Failed state—Lately, this has been a widely held view of the Republic of Haiti, whether overtly expressed or slightly sugar-coated to mitigate the harshness of the bitter pill. I had long been mourning the ever-increasing decompensation of our sister state, but on 12 January 2010, I wept openly. I wept again at the devastation of […]
If history, heritage and culture are food for the nourishment of the intellect and definition of identity, I would say that these assets of The Bahamas are suffering grave malnutrition. This essay is intended to be a call for a capital campaign to preserve, enhance and bring to deserving prominence a treasure of Bahamian heritage—The […]
Last week the government debated a new resolution to convey 1.2 acres of land for the purpose of its Access to Affordable Housing program. These new lots in the Fox Hill area are a new addition to the program which has shifted the government away from building turnkey homes to selling affordable service lots and […]
Is it better in The Bahamas? Although Bahamians can produce remarkable creativity and generosity when you least expect it, that is a question that burned deep in my consciousness in view of the 2019 cinematographic black eye that Netflix delivered to our corporate face, which was already swelling from Europe’s recent sucker punches designed to […]
Change is both the generous benefactor and the implacable tyrant of the 21st century, enthroned by the technological revolution that took an unshakeable hold in the 1980s and has infiltrated every aspect of our personal lives, whether we have given permission or not. The burning question every country, every people, every enterprise and individual must […]
In the last week, two television streaming platforms have released documentaries claiming to detail the real true (crime) story behind the failed Fyre Festival. In case you are unfamiliar, Fyre Festival was the brainchild of millennial entrepreneur Billy McFarland in partnership with well-known rapper JaRule. The 2017 festival was originally supposed to be held on […]
Reading the newspapers and listening to the occasional radio talk show in the weeks since 2019 boldly emerged from the womb of time has made me think that it might have been better if New Year had remained where it was and ossified. We mortals in many parts of the world, including The Bahamas had […]
When giving interviews, there are few things politicians relish more than talking about things that we should all agree are bad—things like mass genocide, oil spills, and rape, for example. But because we live in a place that, from time-to-time, struggles to make sense of itself that is not the case in The Bahamas. On […]
In the heat of the 2017 general election campaign allegations of corruption and mismanagement by Cabinet Ministers in the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) were ubiquitous. Among these allegations were rumors of a lingering menace in Grand Bahama. A PLP operative had taken hold of a well-known government program by the neck and singlehandedly choked off […]
The New Year tends to bring optimism. There is a sense that this turn of the calendar can wipe the slate of the old year and give us new and better opportunities for a better life. In these early days of 2019, I have heard echoed in many quarters some form of the word “transformation” […]
The consultation on NHI has been extended again as the NHIA considers requiring those who make more, to contribute more—as this column suggested weeks ago The government has hired a new Director of Communications in the Office of the Prime Minister Public consultation like the one NHIA is currently undergoing will benefit from a more […]
A history of Nassau’s elite and the shipping businesses they owned may give us some context to understand the current cruise port RFP process. Beyond the questions of political economy, there remain issues central to cruise tourism policy. What would the cruise port RFP had looked like if sustainable tourism strategies were at its core? […]
Let’s face it—2018 has made some of the strongest minded among us tremble internally or as Bahamians say “take with the nervousness.” In terms of human progress towards enlightenment—in The Bahamas and worldwide, 2018 has been a dud. In all likelihood, other members of the animal kingdom across the planet are probably holding congress to […]
Questions about the fairness of Nassau cruise port RFP may be justified. Award of Nassau cruise port re-development to Arawak Port Development could mean reemergence of import cartel. The proposals for the re-development of Nassau’s cruise port are in, and three contenders have emerged. Despite the request for proposals process closing on December 7th, there […]
One of the dirtiest cuss words to Bahamian ears is change. For as long as I can remember, speaking the word within earshot of Bahamians and you will would get the scalded cat reaction—loud shrieking and a lightning fast dash to escape. Recently, though, my people have accepted two new notions with alacrity— protest and […]
So far, this series of articles have attempted to provide a coherent and studied critique of the newly proposed National Health Insurance scheme (NHI). The first installment of the series was an attempted to move beyond the reactionary criticism about the two per cent contribution that swallowed up the news cycle. The goal was to […]
I have created a new collective noun for the dictionaries—a conspiracy of Bahamian unions. Just when I thought I could rest my pen for a moment, I learned that an alphabet soup of labour unions—the BNU, CPSA, BDU, BUT, UTEB, BIMAWU, BCPOU, BCPMU, BHCAWU—have donned boxing gloves, threatening to go the full rounds in the ring with […]
BCCEC echoes assessment in the first installment Opposition response misses the big issues Wealthy will avoid paying their fair share, again Not long after the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) extend the consultation period on the newly proposed National Health Insurance policy, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) lobbed a press […]
