The challenge in becoming entrepreneurs has been very costly for those Bahamians.
Most island areas are hardship environments and the cost of functioning is at least twice that of doing business in the big cities of Nassau and Freeport or other more affluent communities. Accordingly building, labour, maintenance, and the transporting of goods are exceptionally burdensome for Bahamians who have ventured into business in their island locations.
Generally those worthy persons have bitten the bullet (so to speak) and applied additional funds and new energies to their businesses. A goodly number of them, wishing to expand their operations have over the years applied for crown land. Therein lies the greatest level of frustration and discouragement for Bahamian island people.
Whereas foreign individuals and business entities have been able to approach the Government of the Bahamas (with plans that are no different from those already put in place by struggling Bahamians), apply for crown land, and get the properties in short order, applications from the natives have been put aside for the most part.
There is absolutely no explicable reason for this unfair practice. However, the system continues to favour foreign entrepreneurs in the Family Islands at the great expense of born-bred Bahamians. It is as if there is this big plan to cause Bahamians to lose their investments or to frustrate them until they just simply give up. Many have gone both routes.
Scores of Bahamians who just wanted a level playing field, have lost their business and virtually everything else. Others have lost faith and hope, resigned to an ironic situation whereby foreigners are allowed to operate with the advantage over Bahamians.
Today, another kind of encroachment is the forte of foreigners.
They come in under the guise of wanting to build island homes. Then, they operate them as guesthouses, again taking more of the market from those Bahamian-owned hospitality properties in the islands.
This injustice goes on and on. For the powers that be, it’s business as usual. There are some decent individuals who work in Land and Surveys and the Ministry of Works who have sought over the years to create a better balance for Bahamian island entrepreneurs. They have failed miserably and have succeeded only in antagonizing their superiors who prefer the situation as it is.
The venerable Bishop Neal Ellis put it very bluntly to the governing New Progressive Liberal Party while giving the sermon at the recent majority day church service. He told members of government quite frankly that they have not provided the assistance promised when they wanted the votes.
Independent Member of Parliament, Mr. Tennyson Wells, this past Sunday on the popular love 97 talk show, Jones and Company, gave the government a (B-/C+) grade thus far. Mr. Well surely could not have factored the Family Islands Bahamian businesspersons into his evaluation mix.
From this quarter, the New PLP Government gets ‘F’ for the unfair situation it allows to exist for the Bahamian entrepreneur in the islands.
By Fred Sturrup, The Bahama Journal
