacent in being slaves that we fight to stay enshrouded in the safety net of captivity rather than war for true liberty. We have simply traded on task master for another.

We have trained each other, like the Pavlovian Model of Consumer Behavior to answer the call of the slave masters of our nation. This conditioning has matriculated down through the ages to the detriment of our children and their children’s children.

As a result, we have constructed a society of entitled, unmotivated and unproductive people who do not even comprehend the fact that they are in subjugation to a society that they will never be released from.

Most people are only living from pay cheque to pay cheque. Therefore, so many struggle to survive when it is time to retire because of the debt that has been accumulated over time. We have been conditioned by our leaders to borrow and borrow to the inconveniency of eternal servitude that our generational line must suffer through.

So instead of inheriting lands and wealth, we inherit debt upon debt. As Proverbs 22:7 declares, “The borrower is slave to the lender.” Can we in fact say that we have succeeded in our goal of being free?

Secondly, do you think it was the objective of our predecessors on their march to freedom to create a government that spends more time warring, rather than working with each other? “Party disputes are now carried to such a length, and truth is so enveloped in mist and false representation, that is extremely difficult to know through what channel to seek it out” (George Washington).

Successive governments - one after the other, continue the trend of the very thing our progenitors tried to escape that being partisanship in our political ideology.

How can an overcrowded Civil Service be called evolvement? The Bahamas is so far behind in terms of growth and development as opposed to our counterparts in the U.S., Canada, Africa, and the Caribbean. Why?

For one thing we cannot seem to grasp the concept of promotion based on training and skill rather than seniority.

Where then, is the strategical empowerment of the average Bahamian?

There is a consistent cry that the government has no money to hire. Yet we see the same people that have recently retired back in the public eye, paid thousands of dollars to ‘work’ on contract, while everyone beneath them carries out the labor. How can we say we are independent when even in the workplace, we do not believe in succession planning or giving others the chance to excel?

There is a persistent complaint by the powers that be, about the lack of trained young people, but when they become qualified, they are told there are no opportunities for them! But we wonder why when they go off to school, they have no desire to come back home.

The solution here is simple, let those that are retired, stay home and open doors for more opportunities for those that are qualified through incentivized programs so that they can come back home.

Moreover, when persons make the bold move to try and elevate themselves, they are met with all kinds of hinderances. The idea that they would have the audacity to step out of line and out of their place, reemphasizes the oppression we have been born into.

Galatians 5:13 states, “For brethren you have been called unto liberty: only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” According to our constitution, we consider ourselves to be a Christian nation. If that be the case, why do we despise our own and not as the word says, serve one another?

Why do we instead continue to choose others over our own and exploit one other to please the slave masters we have inherited? Why do not help one another excel and elevate, rather than tear each other down? Why do we continue to keep the masses down and impoverished, rather than empowered? I ask you my brothers and sisters, is this what independence really means?

Ervin Welsh said, “It is important to know we can celebrate independence, but more so to ensure we are not living in-dependence.” How powerful is it when we comprehend the fact that to be free doesn’t automatically mean freedom has been gained?

When one looks at the fact, that we are set free on paper, yet we depend on everyone for survival. This has bled into our educational system that has for years been failing our children.

Why are still using the forms of standardized testing implemented by the British to test our children? Why do we still need to get accreditation from other countries before our children’s test results are placed on par with other countries so that they can go to school abroad?

After forty-nine years of independence why is the national average still a “D”? It’s a crying shame that this is where we are presently standing.

According to a survey done by the World Bank, the Caribbean countries has an 89% literacy rate which is surprisingly higher than the U.S.! Furthermore, The Bahamas ranks 7th in The Caribbean with a literacy rate of 95.6%. This tells me then than we as a people are just as capable of doing anything as any other country around the world.

If that is so, why are we still utilizing programs and systems from other countries to steer our educational system? Would not the people most suited to write programs for our schools, be other Bahamians that are well versed in Computer Technology?

This level of dependence will continue to stunt our students’ growth and progress. This was clearly seen, three weeks ago with the disastrous crashing of the LMS System utilized by the Ministry of Education that resulted in production of school report cards being delayed by two weeks!

Consequently, when report cards were picked up this past week, parents were not able to have their queries answered as teachers had already left for summer vacation. This is a prime example of why their needs to be an overhaul of the educational system and redesigned for optimal success of our children.

Finally, if we are to genuinely be independent, we must change the modus operandi of how we do business. We can no longer depend on Tourism to merely support us.

There must be a clear partisan, paradigm shift of our economy because income taxes are not going to do it!

While we were smart enough to rectify many of our impending problems, we must be strategic in our resolve moving forward collectively as a nation.

We need land reform. Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling institutionalized this country and I have not seen any other Prime Minister after him do so. Rather they have uplifted all their friends making them richer.

We have inherited over the last forty-nine years a tribal form of government, from both sides. The latest trend is maculating themselves in ego and positioning with the aim of personal gain first, as opposed to servanthood.

The wealth of this nation no longer trickles down, the status quo is ‘you get into politics, you take care of your friends.’

There is an Attaliah Spirt that has spread throughout the various ministries in this country, from education to government.

The continual assassination of those that try to bring change has always been overtaken by the misogyny imposed upon them and their voices hushed by the powers that be.

We must find another way to eliminate this Attaliah construct. As Nelson Mandela said, “For to be free is not merely to cast of one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

After forty-nine years, are we living in true freedom or are we living a perception of what we think is liberty? Think on these things!

Source

Let us Bahamians work together... PLPs, FNMs, DNAs and INDEPENDENTS alike... ...to keep The Bahamas moving forward, upward, onward TOGETHER!

To the residents of the great constituency of Killarney:



I am humbled and grateful for the overwhelming show of support in returning me as your Member of Parliament. Please be assured, that I will continue to represent you and serve with the same diligence and vigor as I have always done.

I congratulate The Commonwealth's new Prime Minister elect, The Rt. Hon. Perry Gladstone Christie, the PLP, and the thousands of supporters across this nation on the victory that you have achieved, I pray that God will guide and lead you in the coming months and years ahead, in meeting the needs of all Bahamians.

To Branville McCartney, the members and supporters of the DNA, you have fought a good fight! I congratulate you for a job well done, as the strength of a democracy depends not only on the power of the people but the fortitude of the opposition.

