• Attorney says Bahamas ‘must be more sophisticated’

• Expatriate labour liberalisation key to Freeport revival

• Adds that work permit fees must be competitive

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A prominent attorney yesterday warned against a “narrow-minded approach” to issuing work permits, arguing that The Bahamas must be “a little more sophisticated” if it is to revive the economy post-COVID-19.

Robert Adams, who headed the Revitalisation and Economic Expansion of Freeport (REEF) committee that has just submitted proposals to liberalise that city’s work permit regime, told Tribune Business that The Bahamas in general needs to be “more refined” in its policies towards skilled expatriate labour and training its citizens to ultimately take over these posts.

Calling on the government to resist the temptation to crack down on work permits during times of high unemployment, such as the present, he added that fees associated with importing expatriate labour also needed to be assessed for cost competitiveness against regional rivals.

While Bahamian businesses are paying annual work permit fees of up to $15,000 for high-end executives, the REEF committee’s report to the government noted that the cost associated for expatriates in the Cayman Islands’ Enterprise City, for example, was $1,500.

The report, unveiled yesterday, called for “reframing transient expatriate workers as valued revenue sources, as opposed to threats to Bahamian jobs”, along with the introduction of “new immigration regulations and policies that are at least as attractive as those of other options available to investors” if Freeport’s economy is to be revived post-COVID and Hurricane Dorian.

It warned that “rival destinations, whose tourism industries have also been decimated, are looking to enhance their efforts to attract expatriates, so Freeport’s offering needs to consider planned new rival inducements, too”.

The REEF committee’s proposals is call for businesses in the port area to be permitted to hire expatriate workers “as they deem necessary where Bahamian expertise is not readily available”, with approval decisions taken within five days of completed applications being received.

Its proposals call for work permits lasting up to five years to be issued, and made renewable, with fees “competitive” against rival free trade zones in the Caribbean and elsewhere. The work permit holder’s benefits would be extended to spouses, dependent children up to 25 years old and dependent parents aged 62 years-old and over, giving them “full rights to live, work and study”.

The REEF committee also recommended that foreign workers and personnel be allowed to enter Freeport for short-term visits, of a maximum seven days, to work on board foreign-flagged vessels without the need for work permits.

Emphasising that the committee was not calling for The Bahamas to completely throw open its borders, Mr Adams said the Government was correct to crack down on work permits “in certain sectors” where sufficient Bahamians with the necessary skills were available and willing to do the work, although he did not name them.

“I think we perhaps need to take the more refined approach to government policy as it relates to work permits,” he told Tribune Business in light of REEF’s report. “There are certain sectors where I think a more flexible approach is required to the granting of work permits - not on a permanent basis, but a temporary basis until such time as the local talent pool is trained up.

“In order to revitalise the economy, we need to be targeted in our work permit policy. I don’t think the across-the-board and narrow-minded approach to Immigration and work permits is the way to go. A little more sophistication is needed.”

While the necessary skills and talents were available in some parts of the Bahamian economy, “others don’t have it yet. We ought to be more flexible and, at the same time, more consistent in the way we monitor training programmes so we build the capacity and expertise so that Bahamians can take advantage of all opportunities in the country,” Mr Adams added.

Tribune Business understands that the Government has presently been doing the reverse of what is being proposed by REEF, and has tightened up on the issuance and renewal of work permits due to the high unemployment created by COVID-19.

“Sometimes the temptation is because unemployment is high to say no work permits for anybody,” Mr Adams told this newspaper, “but if the objective is to grow the economy we need to be more flexible if we want new businesses and growth. We need to be a lot more rational in the way we approach work permit issuance.”

As for work permit fees, he added: “That’s another reality we must face. We are in competition. Freeport is certainly in competition with special economic zones in the region, and as a country we are in competition with other countries all competing to attract investment to our shores.

“Our geographical location as a country greatly assists us with tourism and other industries, but that in and of itself is not enough to give us a winning presentation with investors. We have to look at other factors that are in the equation, if you will, that determine where capital will be invested and included in that is how much it costs to get workers in. We have to be competitive.”

Mr Adams said the issue raised uncomfortable questions, but it was a discussion that The Bahamas needed to have even though it may be difficult. “These are the kinds of issues that are emotive, and rightly so because people have been disadvantaged in our country and it creates a sore feeling, but at the same time we have to step back and look at what we are trying to do,” he added.

“We’re trying to create a tide that lifts all boats, and we’re trying to attract as much foreign direct investment as possible. As much as we might not want to admit it, we need a lot of foreign direct investment to grow the economy; a lot of it. We have to examine how competitive we are with countries in our region, and need to benchmark if not surpass what we offer in many areas.”