Bay Street merchants and other small business owners will not benefit if The Bahamas decides to join the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA), Senators were told Monday.
This statement came from Senator Edison Key during his contribution to the Passenger Tax (Amendment) Act, which is to establish certain procedures and mechanisms to ensure the collection and payment of passenger and ticket taxes.
While admitting that he does not understand the FTAA process entirely, Senator Key expressed his concern as to whether the FTAA will benefit The Bahamas, which imports almost every single commodity and exports very little.
He asked: “Will the benefits be derived from the location of a Home Depot on the opposite side of the street from Kelly’s? Or a Cisco or Publix around the corner from Super Value? Or how about a Sears or J. C. Penny strategically located in the centre of Downtown, Bay Street?”
Although Bahamians may not refute the idea, Senator Key said The Bahamas must not allow itself to be “lured into sweet unconsciousness” by global giants, who don’t really care about the integrity and rich, diverse history of The Bahamas and its people.
Senator Key also questioned what he called a “lagging agricultural industry.”
“Has any thought been given to how we will go about developing a sound agricultural base or industry when our borders are opened up to free trade?”
Said Senator Key: “I am of the view that there ought to be come assurances whereby agricultural and certain other areas be excluded from any agreements that might be entered into.”
He pointed out that with food imports representing approximately 85 percent or over $500,000, 000 annually, The Bahamas should address the urgent need to start the process of food production in the country.
“If we are unable to feed ourselves on a sustained basis for months at a time, then we can look forward to being held hostage by the global food suppliers,” said Senator Key.
After the economic blow from 9/11, he said the country should have learnt that nothing is guaranteed, so The Bahamas should not be dependent on other world economies for food.
“With the prospect of FTAA looming larger and larger, we must be wary of its true intent and not be too hasty to sell our sovereignty down the tube,” said Senator Key.
In regards to preparing The Bahamas’ agricultural sector for FTAA, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Local Government has joined forces with the Inter-American Development Bank to conduct a study to determine the competitiveness of Bahamian agricultural products.
“…The study seeks to review the Bahamian agricultural sector on a commodity or product basis.
In this regard, some of the products to be studied are poultry, pork, mutton, bananas, pineapples, tomatoes, pigeon peas and citrus,” V. Alfred Gray, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Local Government said.
The study is being funded by $40, 000 grant provided by IDB.
By Khashan Poitier, The Nassau Guardian
