Bahama Pundit

Liberalizing Telecommunications

by Simon

If those who don’t know history are condemned to repeat it, those who conveniently forget or pimp history for self-serving purposes are condemned to irrelevance and being made into a running joke.

During the debate on the sale of a majority stake of BTC to Cable and Wireless, the Opposition PLP and various leaders of unions representing telecommunications workers joined forces to promote a specious reading of history, which will not look kindly on their studied amnesia and purposeful forgetfulness.
One union leader brazenly, shamelessly and wrongly compared the current debate to the struggle for majority rule, adding insult by suggesting that we are now engaged in a racial battle.  More on that laughable assertion later.

Meanwhile, the formerly progressive and liberal Opposition has reinforced its reactionary, regressive and illiberal bona fides even as it pretended to be greatly concerned about “the workers” and the “national interest”.

There was something amusing if not outlandishly hypocritical as one listened to Opposition members critique the Government’s plans to privatize BTC, especially as much of the critique was broadcast via a communications landscape liberalized by successive Ingraham administrations.

A Clash of Economic Models for the Bahamas

by Larry Smith

"As I watch these students and their families, all so proud of their accomplishments, I cannot help but feel sorry for them...How will they feel about themselves in this tourist industry, playing the role of servant so clearly constructed as being part of the nature of Bahamian culture." -- Dellareese Higgs, 2008 doctoral dissertation

“It is clearly the case that, as a result of tourism, the Bahamas is chronically dependent.” -- Felix Bethel, College of the Bahamas lecturer

“Tourism is a form of ‘leisure imperialism’ and represents ‘the hedonistic’ face of neocolonialism." - Malcolm Crick, British anthropologist

"While direct travel services generated $1.8 billion in export earnings, the economy spent $1.9 billion on the purchase of merchandise imports. it could be suggested that in the (Stafford Sands) model, the state of foreign reserves is in fact the economy’s ultimate monetary target." -- Gabriella Fraser, researcher at the Central Bank of the Bahamas, 2001

"Because of our addictive reliance on foreign investment our appreciation for Bahamian genius is negligible and in so doing we are oppressing Bahamians....Our economic model perpetuates an economic apartheid." -- Olivia Saunders, College of the Bahamas lecturer

"One can argue that Bahamian national pride is to a degree a product of brochure discourse, of touristic marketing; that much of what Bahamians love about their country is what travellers and the tourist industry claim is worth loving." -- Ian Strachan, College of the Bahamas lecturer

"The world seems to be divided between people who predict rain and people who build arks. We know which one is easier. Let them continue to predict rain in the face of these opportunities. We will work with those who are in the business of building arks." -- Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, Minister of Tourism

The preceding series of quotes (except for the last one) is fairly representative of the intellectual discourse over tourism, economics and identity that rages from time to time in the academic and cultural world, both here and abroad.

Interestingly, this normally esoteric debate was thrown into sharp relief last week when Tourism Minister Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace and College of the Bahamas lecturer Olivia Saunders delivered diametrically opposing views at the Bahamas Business Outlook conference on Cable Beach. The theme of the conference was economic diversification.

The History of Selling BTC

by Larry Smith

"What I've found out about change is that when you propose it people don't want it, when you are doing it it's hell, and afterwards they think it's always been like that." -- former British Prime Minister Tony Blair

In early 2008, about 10 months after the last general election, the Ingraham government appointed a new privatisation committee (headed by bankers T. B. Donaldson and Julian Francis), with a mandate to find a buyer for the Bahamas Telecommunications Company as soon as possible.

This was a goal that had been pursued ever since the FNM first came to power in 1992. In fact, even before then the Pindling regime had been seeking to divest state assets that were draining the treasury. By the early 90s the PLP had decided to offload government-owned hotels. And believe it or not, they also had confidential talks with Cable & Wireless about a stake in BaTelCo.

Privatisation continued to be pursued by the PLP during its most recent term in office, from 2002 to 2007. Although the Christie administration eventually cancelled the auction launched by the FNM, they went on to start their own process, and agreed (just before the 2007 election) to sell BTC to Bluewater Ventures, a foreign firm with an uncertain ownership and no operating history.

But the incoming FNM government could find no evidence that a deal had been finalised, although Bluewater - in the shape of American executive John Gregg and PLP politico/lawyer Brave Davis - insisted that the Christie cabinet had shaken hands on an agreement. In mid-2008, the Ingraham administration relaunched the privatisation process, eventually paying Bluewater $1.9 million to cover its out-of-pocket costs.

Development Planning and the Clifton Legacy

by Larry Smith

Until about 12 years ago most Bahamians had no involvement in development proposals. The government and the developers made all the decisions - behind closed doors - and few people were bothered about it, so long as the money was coming in.

As one longtime conservationist told me, "Back then there was very little awareness about the environment. We couldn't even talk to the government directly about these things. We had to provide our input through others - like the Inter-American Development Bank."

That's what happened in 1989, when the first PLP government decided to move the port to Clifton Point. There was no public consultation, but experts said the environmental costs were too great, so the IADB refused to provide financing. Meanwhile, the 200 acres of private land that had been compulsorily acquired for the port (without actually being paid for) were simply forgotten.

Fast forward to 1997 and those 200 acres were part of a 600-acre tract of private land at Clifton being proposed for a Lyford Cay-type gated community by Canadian investors Jeffrey Waterous, Brian Sweeney and Tad Bachman. Construction was slated to begin the next year.

