By DIANE PHILLIPS

On November 12, a relatively small mint in Philadelphia produced the last penny that would be made in the United States. It brought an end to the production of the once popular coin that had been filling pockets and piggy banks since 1793 but had become increasingly irrelevant. The piece of bubble gum or candy it once bought now cost a lot more and in fact, it cost a lot more to make a penny than a penny was worth, four cents apiece, according to US Treasury officials.

It took a little while for the penny to drop in the US

The Bahamas not only stopped making pennies – we stopped taking them in as currency nearly five years earlier in 2020, citing the same reasons. The cost of production was higher than the value of the coin, and let’s face it, it would take nearly 300 of them to buy a cup of coffee that once took only 10. 

That got me to thinking: What else has The Bahamas led the way with? I was surprised by the list. It’s pretty impressive -- banning the plastic straw, banning single-use plastics, protecting sharks, naming the world’s first marine park, developing a government-backed digital currency, creation of a regulatory framework around cryptocurrency (well, maybe that didn’t work out quite as regulatory as we wanted, but we learnt). For all of our infrastructure foibles -- and there are many and consistently apparent -- we can be a pretty progressive country when our people and our leaders interact and ideas that make sense are born and presented with purpose.

Something else occurred to me. With the exception of the applaudable Central Bank innovations, each of those ideas popped out of the private sector. Whether it was the serious eco-minded who fought for the ban on single-use plastics or the eager in financial services who saw the potential of crypto and hoped to secure The Bahamas’ place in the market minus the volatility, the ideas that thrust The Bahamas ahead of others were based on sound principles. And the beauty of it was that with every one proposed, successive administrations listened. They were ideas that resonated beyond the arena of partisan politics and either made so much sense or had such popular appeal that climbing on board and riding the wave was easy.

We trust that the next great plan to win all sides’ support will be the National Development Plan. Meantime, here’s a quick summary of the five things The Bahamas did first in the world or the region.

Goodbye, little penny, goodbye

The Central Bank launched the long goodbye to the penny in January of 2020, giving the nation a year to part ways with the minimal value currency that would still retain value for another six months, until June of 2021. It wasn’t the first time Bahamians said goodbye, penny, goodbye. The first time a penny was introduced in The Bahamas was in 1806 when the then Governor of the colony ordered £500 of them struck in a mint in the U.K. The coin was large and heavy, made of copper and featured King George III on one side and a sinking pirate ship surrounded by two small vessels on the other. Bahamians decided they neither liked nor trusted the bulky copper coin and firmly rejected it, choosing the finer silver and gold to which they were better accustomed. The order was never repeated.

Sharknado

Two years after the popular business show Shark Tank aired on national TV in the US, sharks were circling, living and prowling more freely in the waters of The Bahamas. On July 6, 2011, the government passed an amendment to the Fisheries Resources Act banning all commercial fishing of sharks, protecting the species that has given rise to everything from that popular TV show to Syfy’s Sharknado series. While dive shop operators and others celebrated protecting the $100 million industry that grew up around the public’s fascination with sharks and shark feedings (research by The Island School and Cape Eleuthera Institute), marine biologists hailed the victory for the king predator of the sea saying it was essential to the marine eco-food chain. Jill Hepp, manager of global shark conservation for the Pew Environment Group was widely quoted in publications and features around the globe, saying "2011 is fast becoming the year of the shark. Today's announcement permanently protects more than 40 shark species in Bahamian waters. We applaud the people and government of The Bahamas for being bold leaders in marine conservation." With 243,000 square miles of waters for sharks to swim and prowl with relief that they were no longer being hunted for their fins, teeth or other body parts, The Bahamas was right in line with Palau, the Maldives and Honduras in prohibiting the taking, killing, selling, poaching of any shark regardless of size or species.

Bring on the totes

Carrying a reusable tote bag to the green-grocer, baker or fishmonger in the U.K. has long been standard behaviour but it made its way across the pond to Bahamian households on January 1, 2020, when the Environmental Protection (Control of Plastic Pollution 2019) Act took effect. Technically, the act sets out to “prohibit single-use plastic foodware and non-biodegradable, oxy-biodegradable and biodegradable single-use plastic bags, prohibit the release of balloons, regulate the use of compostable single-use plastic bags and for connected matters.” While that’s the legalese, in practical terms it means we all have a car swarming with reusable totes that no matter how neatly we try to stack them, they have a mind of their own despite the fact that the one you really want as you head into the store is by the front door at home where you dropped it after emptying it from the last time. We adjusted easily to the new ban on single-use plastics because, except when it came to seat belts, we are generally a pretty obedient population.