To the thousands of FNM supporters, take comfort in knowing that our support is still strong! Remember, it is God who changes times and seasons and that He is on the throne. Rather than a source of discouragement, let this loss be a fresh stimulus for our party. In the words of Denis Waitley, let it be our teacher, not our undertaker. A delay, not defeat. A temporary detour, not a dead end.

It is natural to feel disappointment; some may even feel depressed. However, the difference in the outcome lies in how we respond to these situations and cope with them. Let us trust that God has a purpose and a plan for this country and for our lives and give thanks even in the midst of our loss. Remember our livelihood, security and safety are intertwined and we live in 'One Bahamas'. Do not allow the loss to shake our faith, but to strengthen it! In all things give thanks!

I thank every supporter for your hard work and your diligence, and I ask that you stay strong! We will keep you informed of restructuring, plans and goals moving forward.

Let us work together, PLP, FNM, DNA and INDEPENDENTS alike, to keep this country moving forward, upward, onward TOGETHER!

May God bless you all!

Member of Parliament Elect, Killarney

Dr. Hubert A. Minnis

W. A. Branville McCartney - M.P. for Bamboo Town - Contribution on the Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) / Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) Debate - 23rd, March 2011

Mr. Speaker, my aim is not to lecture, chastise, or insult the intelligence of any person in this Honourable House, and whereas, I may have only been a sitting member for a short time, I came in to this great place either knowing of and/or admiring many of these Honourable Men.

In fact, on many occasions, I remember silently thinking - in awe - what an honor and privilege it is to be sitting among the Members for North Abaco and Farm Road; indeed men who once spoke out emphatically on issues of truth, justice, and equality. So, in saying all that I have said before this, I would hope, Mr. Speaker, that my words – in any way – will not be an affront to any person and I hope that persons do not take offense to them. I would want you to know, Mr. Speaker, that, it is as a result of the courage and boldness that I have seen in some of these Honourable Men over the years, particularly when confronting issues of national importance, I am now emboldened to speak the following.

When I made the decision to enter into politics, I made that decision based on what I saw taking place in my social environment. Among other things, crime was rampant and people were no longer feeling safe in their own environment; dysfunction was at an all time high among our young people and they were failing out of society in larger numbers than ever before; for various reasons, political leaders were continuing to dishonor their office and bring shame on our sovereign nation; while the average Bahamian worked and struggled, the nation was coming undone at its seams. And it seemed as if no one cared; while the people suffered, it appeared to be all politics as usual.

At the time, I thought about my young daughters and wondered if the Bahamas that I saw unfolding before my eyes was the same Bahamas that I wanted for them. I thought about my wife going about her business, not knowing if, at anytime, she would or could become another robbery or murder statistics. I felt compelled to step forward and offer myself as a change agent, not just for my family but for all Bahamians and Bahamian families who were feeling trapped and powerless in a society that was imploding all around us. I was motivated by the idea that I could possibly be one of a few who could be that difference, indeed the difference maker, when it came to shaping the future direction of what is, potentially, the greatest nation in the world. My intention was and is to “be the change I want to see in the world”.

The question for me was, however, how did we allow this situation to occur? I think many of us can remember the excitement that Bahamians from all walks of life felt on July 10, 1973 when the Black, Gold, and Agua Marine was hoisted for the first time to signifying that the Bahamas was a free and independent nation. With this new flag replacing the old Union Jack, no longer were we going to be considered second class citizens in our own society, in our own country. No longer would we be, as Sir Etienne Dupuch puts it in his Tribune Story, seen so “far behind to be conscious of a destiny.” Independence was the promise of a new destiny. And the courage and boldness of a few exceptional men gave all of us - all Bahamians – the courage to dream again. We all become enchanted by the thought of the economic prosperity and social mobility that independence would bring us. We were all enchanted, as a nation, with the promise of empowerment that was to come with independence – a kind of empowerment that was unconceivable before 1973. What a concept:

· Economic empowerment – the thought that we would each have sufficient wealth to take care of our own personal needs;

· Political empowerment – the right to have a voice and say in the way our society is organized and how decisions are made; and

· Societal empowerment – where we would be treated fairly and equally.

For the average Bahamian this was the vision.

Empowerment! What a vision.

We are here today at each other’s throats, not just because the people are angry and worked up at the impending sale of BTC, but we are here today because, some forty years after independence, after decades of dangling the carrot of empowerment before them - offering a pittance here and a pittance there - Bahamian people are disillusioned, fed up with, and angry at feeling disempowered in their own land. And whereas the proposed sale of BTC is the matter before us today, this same sale of the telecommunications corporation is only a symbol of the disenfranchisement and lack of vision that continues to be a slap in the face to the average Bahamian who bought into the dream of independence – a dream that many have given up on as only an illusion.

I hope that, by making my statements today, my intentions in advocating for Bahamian empowerment will not be misconstrued, as I would be remised and, somewhat disingenuous, in not acknowledging the benefits which foreign investors and foreign investments have brought our people and our nation. However, to spend a great deal of time elaborating on that would serve no real purpose at this time, particularly since it has been “thrown” in the face of Bahamian people from time in memoriam. The point of the matter however, at this stage, is that Bahamian people, after decades and decades of educating themselves in some of the finest colleges and universities that the world has to offer, with the hopes of proving themselves, should now – my God - have an opportunity to prove their worth – to the highest degree – in their own country.

If Cable and Wireless is as great as our leaders are purporting them to be, let the government take it hands out of BTC’s operations, open up the market, let Cable and Wireless, Verizon, Sprint, Digicel, and any other provider who wish to enter the market come in. Let them “duke” it out, and may the best man win. But at the end of the day, Bahamians would have to prove their value and their worth,their intelligence and their ingenuity, and if they fail at it, then so be it. But, again, why does Cable and
Wireless need a three year head start on the competition? Politics, nothing more than pure politics.

I will paraphrase a good friend of mine who said that “some of us in society have allowed, and continue to allow our political leaders to us the time proven strategy of divide and conquer to cast one as
the enemy of the other, pitting us imprudently against each other to achieve their goals, while at the same time preventing us from achieving the simple ones we have set for ourselves and have worked so tirelessly to see actualized as a people – the creation of a nation that is a reflection of our collective and intellectual wills.

“At some point, however,” this friend continues, “we must recognize that we are not the enemy of each other, and no matter what our station or position is within society, we are all categorized and classified as Bahamians, and it is under this umbrella that we must collectively assemble” and challenge the political status quo that, for decades, has denied us as a people the right to have the semblance of power that independence has promised us.

