By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

DURING his remarks at the opening of the Inter-American Development Bank’s workshop on skills development yesterday, Prime Minister Perry Christie gave insight into the impact Baha Mar’s struggles are having on him personally, telling those attending that he has many challenges to deal with at this time.

While he did not specifically refer to the resort, Mr Christie spoke of tough decisions he has to make as the nation’s leader.

“ . . . And we can’t get caught up with the exigencies of the day and the time and the pressure. I mean, God Almighty, I can tell you I have some things going on in my head right now, I’m not here, because I got too many, very, very challenging things that as I speak, I’m making decisions on that are profoundly important to this country and profoundly important to future generations of Bahamians,” he said.

“And so as leader I’m craving indulgence to make this point . . . because maybe some people will hear it and understand the urgency that is behind it and realise how dangerous the conditions are (becoming) in the region and in the Bahamas to not be able to design programmes to specifically target vulnerable young people.”

Mr Christie’s statements, which came before yesterday’s special Cabinet briefing on Baha Mar, appeared to allude to his ongoing effort to find a way forward for the property following numerous setbacks and delays at the resort.

His statement came as he spoke about the need for the staff and students of the College of the Bahamas to engage political leaders on matters of national importance.

Mr Christie appeared to be frustrated with the institution’s level of engagement in public affairs, twice noting during his speech that no representative from the institution was in attendance at the time.

He said: “The government has maintained its support for the national education system. Education continues to count for the lion’s share of the national budget, both directly through our public schools and through subventions to private schools. The College of the Bahamas, soon to be University of the Bahamas, is one of the brightest beacons for support of our youth.”

However, before continuing, Mr Christie veered away from his prepared speech and asked: “Have (representatives from the institution) arrived yet?”

He added: “We also continue to support BTVI in providing technical training to our youth. We must continue to make tertiary education affordable and accessible to all Bahamians.”

The IDB workshop on closing the skills gap and promoting employment opportunities is being held in the Caribbean for the first time.

Mr Christie emphasised that a failure to address the regional problem of youth unemployment could grow into a problem of unprecedented proportions for the region.

Mr Christie called on the workshop participants to help come up with valuable recommendations to address the skills gap problems facing the region.

“If we know there are 11,000 young persons today who are extremely challenged, there is a compelling urgency to know who they are, where they’re living and whether those circumstances by government action can be influenced now, not after they’ve done something wrong,” he said. “That’s how it should work.”

The country’s youth unemployment rate is 31 per cent, according to the latest statistics.