We Have No Choice?

by Simon

The House of Assembly debated a resolution on the Baha Mar deal recently.  Unfortunately for the Perry Christie-led PLP, it has already lost the broader national debate on the proposed mega project. 

This includes a haemorrhaging of goodwill from the PLP by many professionals and even many within the party who are flabbergasted and frustrated by Mr. Christie’s dissembling and series of incoherent statements on Baha Mar since its inception.  Curiously, part of the story concerns – the BlackBerry.

Some weeks ago, Mr. Christie attempted to mock the Prime Minister for regularly checking his BlackBerry at a dinner attended by both leaders.  Mr. Ingraham was monitoring any news of a settlement between Baha Mar and Scotiabank on an outstanding loan between the two entities.

The story reveals the essential differences between Messrs. Ingraham and Christie.  Hubert Ingraham is a part of the Smartphone generation while his former law partner is a throwback to a bygone era, wedded to a model of economic development that is being assigned to the proverbial ash heap of history. 

Baha Mar—It's a Wrap!

by Larry Smith

After years of manoeuvering over the 1,000-acre Baha Mar project on Cable Beach, the Ingraham government (in its own words) has finally made sweet lemonade from the sour fruit left on the table by the Christie administration.

In April 2005 the newly formed Baha Mar Development Company (owned by a Lyford Cay-based property developer named Sarkis Izmirlian) bought three aging hotels on the Cable Beach strip with a $200 million loan from the Bank of Nova Scotia. The venerable Nassau Beach was subsequently closed, while the Crystal Palace and Cable Beach Hotels were renovated and re-branded.

That same year Baha Mar concluded an agreement with the Christie administration for a $1 billion-plus development, including several hotels, a casino, retail village, convention centre, expanded golf course, and beach and pool amenities. Ironically, had the project got underway when it was supposed to, it would have opened in the midst of the Great Recession - with potentially devastating consequences.

The City of New Providence

by Simon

Nassau is often used as a shortcut or synecdoche for New Providence.  There is a logic and history behind this:  For most of its history the majority of its residents lived in the City of Nassau and its immediate environs.  Understandably, they more easily identified with the town in which they lived rather than the expanse beyond the actual and imagined town-limits.

We call residents of Nassau, Nassuvians.  Yet, unlike Abaconians, Cat Islanders and Inaguans, what is the demonym for those of us who live at New Providence? 

A Whole New World—Part 2

by Simon

Whether a city, an island, or a country -- a place is about more than its geography.   Every place evokes some history and is a potential wellspring of ideas, offering individuals and the collective imagination opportunities for renewal and transformation.  

New Providence and our capital City of Nassau are undergoing such a transformation in terms of physical infrastructure and cultural renewal.  In many ways, New Providence is becoming a whole new world that will be enjoyed by Bahamians and tourists.  Much of this is a result of one of the more significant infrastructural investment programmes in Bahamian history. 

This multifaceted and ambitious infrastructural programme is in response to a complex of challenges.  These challenges are posed by on-going and rapid urbanization including long-standing problems in terms of water distribution and clogged roads.

Over time, the new New Providence will boast dramatically improved public amenities, services and utilities.  It will also include enhanced venues for cultural and sporting events as well as a host of entertainment activities, domestic and international.

The Drama at Baha Mar – Part 1

by Simon

Lights, camera, action!  At least, that was the theory.  With giddy fanfare the Christie administration broke into the ZNS evening news to broadcast live from Cable Beach a deal hyping an agreement with Baha Mar.  The made-for-television reality show was obviously and deliberately timed to coincide with the beginning of the evening news, commandeering most of that night’s broadcast. 

But after the lights and cameras trekked back to Third Terrace Centreville, nothing happened.  Well, quite a bit happened. Except, of course, the construction of the promised mega complex. The original deal, the world economy and the Christie administration all collapsed, though not necessarily in that order. 

The impressive architectural models and glittering high-tech videos of the touted development glossed over the realities on the ground.  The public relations bonanza also obscured the nature and details surrounding the proposed plans to re-develop the historic Cable Beach. 

We have seen this reality show before.  It involves the same mindset, plot and cast of PLP cabinet ministers and their associated dealmakers that brought us the Great Mayaguana Land Give-away.   The initial arrangements for the Baha Mar deal and the I-Group deal in Mayaguana involved more than rank hypocrisy by the party whose progressive and liberal brand name are whispery echoes of a by-gone era.

More fundamentally, the deals betrayed the PLP’s own nationalist rhetoric and chest-thumping patriotism.   At the core of the Cable Beach and Mayaguana deals were stunning betrayals of the very idea of Bahamianization.  This included making Bahamians subordinate in the deals, while alienating prime Crown Land and Government real estate to foreigners in perpetuity.

Get Ready for Opportunities -- Part 1

by Simon

The global financial crisis is easing, with recovery set to take varying forms depending on the circumstances of various national economies.  With recovery, the pace of global trade and interconnectivity will accelerate. 

This does not mean that we are out of the woods.  Many Bahamians continue to struggle through the worst economic downturn in the lifetime of most of us.  The risk of other recessionary pressures loom. 

Still, there are positive signs.  Among them are those who have used this crisis as the mother of invention.  Through retraining programmes and soul-searching, quite a number of Bahamians have started new businesses or reprioritized their goals.