What we have seen outside these walls in the past few weeks and days is a challenge to that very same political status quo; what we have seen is a new awakening in a generation that has been disenfranchised for too long – a new people who are crying out to be rescued from, as Martin Luther King calls it, a false sense of inferiority and a feeling of nobodiness.

On January 30, 1997, in one of his last addresses as leader of the Progressive Liberal Party, Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling said his vision for the Bahamas is that it becomes:

· “a nation built on Christian principles and consisting of a citizenry dedicated to respecting and defending human rights, human dignity, and the equal value of all mankind; a nation committed to the reverence for God, the sanctity of the traditional family, equal opportunity, diligent work for the welfare of all its citizens.

· He says the future Bahamas should be “a nation where the people are the most precious resource over and above all natural and material resources, and the national prosperity is measured by the quality of the health, education, and social environment and self esteem of its people;

· He says it should be “a nation where the individual and corporate productivity are synonymous with self-worth and where the love for work is esteemed as a national obligation;”

· But most importantly, he says that the Bahamas should be “a nation where economic diversity creates a broad spectrum of opportunities to challenge all the rich, creative talents, gifts, abilities, and ingenuity of the people, thus producing an atmosphere of variety, healthy competition, and entrepreneurship.”

Now, I have heard all of the colorful commentary over the past few years and month, as people have sought to offer up their analysis and interpretations of me, my actions and my intentions.

Some have said that I am a show-boater and that I like to showboat or indeed grandstand; some who doubt my ability to lead say that I am unqualified, but as one gospel psalmist says, God may not call the most qualified, but he qualifies those whom he calls; and some add that I am a young upstart, and that I should wait for my time; but King says, time is always ripe to do right, and now is the time to make real the promises of democracy and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. And over the next few weeks and months, and even years, as I seek to continue serving the people of Bamboo Town and the Bahamas, I am sure that the colorful commentaries, criticisms, and characterizations will only intensify as the naysayers will naysay in their attempts to discredit me and send me to my political graveyard. But I can assure you here today, as I stand in opposition to the offering up of the majority holdings in the Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation, no matter what commentaries are offered up about and against me, I promise the Bahamian people, from Grand Bahama in the north to Inagua in the south, Long Island to Rum Cay, from Baintown to Bamboo Town, from Ft. Charlotte to Ft. Fincastle, that God willing, I will continue to do what I entered politics in 2007 to do, and that is work to ensure that The Bahamas becomes a society free from the force of complacency brought on us by years and years of oppression, insensitivity, bitterness, and self-hate – a place where people can begin to feel a true sense of “somebodiness.”

Because, despite what some may say about us - despite what we have been fooled into believing about ourselves - we are a great people, and we have one of the greatest country in the world. As a matter of fact, Dr Miles Munroe always says and I agree, that ”The Bahamas is the place where God lives”.

That is why almost everyone in the world wants a piece of the Bahamian rock. But the time has come for us to stop giving ourselves away, particularly for cheaper cell phone rates! My Lord, my Lord.

Now, because I am reminded that our own dear Prime Minister is himself a transplant from the Progressive Liberal Party of old - (thank God for
radicalism, freedom of expression, and the freedom not to bandwagon) - and the illustrious leader of the opposition has remained a true stalwart, I say what I am about to say without fear of reprisal; In an attempt to get our country back on track, it is time for a revisiting of Sir Lynden’s vision for The Bahamas.

It is time for us to come up with strategies where, as a nation and people, we can continue to use and sustain a moderate tourism and financial product as revenue generators, while at the same time, find new ways to diversify our economy by creating a broad spectrum of opportunities to challenge all the rich, creative talents, gifts, abilities, and ingenuity of the Bahamian people; our country is brimming with a whole generation of young people out there waiting to take up the call. I know!!!!! I speak with young people everyday!! I am a young person and the young people are listening and they will make the difference!!!!!!

We must begin to lay the framework for an economy that is less based on physical capital in favor of one that is more dependent on human capital, for as Ralph Massey says, “human capital is more important to the public welfare than is physical capital.”

We must move away from an economy that thrives primarily on imported goods and servitude, and create one which is more of a producer model, driven primarily on exported goods and services – in many forms – created by manufacturing innovation and invention.

We must have a plan for the mobilization of our land mass, where each island will be developed and advanced so as to play an integral part in the country’s well being.

We must see to it that education is harnessed and used as the tool by which Bahamians, using the ingenuity derived from a quality education, will be able to meet more of their own consumer needs, and at the same time, meet and fulfill the needs of many of the global neighbors, particularly those in other Caribbean nations.

We must clearly define our national needs and stop allowing others to come in from the outside to define them for us. The future model for The Bahamas must be one in which we have a clear vision of the direction that we want our country to go in, and – God forbid – in the absence of qualified Bahamians, we invite a qualified labor force in to assist us with the building of our national dreams – instead of us using our labor to continually build the dreams of others.

Only when we begin to move in these directions, valuing the people as the most precious resource, will we become “a nation where the individual and corporate productivity are synonymous with selfworth and where the love for work is esteemed as a national obligation”

Again it is unfortunate that we have gotten to this day such a day in our history, and I am being put in a position such as this, but what is becoming evident all around us, once again quoting Martin Luther King, “oppressed people cannot remain oppressed forever. The yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself;” this is what we are now experiencing at this momentous time in our history.

The uprising taking place in our country says that we as a people have come full circle in our quest for true independence. And we have lost faith in our chosen leaders to deliver on the promises made decades ago, even years ago.

Disappointingly, I bring my contribution on this debate to a close by quoting from the Honourable Member from North Abaco who once said, among other things, that his job, as leader, is to “anticipate the future as best as he can and to act in the people’s interest.” At that time in 1997, our Prime Minister said to the people of the nation, “because I believe that Bahamians ought to own the majority in Batelco, I shall never, never, ever sell the majority holding in Batelco to anyone other than Bahamians.”

He also said, “I have stated often that I do not want to be elected to office promising one thing, knowing I am going to do another, but neglecting to say what I am going to do, just to get elected.” What a difference 14 years makes. At the time, it was just a matter of trust.

Now, however, some 14 years later, it is regrettable that the promise of empowerment made to the people of the Bahamas - captured in the phrase “never, never, ever” - a promise that they were told that they could trust, is being flagrantly tossed aside as a miscalculation of the time; Time and time Bahamians have showed that they are a trusting people, willing to take any old thing at face value because they want to believe in truth and honesty.