The single-use plastics ban was part of a sweeping regime of environmental legislation during the period that environmental lawyer Romauld Ferriera served as Minister of Environment and Housing. His impact was lasting, buoyed by a strong national campaign that included young and old, rich and poor marching to the dump that was a constant threat to health and well-being. Nowadays, if we go to the US and see all those little green plastic bags at a Publix or red and white at Costco, we stand a little taller, throw our shoulders back a little straighter and just can’t help but feel a little bit superior as we wonder when the reality of the poisonous plume of plastics burning will hit home and America can follow The Bahamas in the pathway to less rubbish in the landfill and the pursuit of purer air.

Water, water everywhere

Sixty-six years ago, 1959 – the same year that saw Fidel Castro overthrow the government and rise to power in the Cuban Revolution, the same year that Alaska was admitted as the 49th state of the United States of America, a much quieter ceremony was taking place in The Bahamas. It was the setting aside of land and water in the first national underwater park in the world. Today, the Exuma Land and Sea Park encompasses 112,640 acres of protected waters. To get an idea of just how vast that is, think of it this way. It’s 176 square miles, or more than twice the size of all of New Providence which is 80 square miles.

As for that regulatory framework.

Let’s face it. When Sam Bankman-Fried landed on Bahamian shores, every organization welcomed what appeared manna from Heaven. Crypto was the hottest thing to come down the pike since the smart phone. FTX landed like Space-X without the environmental concerns, just riches flowing. Not since the drug days of the ’80’s had money flowed like milk and honey on Bahamian shores. Non-profits benefitted. Real estate agents pocketed commissions. Office space out west was being gobbled up like a just-baked turkey on Thanksgiving. And The Bahamas patted itself on the back for attracting hot shots in this newfound currency transactional space by quickly producing the first solid framework around money you could not touch, see or feel, but certainly felt real when you went to spend it.

So maybe we didn’t see all the nuances of certain transactions, understanding the vulnerability of Bitcoin, for instance that could rise with the dawn and fall with the dark only to rise again, but still The Bahamas was first and today’s non-volatile, stable digital currency is making a huge improvement in the lives, ironically, not of the very wealthy, but of those who are the unbanked, underbanked and underserved and now have a way to get paid or pay their bills through SandDollar or other digital currency.

SandDollar, a first no one can follow

The Bahamas was first out of the gate with a government-backed digital currency, the SandDollar. Others may follow with another branded currency, but no other country can claim they did government-backed digital first. Because it is virtual legal tender, SandDollar is safer than carrying cash. It poses less risk to the individual or business, makes it easier to do business – to pay staff or workers, to pay rent, utility bills or buy goods on all those islands, especially, experiencing reduced traditional banking or non-existent banking facilities. No one has yet held up anyone saying, ‘Give me your SandDollars.” Never intended to replace cash, dialing for SandDollars is now as easy as clicking on the folder on your smart phone to pay for a fish snack or settle a bill. The recipient receives the payment in real-time, no waiting for a paper document to clear the account. Peer-to-peer, by the time Bamboo Shack slides that snack out the window, the funds are in the hands of the business and the food is in the hands of the hungry.

Getting simple stuff right?

So. If The Bahamas stands out in so many spaces – from keeping sharks to our currency safe, from protecting marine resources in the world’s first national underwater park to banning straws and the release of gas-filled balloons, why can’t we do the basics right? Why does the power never go off in Spanish Wells yet just a few miles away in Eleuthera, it’s up, down, on, off and fluttering like a butterfly in spring. If we are so good at so many hard things, why are we failing at so many routine responsibilities – health care, for instance, potholes in roads, how we care for our seniors and those with disabilities, housing. If we are so good at protecting our environment, how can we approve plans for overdevelopment?

How do you pat yourself on the back for all the forward-thinking moves and yet feel sick inside about the play-catch-up mentality?

May the National Development Plan become the critical starting point with many other steps to follow -- true local government, standardized incentives, not punishment, for appropriate sized sustainable development, clear lines about what goes where so the typical neighborhood is not the four pillars at play today – church, school, bar, gaming house – but every community has a park and a community garden and green space.

As a Bahamian, I am proud to be the first at something. Proud to stand tall and take our rightful place on the world stage, but we’d all be even prouder if we got the regular stuff right – if the lights stayed on, the water did not contain enough chlorine to bleach our skin, the roads did not kill our cars and spirits, the constantly changing taxes and high fees did not lower our incentive to produce, crime did not keep us locked inside at night when we’d love to go for a walk. So much to be proud of. So much left to do.