Comrades! Crown Immigration Minister and empathy - not for keeping election promises to remove VAT from the prices the poor and near poor peoples must pay buy "breadbasket items." Isn't Brent being too cool when he points to one cluster on his office floor of work permit applications of Haitian nationals that have been living and working lawfully in the country for the past decade. He said he planned to fast track those files in a bid to reduce a backlog that grew incrementally by the "thousands each month." They would normally have to get enrolled, scanned, put on an agenda, have a board meeting, so to get rid of the backlog I will sign these off without all of that happening?
Anything that grows by the "thousands each month" either has to be a good or a bad thing? I mean, wouldn't you first put a full stop to even processing thousands permit applications each and every month - if that is a bad thing for the Bahamaland?
Maybe the minister needs understand what the millions in Haitian population is that are willing and ready to flee their Homeland?

Agreed. How is that people with pending work permit applications are also said to have been working lawfully in The Bahamas for years? Did he mean citizenship applications perhaps, and if so, that is even more reason why a box of applications should not be signed off without the necessary due diligence.

This is because Immigration has never been up-to-date in processing WORK PERMIT applications, unless they receive some sort of incentive. The permit is normally issued with a commencement date of some weeks or months before the Permit is actually received by the worker. At renewal time, once the Permit Application is in and payment has been made, the worker is permitted to continue to work until the renewal permit is received. 'Tis better in The Bahamas.

It takes longer than 1 year to renew temporary residency without bribing - so if you don't bribe the immigration officers you will automatically become an illegal... We had to fly back and forth to Miami every 3 month to avoid that. At some point you just give them the 2.000$ to get your residency cards in just 2 weeks...

Don't do it.

Brent Symonette is intimating that Bahamians so stupid that they can't do domestic labour!

This “insatiable demand” for foreign domestic labour has to be weighed against the "actual need" for more foreign domestic labour, and why or what is the "real" driving force for foreign domestic labour when the Bahamas is inundated with unemployed Bahamians who could **"BE TRAINED"** to fill these jobs.

Additionally, since the demand for trained domestic labour is so great, why haven't government initiated training programs to properly prepare low skilled Bahamians to fill these positions, especially when it only takes these foreign domestic workers less than a month "training" at a government subsidized training facility at a cost of **less than $150.00** to become "certified" as professional domestic workers?

https://www.helperchoice.com/singapore/…

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-181856…

Exactly what is the governments plan to stop this stupidity? Where does it end? Will the Bahamas continue to relinquish entire sectors of the economy to foreigners?

Brents' stupid comment “I tried it the last time I was in here, to stop issuing permits for gardeners and some of the people were almost ready to kill me", is unacceptable!

A governments main responsibility is protecting its peoples, not pandering to the upper-class that feel they "must have" for no discernable reason foreign domestic labour to fit in with the Joneses.

"People who live in this country" cannot be allowed to come in and make rules that are detrimental to the country. At which point does this nonsense end?

What really "surprises" me is Brent continues insulting our intelligence with the age old narrative that "a lot of Bahamians don’t want to work in those positions, (but) they’ll work at a hotel", while **successive administrations could find literally THOUSANDS of Bahamians for these low skilled jobs and any number of Bahamians for job training programs at the drop of a hat just prior to an election!**

**SHUT UP & G-O A-W-A-Y BRENT!!**

He's talking about idiots like you that think they are too good for a gardener or housekeeper position

Thats' your response? No rebuttal to set the record straight on the specific facts and you call SP an idiot? The idiot in this is obvious!

Brent will be spending most of his time at immigration ensuring his favoured wealthy friends in gated communities get the longer term permits they want for their foreign nannies, house maids, gardeners, etc. who are of a much desired 'lighter hue'. He will also be ensuring that the wealthy foreign buyers of residential property developed by wealthy foreign real estate developers get the residency permits they need, as well as their spouses and children where applicable. And finally, Brent will be diligently working behind the scenes over the next five years to ensure both the value and earnings of the many highly lucrative businesses that he or his family beneficially owns or has a significant partnership interest in with his cronies are greatly enhanced through the leveraging of his political influence as a cabinet minister, one who can open 'the right' doors for Minnis in places where our PM might not otherwise be welcomed. Yes indeed, Brent expects to be a very very busy man - he just won't be working for all of 'the people' - Wink, wink!

Nothing to do with the "lighter hues", I can assure you. It's just that there are ZERO responses from "darker hues" to job adverts for such occupations. My guess is because they don't want to travel out west and the pay is lower and the work harder than in the state sector. But that is just my guess.

You cannot be that naive and you certainly shouldn't attempt to deceive others about the reality of the situation. It has everything to do with the prejudices against the 'darker hues' and I've attended way too many cocktail and dinner parties, club functions, etc. with friends in Lyford Cay, Old Fort and Albany at which this subject has come up time and time again, much to the embarrassment of both my wife and I. There is a reason the weekend masses held at St. Paul's Catholic Church just outside of the gates of Lyford Cay have become crowded in recent years with Filipinos, Peruvians, Dominicans, Guatemalans, El Salvadorians, etc. Most of these foreign hired 'servants' actually live in designated servants' quarters within the large estate homes of the wealthy living in their gated communities. Their elitist employers readily admit they perceive them to be cleaner (more hygienic), to have a better work ethic and be much more trust worthy than their much 'darker hued' Bahamian counterparts. This is an undeniable all too well known fact.

I am certainly not attempting to deceive anyone. I am narrating my own experience. If yours is different, so be it.

Mudda, you are probably right!

I would like to know which PLP muck-a-muck owns the dilapidated Hawkins Hill Building that government has been renting for 30 plus years, and that the corrupt Christie-led PLP government renewed the leasing of for another seven-year term. We have a right to know Brent, after all, it's the people's money (our tax dollars) being used to pay the outrageously high rent for this building that has not been properly maintained by the owner (landlord). Come on Brent, we want you to do your part in helping Minnis make good on his often repeated campaign promise that the new FNM government would set the gold standard for transparency.

Comrade Be careful Reality_Check, don't be embarrassing your own red kinds. Even some high-up in the red shirts party - are major landlords to government?

We must bear in mind that an FNM Minister has occupied an office in the building in question for at least half of those thirty years........

What a deplorable, embarrassing mess! That building could have been paid for and owned by The People after being rented for thirty years. I wonder who has been the recipient of the rent these thirty years. One can only wonder what sort of a lease they have if windows need replacing and bathrooms and elevators are not in working order. For shame! I would have thought the Minister would have some ideas as to how to move forward on what appears to be an acceptable situation.

Comrades! Bahamalanders of all colours t-shirts - who cherish their birth or adopted homeland -should see this as Brent's massive push- back to the Constitution.

Dear God,......If you want us not to buy into Brent Symonette's nonsense, give us a sign. Like, blotting out the sun........Anytime in the next week would be fine..........Thanks,...Bahamians!

Comrades! Where are the red shirts condemnations that any prime minister would dare to act like a blind sheep's Sheppard, by allowing a crown minster to circumvent established controls or limits safeguards in place over at the immigration department?

The building on Hawkins Hill which houses the Immigration department was built years ago by the Mosko family.