But how many more broken political promises can an already broken people take before they say enough is enough?

I hope that when we see the marches and the demonstrations, and hear of resignations, and other forms of civil protests, we will not be so quick to deplore these marches and demonstrations, and resignations, and other forms of protest without expressing similar, strong criticism for the
conditions that brought about the marches and the demonstrations, and resignations, and other forms of civil protests.

As I take my seat, I think it is quite obvious that I have no intentions of lending my support to the government’s plan to give over to Cable and Wireless a majority holding in the country’s telecommunications corporation. For the sake of a brighter future for our country, I hope that there will be others of my former colleagues who will be ready to rise above the fray and put aside political allegiances and alliances, to give our people - your people - a vote of confidence in their ability to be innovators, to be owners, and to be operators in a democratic, free market economy; I hope today that we will be affording them some semblance of pride and dignity by voting against this that is before us, and where and when they falter, be a source of encouragement for their betterment; I hope that some of my fellow colleagues will find the courage to show their individual character, and join me in attempting to begin the process of delivering to the Bahamian people the economical, political, and societal empowerment that they have so long been promised but denied.

It is not just me, not just those on the opposite side of the isle, and not just those demonstrating and protesting outside these walls who are making this request; if you have really looked around at our society in the last decade or so, you will have recognized that our entire society is, in some ways, crying out for a vote of confidence. Let us do what is right for a nation. I ask that you and other Bahamians join me and let us turn back the tides of injustice by saying NO to Cable and Wireless as majority owners in BTC.

Bahamas Blog International

Bahamian Women and their Independence in an Independent Bahamas

Bahamian women and their independence
By RUPERT MISSICK JR
rmissick@tribunemedia.net
and NOELLE NICOLLS
nnicolls@tribunemedia.net
Tribune Staff Reporters:


IN AN Independent Bahamas, women, in terms of numbers, represent the most powerful voting block in the country.

Today, there are on average 17,000 more women registered to vote than men.

But in the years since July 10, 1972, and in the nearly 50 years since November 1962 when Ivy Mackey became the first woman to vote in polling station number one in the district of the City of Nassau, have Bahamian women really become empowered?

The country has had female Presidents of the Court of Appeal and Senate, Members of Parliament, Governor Generals, heads of companies, schools and even a Deputy Prime Minister.

Regardless of these material advancements, however, women still do not have the same power to confer citizenship on their offspring as do Bahamian men and in the Bahamas it is still legal to rape your wife.

The truth is the Bahamian woman’s vote is directed in large part by agendas established by men.

Male heads of churches direct their majority female congregations how to vote, male party chairmen, leaders and deputy leaders still direct the programmes of political parties and the legislative agenda of the country when in government.

Perhaps two out of three of the most significant legislative advancements regarding women’s rights, post Independence, the Marital Rape Bill and the 2002 referendum, which would have continued women on the path toward further equality with their male counterparts were shot down because of a lack of support from women themselves.

The third, the 2002 amendments to the Inheritance Bill, which among other things, granted the right to all children born in or out of wedlock to a parent’s assets was passed after much fuss in January of that year.

The Inheritance Bill, unlike the referendum, was not offered for public vote, but it did have the full political will of the government of the day behind it, unlike the case of the Marital Rape Bill.

Mrs Janet Bostwick, the first woman elected to the House of Assembly, said she was shocked when women voted against the referendum.

“I could not believe it when women voted against the referendum. I was absolutely amazed. I think our women were betrayed by those who politicised this most important issue,” she said.

The PLP opposition said if they were elected to office they would bring the issue of constitutional reform back to the people in 90 days, according to Mrs Bostwick. She said that promise was never fulfilled.

“That was the most serious backward step to the advancement of women in my own memory,” said Mrs Bostwick.

“The issue of women's rights was made a totally partisan political issue, and unfortunately that has worked to the disadvantage of women. To put it very bluntly, the PLP were able to persuade their women not to support the referendum; it would have given the FNM too much power. One of the most painful things for me was listening to arch fundamentalist religious people who preached about the supremacy of men at the town hall meetings, and other events to discuss the referendum,” said Mrs Bostwick.

The referendum if passed would have made it possible for a Bahamian woman married to a foreigner to pass on her Bahamian nationality to her children just as a Bahamian man married to a foreigner gives his nationality to his children.

The failure of the implementation of the citizenship and marital rape laws has led many to wonder how far ahead the women’s movement – started by Mrs Mary Ingraham whose group launched the decade long struggle for women to get the vote— has moved.

One cannot blame those who conclude that the suffragette movement in the Bahamas was highjacked by those who saw women gaining the vote as a path to majority rule and political power rather than having anything to do with the advancement of women.

In essence, there exists no movement to advance women’s rights in the Bahamas today because there was never one to begin with.

“The women’s vote was important to get numbers, to get equality for black people. (Equality for women) was not so much a topic. The women had to vote to get a majority rule government that would do more for blacks. It was about the vote numbers, so the struggle for women did not continue. It was gone and it is still gone,” said Wallis Carey, daughter of Eugenia Lockhart, former secretary of the PLP Women’s Branch.

Mrs Lockhart was one of the architects of the 1950s women’s suffrage movement in the Bahamas.

As a college student Mrs Carey assisted her mother by typing the final 1960 petition that was presented to the Secretary for the Colonies in England.

“Women are figureheads now. We are tokens. We don’t have any power base anywhere. The women in the PLP were not thinking that way so they didn’t take it any further. They were thinking about majority rule with the best party that they saw, which was the PLP. There wasn’t much (desire) to take the movement further,” she said.

Mrs Carey said the platform of the PLP leading into the 1962 election, when women were first allowed to vote was “more jobs, more education for everybody.”

She said women’s rights were not advanced as a separate cause, and the necessity for women to vote was based on the racism that existed and not a view that women were discriminated against based on gender.

The year 1960 proved to be a turning point for the movement. The PLP members in the House rallied behind the movement pledging their support in public and in the House of Assembly.

“Sexual harassment was not a topic. Do we want to have more women leadership? That was not a topic for discussion. And it was a while before (the PLP) looked at including women in the Senate and in the power structure,” said Mrs Carey.

The PLP lost the 1962 election, even with the women’s vote. Parliamentary records showed there were 73,907 registered voters at the time. No records exist as to the gender distribution.

They went on to win in 1967.

Mrs Carey said after the defeat, the feeling was that “there was still a lot of work to do; they have to organize more” and then women were only involved “because of the numbers.”

“There is no source of power for women. The women in the suffrage movement were instrumental, they worked very hard, but they didn’t change the country in terms of the power structure,” said Mrs Carey.

Mrs Bostwick, said that the suffrage movement was for the purpose of securing the right to vote and no other issue with regard to women’s rights were raised primarily because many of the suffragists took pains to disassociate themselves from feminists. Conservatism was the ruling mentality at the time.

“Those women who stood out and tried to move aggressively for equal rights were sometimes called derogatory names. They were associated with the feminist movement and that was not something which was looked at in the main with kindness. Even today, and I say this with great pain, there is still some opposition, from some women, to the idea of true equality,” she said.

On some level, even in the late 1950s, the fight for women’s voting rights found itself divided along political lines.

In the history of the Women’s Suffrage Movement in the Bahamas, two women lead the pack, Mrs Mary Ingraham and Dr Doris Johnson.

While Mrs Ingraham, who was a member of the UBP, and her small group of women, were the first to launch the suffragette movement, Dr Doris Johnson on returning from her studies abroad moved in and took over the group after all the spade work had been done. At the time there were those who would say that Mrs Ingraham’s movement, which had succeeded in getting the women’s vote, was highjacked by Dr Johnson of the PLP. Twenty-five years of the PLP government’s retelling of the story of the movement has overshadow — and almost obliterated — Mrs Ingraham’s efforts and achievements in the minds of subsequent generations.

A good example of this was a 1992 advertisement published by the PLP when reference was again made to Dr Johnson and the women’s vote. Ms Ena Hepburn was quoted in the ad as saying: “I remember when women would not vote. That is why I sat down in Bay Street with the late Dame Dr Doris Johnson on Black Tuesday.”

Black Tuesday was on April 27, 1965 by that time Mrs Ingraham had won her fight for women and Bahamian women went to the polls for the first time in 1962.

Post Independence, Mary Ingraham was put in a position where she had to, or certainly felt she had to, fight to have her contribution to women’s suffrage remembered.

The women’s rights movement in the Bahamas spanned little over a decade, from 1950 to 1962.

According to Mrs Ingraham in a 1975 letter to The Tribune— which was a strong supporter of her movement — the first tangible effort made to get women the right to vote was in 1950 when she and a small group circulated a petition typed by Althea Mortimer.

Only 550 signatures were obtained by the late Dr HW Brown, Wilfred Toote, Gladys Bailey, Mary Ingraham and her five children.

The petition was turned over to and presented by AF Adderley and Dr CR Walker to the House of Assembly and Legislative Council.

According to Mrs Ingraham this petition was left on the shelf to die.

A new petition was circulated and in 1958 it was presented to Parliament by Independent MP Gerald Cash in support of the enfranchisement of women in the Bahamas.

The petition contained more than 2,500 signatures.

According to Mrs Ingraham, although she was a UBP, she thought it best that Mr Cash, the independent House member, was the best choice to advance the petition because she did not wish to impose her political beliefs, “not even on my children.”

The vote, which permitted women the vote was taken in February of 1961. While the House passed the bill, the majority UBP beat down the opposition PLP’s attempts to have the bill become effective immediately.

The bill was originally designed to become effective on January 1, 1963, two months after the election which would be held on November of 1962.

Instead the parties compromised to have the bill go into effect on June 30, 1962.

Surprise:

In a move that apparently caught the PLP by surprise the UBP agreed on an amendment that would make it possible for women to sit in the House of Assembly.

Women would not have a seat in the House until 20 years later when Mrs Bostwick was elected as the first female member of the Assembly.

In a November 1975 broadcast during Women’s Week, radio ZNS credited Dr Doris Johnson with getting the vote for Bahamian women.

In November of 1975 Mrs Ingraham wrote a letter published in The Tribune where in essence she pointed out that Dr Johnson only joined the movement in 1958 when she returned from university and the dynamic speech about women’s rights delivered to House members in 1959 was Dr Johnson’s most significant contribution to the effort.

“This is the only part Dr Johnson played in the vote for women,” Mrs Ingraham said.

Perhaps it could be said that Mrs Ingraham’s statement came more out of hurt and anger than fact, but she did feel that her contribution was being diminished because of her political ideology.

In the end Mrs Carey said that the illusion that women are equal to men in Bahamian society is propped up because of “materialism.”

“That is a poor replacement for real autonomy and power. We don’t own anything. We don’t even talk of owning anything. There is a lot to be done and it is not enough to just observe an international day for women,” she said.

Mrs Carey said she thinks the architects of women’s suffrage would have supported the marital rape bill and the right for women to pass on their citizenship.

“The women’s movement has died. I never even hear about it anymore. People talk like all of our issues are the same. There is no movement. We don’t even identify the issues any more that women have.

“We have given up everything to materialism, and we have accepted the worst part of materialism. That was the big thing for the PLP; they said they would make people have more. Have more what? We see materialism through the party we choose. We look at which government is going to give us more material things,” said Mrs Carey.

However, Mrs Bostwick said that there have been many advancements since the 1950s that have helped level the playing field for women, which people take for granted.

“You are talking about a society where women in the public service had to resign if they became pregnant, married or not married. You are talking about a society where even if you were allowed to stay on the job, it did not pay you when you were pregnant. You are talking about a society that did not permit you to divorce for anything but adultery, a society where if a wife committed adultery she was excluded from any share in the matrimonial property. There were so many things which happened to change the status of women in society that I feel there has been great, great advancement,” said Mrs Bostwick.

However, Mrs Bostwick admitted that there is a need to go further.

“Look at the thing with just the inheritance laws. They were so discriminatory against women. You started with a woman if she died without a will her husband to the exclusion of her children and everybody else took all of her personalities (money in the bank, shares, jewellery, furniture, car, clothes). He had a life interest in all of her real property, so that even if she had acquired the house herself and it was in her sole name, he had the right on her death, even if he was estranged, to move in, with his possible mistress, and even put out her children. You had a situation where women could not inherit from their father, mother or parents if there was one lawful son. They could not get anything. All of these things were hurtful laws,” she said.

These laws Mrs Bostwick mentions changed because of the agitation of women, in general and a lot of help from Mrs Bostwick specifically.

Mrs Bostwick was in the attorney general’s office from 1957 to 1974; it was a part of her work, so she was very aware of the laws and painfully aware of the plight of mothers.

“On Friday’s you had a court that dealt with maintenance matters. There was a tamarind tree in the square by the library and there were lines of women waiting under the tree to get the pittance of the maximum of $8.40 per child per week. That was the maximum by law. That remained until I was in Parliament,” she said.


Politics:

If women were to remove politics out of, well their own politics, they might be able to achieve more for themselves. Mrs Bostwick said that if women banded together, they would be able to get everything they needed for themselves.

“The thing is women must themselves want equality. They must truly want it. They will not truly want it unless they are personally feeling the pinch. You will find that you have the most talk about inequality when you are talking about not receiving equal pay for equal work. And it hurts me when I hear some leading professional women, who went against the referendum, now getting on the bandwagon and saying that we must move in the direction of equal pay.

“Philosophical equality is not something the grassroots will be concerned about. It is difficult for people to relate to that and rally around a cause to create change. There needs to be a process of education. You have to start teaching from the school level that we are equal and that discrimination is wrong,” she said.

Mrs Bostwick said that there are not many laws that need to be changed.

“The constitution must outlaw discrimination and it has to be so framed that women and men have equal rights with respect to discrimination on the grounds of sex. The Penal Code needs to be changed. Beyond that most of the changes are social and cultural,” she said.

July 11, 2010

tribune242

Bahamas Blog International

Bahamas Independence: Rethinking the progress after 37 years

Rethinking the progress after 37 years
By NOELLE NICOLLS
Tribune Staff Report
nnicolls@tribunemedia.net:


WHEN the entire country stood at attention for the very first playing of the Bahamas national anthem and saluted the Bahamas flag for the first time in 1973, did these newly minted Bahamian citizens imagine the Bahamas as it would be in 2010? Thirty-seven years after independence, how would they answer the question: Have the gains achieved since independence translated into true progress?

Eighty-one-year-old Euterpie Thompson of Grants Town said for the first time ever she wished she could pick up her house and move somewhere else. She said she gets “no pleasure going out on the street.”

This year is the worst in her memory. She does not see how political representatives spend money in the community, and all she can see is “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.”

Ninety-seven-year-old veteran straw vendor Doris Grant-Strachan said the Bahamas is worse today than it was during the time of independence.

“I don’t think the country has gotten better. Too much stealing, killing. To me it is worse; since independence things have gotten worse. Children are going astray from small,” said Mrs Grant-Strachan.

People often dismiss the elderly in their recollection of the “good old days” as little more than nostalgic meandering, but given the level of crime and violence, the socio-economic inequality, the materialism, and the modern value systems that characterise the Bahamas today, perhaps there is credence to their claims.

When Sir Lynden Pindling spoke to the House of Assembly in March 1972, to present the green paper on independence, he said: “Only through independence will the country be able to fulfil its development ideals, completing the transition from traditional society to social and economic modernity.”

Former Bahamian Ambassador and agro-consultant Godfrey Eneas said in his recollection of the independence movement there was a fundamental concern about the social injustices and the economic inequities in Bahamian society at the time. He believes the founding fathers were concerned about “trying to level the socio-economic field.”

As to the level of progress towards achieving that vision, Mr Eneas said the country has experienced a lot of transformation, some good, some not so good.

“We are a society which responds to events. We are not in a position to dictate the course of anything. We are extremely vulnerable to the vagaries of industrialised societies, principally the United States. Because of our dependency on these societies; dependency on tourism as an economic engine; dependency on food, (computer) technology; on even how we think about ourselves, all of these factors have impacted the Bahamian since independence, hence the need for a new sense of self,” said Mr Eneas, who is also the author of, “The New Caribbean: A Region in Transition”, and “Agriculture In the Bahamas (1492-1992).”

Classist:

“Rather than a society which denotes ones standing based on race, we have now become more of a classist society. But yet we still have social mobility: one can be born anywhere and aspire or achieve a position of importance,” said Mr Eneas.

Mrs Grant-Strachan said some black people fueled the class divisions by seeking to disassociate themselves from the “poor black people.”

“The black people were trying to be like the white people, some of them. They would fight against their own people. They were mean to their own colour, so they could get more wealthy. They didn’t treat them nice at all,” said Mrs Grant-Strachan.

“I believe they looked up to the white people, because most black people was working for the whites. They would rather be with the white man, because you are black and poor. When these black people got a raise, when you had nothing and happen to get something, I am telling you, some of them were mean. If they had places on rent, or so much money in the bank that time they were big shot, you can’t talk to them, although you black and they black,” she said.

Mr Eneas said he did not subscribe to that belief, and thought it was only applicable to “some people who did not have any training, who were not socialised properly.”

“We have become a very materialistic society. I think that has impacted our view of one another. We see people in terms of what they own; whether they have a big house, big car and that is what people aspire to be instead of looking at the content of one’s character. So in terms of values we have digressed. Economically we have gotten better,” he said.

The country is better off in terms of women’s rights and economic growth, but “a lot of people have displaced values because of material gains,” said Loretta Butler-Turner, granddaughter of founding father Sir Milo Butler, and Minister of State for Social Development in the Free National Movement government.

“You have to weigh it. Whatever we do must be balanced. Bahamians have been people historically who have always measured things materially, from the days of pirates. We have always been geographically positioned where we have always had access to false buoyancy in our economy. So many times when we (compare) our GDP to our Caribbean nations we say we are better off, because we have more money, but when you look intellectually, we are seen to be not so intellectually inclined in the Caribbean,” said Mrs Butler-Turner.

On July 10, 1973, Mrs Butler-Turner said she was a 12-year-old girl. She transitioned from adolescence to adulthood in the two post-independence decades, and has “very vivid recollections” of the era, including the drug trafficking that defined that period. This was also a period of population growth and urbanisation. Mrs Butler-Turner worked closely in her family’s funeral business, and recalls the Bahamas going through “some very difficult years.”

Mrs Butler-Turner said she can identify with the sentiment that “we are not better off”, because as the country transitioned into economic modernity it brought about materialism and social degradation. Even still, she believes it is possible for people to “have very principled values and live a very good life without being compromised by materialism.”

“I still maintain we have made progress on many levels, but ... we need our value systems reinstated. It is the value systems that are out of whack that makes us such a materialistic country. Pre-independence we had much stronger moral values. Post independence we have lost some of those values to economic and material gains. That is my summation. People have to decide which one they prefer. Personally, I probably prefer pre-independence. I think we were more human in spirit,” she said.

The materialism that spread post-independence, may have been fed by the “sense of entitlement” people associated with independence. Some people say there was an expectation that independence would herald in a Robert Mugabe like transfer of wealth that would create socio-economic equality between whites and blacks.

A white Bahamian recalled mowing his lawn one day leading up to the independence celebration. He said a black man stopped in front of his wall and was staring at him. When he inquired about what was going on, the onlooker said “I was just looking at houses I wanted after the election.” The home owner said, “If you want this house you better come mow the lawn.”

Housekeeper:

Another white Bahamian recalled that her housekeeper ordinarily came to work dressed very conservatively. The day after the 1967 general election, she came to work wearing “bright red capri pants expecting to take over the house.”

Mrs Butler-Turner said “a sense of entitlement” could have been brought on unwittingly by the black government of the day, who sought to bring about socio-economic equality. She feels it may have been misleading for some to think that independence meant “we are going to be able to take everything over.”

“There was a feeling that everything that was controlled by the minority would come under the control of the masses with independence, not understanding it still boils down to whether we are prepared to work for what we have,” said Mrs Butler-Turner.

“My recollection was that we were unequal to our rulers before independence. After independence, we were not just going to become equal but entitled. It made a lot of people, who even may not have been prepared intellectually, feel like they had a sense of entitlement.

“Bahamians everywhere felt the floodgates were going to be open without truly understanding it was going to take a lot of hard work to achieve their dreams,” she said.

The question of how we measure progress is important to consider, according to Mrs Butler-Turner. She said the ancient scriptures offer a perspective on success, when they state: “What does it prophet a man if he inherits the world and loses his soul.”

The average Bahamian in their 50s or 60s who grew up in Grants Town, Bain Town, Farm Road, or Englerston had a very different experience growing up in those areas than Bahamians today. That is not the romantic memories of old people, past the age of promise. That is the living memory of many people in the working class, the black middle and upper class community, the political class and the elderly.

“People may have lacked certain material things but there was pride.

“It was reflected in the level of civility, the work ethic, the value system, the way people kept their houses, cleaned their yards,” said Mr Eneas.

Ms Thompson of Grants Town suggests that people today live beyond their means. She said mothers are too young and are having too many children. Ms Thompson had five children and her mother had twelve. Asked to explain why it was okay then and not now, she said: “Not all the time you have the means to take care of children.”

She said her mother with 12 children had “less in a way, money wise,” but “there was no scarcity.” She said they could find fruits all the time: tamarind, cane, mango, bananas, sapodilla. She said her mother owned land in the Family Islands and worked the fields, planting pigeon peas, corn and beans.

She said things are also “more backwards” for women in certain ways, specifically as it relates to reproductive rights.

She said women have to “spend money and do so much” to simply give birth. Four of her five children were born at home. Today, health regulations require women to give birth in the hospital or a registered birthing centre.

“Once you have trained nurses, nothing wrong with giving birth at home,” said Ms Thompson. Home births also have cultural significance in traditional African communities.

In the past 37 years, the influence of urbanisation has had a negative impact on the Bahamas, bringing with it social problems “in terms of the violence and the abuse, and the drug and alcohol addictions,” according to Mr Eneas. He said 85 per cent of the population live between Grand Bahama and New Providence. To this day, he said, “we still haven’t addressed (the urban crisis); there are still people who live in squalor.”

“We have a society where both parents are working; where the large majority are single mothers, and so the way children are brought up today is very different from the way my parents were brought up or your father was brought up. That has impacted us tremendously,” he said.

What are the lessons to be learned from the cries of the elderly, who have the perspective that comes with age. What can the past teach us about our present predicament, and where we are headed.

In an effort to create an independent Bahamas, did we chart a course for true progress or did we just change the face of the same colonial system?

The reality is, some in the modern Bahamas would say black people are free, women are liberated and we have money in our pockets, so who cares.

The question is, do you?

July 11, 2010

tribune242

Bahamas Blog International

Bahamas Independence: What was really intended with Bahamian Independence?

What was really intended with Independence?
By NOELLE NICOLLS
Tribune Staff Reporter
nnicolls@tribunemedia.net:



THE year before independence was successfully negotiated for the Bahamas, the government published a road map for independence in the form of a White Paper.

Prime Minister Sir Lynden Pindling presented the White Paper to the House of Assembly on October 18, 1972. It indicated what would stay the same after independence, what would change, and the vision for the future of the Bahamas.

What was the meaning of independence from the perspective of the founding fathers? By his own admission, Sir Lynden did not envisage that the Independence Constitution would be dramatically different from the 1969 Constitution, either in form or content.

So what really was the promise of independence? Perhaps the answer lies in an examination of the issues and implications of Independence as they were conceived in 1972.

“Independence is necessary and desirable now for reasons which affect both national development and international relations. Above all, independence will enable the Bahamian people to find their true identity and to establish that freedom towards which all men aspire and to which all are entitled.”


What was set to stay the same following Independence

Monarchy to be retained. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will be invited to be Head of State, Queen of our Independent Bahamas.

Conditions for the Prorogation and Dissolution of Parliament will stand.

Bi-cameral form of legislature to be retained. In the main, qualifications for appointment or election to remain unchanged.

Composition of the Executive to be retained.

The Supreme Court and The Court of Appeal for the Bahamas to continue as is.

Appeals to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council to continue.

Royal Bahamas Police Force to retain responsibility for enforcing the Constitution, law enforcement, and the protection of person and property.

The three Service Commissions – Public Service, Police Service and Judicial and Legal Service – to continue.

Membership on Commonwealth Caribbean Secretariat and Caribbean Development Bank to continue.

Automatic succession of treaties, conventions and agreements (dealing with postal activity, telecommunications, road traffic, broadcasting, health service, customs, commerce, visa requirements, racial discrimination, navigation, etc.) on the condition that within a reasonable time and after critical examination of every detail of every treaty or agreement concerned, the government would confirm its succession to some treaties an discontinue others.

Government to retain ownership of Bahamas Telecommunications Corporation, the Bahamas Electricity Corporation and ZNS.

Oil exploration by major oil companies.

Industrial Encouragement Act.

Maintain tax-haven status.

Continue to encourage hotel development and industrial diversification.


What was set to change following Independence

Governor-General to represent the Queen and exercise her executive authority, acting on the advice of the Cabinet or a minister empowered by the Cabinet.

One general election every five years or less except in times of national emergency.

Constituencies Commission to replace Boundaries Commission.

New constitutional clause to make provision for amending the Constitution only through democratic process.

The United Kingdom government will cease to have any responsibility foreign relations, defense and internal security, except by any treaty arrangement that might be made with the Bahamas government to become effective upon or after Independence.

Re-negotiate foreign military base and related agreements (specifically, those between the governments of the UK and the USA, covering installations on several Bahamian islands of missile tracking stations, United States Navy and Coast Guard stations and the Atlantic Underwater Test and Evaluation Center on Andros).

Wider distribution of police throughout the Family Islands and revitalization of Police Volunteer Reserve Strengthen Marine Division.

Eliminate Common Entrance examinations and institute a single ladder system. Introduce a system of senior high schools.

Open central schools up to junior secondary level in the Family Islands.

National Insurance Act to make provisions for cash benefits to specified beneficiary groups.

Central Bank to evolve from Monetary Authority.

Reorganize and reconstitute Post Office Savings Bank as National Savings Bank.

Institute a Development Bank of the Bahamas.

Institute a Bahamas Development Corporation to be responsible for the acquisition, improvement and disposal of land and for the redevelopment of areas cited as physical, economic or social liabilities.

Crown land or government land will no longer be available to non-Bahamians except on the basis of equity participation at the land’s full economic value.

Make public land available to Bahamians to enable them to make an effective start in business.

New sub-division legislation and real estate agents legislation will be introduced to protect the Bahamians and buyers of Bahamian land.

Government to seek equity participation in utility corporations operating in Family Islands.

Establish a national flag carrier that will be substantially owned and controlled by Bahamians.

Encourage more international carriers to install regular services from Europe to the Bahamas.

Stop indiscriminate proliferation of local charter, freight or passenger carriers.

Air Transport Licensing Authority to review all licenses and permits held by airlines not operating in services in the Bahamas. Licenses or permits may be suspended or terminated for airlines inactive for a year.

In the past, certain private institutions have taken the viewpoint that they can dictate their own terms; even that they are doing us a favour simply by setting up an interest within our shores. Such attitudes amount to gross irresponsibility and cannot be justified.


What was envisioned for the future in an independent Bahamas

Improve the facilities for administration of justice in the scattered Family Islands, whereby the courts are taken to the people rather bringing the people to the courts.

Arrangements to be made to ensure safe custody and proper treatment of dangerous criminals.

Seek membership of the ILO, FAO, WHO, UNESCO, IBRD, IMF, GATT (the former name of the World Bank), WTO, Commonwealth Secretariat and other Commonwealth Organizations.

Strive for closer relationship with the Commonwealth Caribbean countries.

Aim of the government to remain at peace with all nations and in co-operation with them, to promote the welfare of mankind all over the world.

It is not practical to suggest that an independent Bahamas would play or attempt to play a major role in the political affairs of the world … (but) our small nation can and will hold a respected place among the nations of the world

Priority matters relating to the law of the sea: The extent of territorial waters; the extent of national jurisdiction over the seabed; and the defense implications of the former matters. Determination of designated national waters, high seas areas, continental shelf. The Bahamas government will strive to have archipelagic principle applied in determining its territorial sea.

Improve efficiency of Royal Bahamas Police Force.

Provide equal opportunity for all Bahamians in a system of education designed to promote progress and unity.

The proposed College of the Bahamas.

A national system of education that will bring about improvements in standards of learning, and provide a more equitable assessment of students’ abilities, achievements and potential.

Primary teacher training facilities to be extended, secondary teacher training facilities to be developed.

The need for expatriate teachers will remain for some years ahead, but the ultimate objective is that of self-sufficiency with qualified Bahamian teachers.

Provision of vocational training in such subjects as hotel management, transport management, banking, business administration, and others.

Improve and extend hospital and medical facilities along the most modern and best tested lines.

Implementation of ILO 1970 recommendations

Introduction of national health insurance scheme.

Community Development Centers will be progressively and systematically established in densely populated areas to cater for pre-natal and post-natal needs, child day-care needs and the recreational needs of young people.


Economic independence:

Properly developed fisheries industry will generate a turnover of some B$10 million per annum.

Co-operative societies to provide credit and marketing facilities to fishermen and farmers.

For many years past, agricultural developments in the Bahamas have been minimal. The government is determined that this shall change. Of the three and a half million acres of land in the Bahamas, nearly half a million acres are now believed to have a high agricultural potential. The national food bill in 1970 was approximately $57 million of which $47.5 million was imported. At least a further B$8 million worth of food, at present imported, can and must be produced internally.

The expert opinion of the UK Land Resources Division states there is no reason why we cannot become self-supporting in poultry, eggs, milk, mutton and pork, citrus and garden products.

Improve means of marketing foodstuffs. New marketing system to account for quality control, grades and standards, price stabilization, storage and handling facilities and a reliable two-way flow of marketing information.

Improve circumstances of small farmers.

Implement programme to encourage consumers to buy Bahamian.

Negotiate loans and financial assistance for new transport facilities, the development and/or redevelopment of urban areas, new and improved amenities for the Family Islands, housing projects, schools, hospitals, roads and sanitation.

Provide monetary support to ensure the preservation of both man-made and natural attractions in the tourism sector and implement major extension to tourist facilities throughout the islands.

Vigorously pursue industrial diversification.

Provide land for small hotels to be owned and operated by local families, especially in the Family islands.

Provide land for enterprising Bahamians seriously interested in farming, commercial and industrial enterprises.

Aragonite mining to represent a source of income for many years ahead. The estimated world demand is 2,000 million tons. The Bahamas probably possesses reserves of this mineral of the order of 50,000 million tons.

Emergence of the Bahamas as a maritime nation.

Encourage food processing and canning, garment manufacture, household furnishings production, light engineering and metal and plastics fabrication.

Public/private partnership in oil industry development to put the country in the forefront of leading international centres for the deepwater terminalling and transshipment of oil, for oil refining and for the manufacture of petrochemicals.

Nationalisation shall not be an instrument of the government’s economic policy.

Investors should make a proper contribution to the economic and social development of the Bahamas.

Commercial organisations should indicate a sincere intent to train Bahamians. The use of foreign personnel should be limited.

Foreign investors should seek partnership with Bahamians.

July 11, 2010

tribune242

Bahamas Blog International