Many of these comments are true. Hubert Ingraham to his credit was both a modernizer and reformer. He saw through his travels, how far behind the Bahamas is in many aspects of it's development. The elite here in the Bahamas have no vision or idea how to modernize this country. You can see that here on the island of New Providence on a daily basis, Things that are taken for granted in the first world are not present here or woefully inadequate.

Bahamians by in large do not know or understand how cities function. That includes the political,professional and business elite. The city of Nassau as well as the wider island of n ew Providence is not really livable. I learnt that visiting my sister who lives in a midwestern city in the United States.

The city had a well managed public transportation system. It consists of buses, monorail and subway system. The city had a massive public park near it's down town area. In the park , there is a public zoo, an art museum and a natural history museum. All of which do not charge a fee to enter. There are several farmers market in the city. The oldest and largest one has been in existence for over two hundred years. Clean , well organized and supported by the city's inhabitants.

The city is a multi ethic and racial. A melting port of Irish, Jewish, German , English and African Americans. In recent years , there has been an influx of migrants from Mexico, Vietnam, China, Korea,the Mid East and Bosnia, This is reflected in the variety of food you can purchase there. I purchased pastries from a restaurant that was owned by a man came to America from Jordan

The city and county governments have a variety of free events for the inhabitants, They also have various educational courses for almost every age group. They are also attempting to revitalize various neighbourhoods in that city and county to deal with their housing issues.

Charlotte North Carolina, where a next relative of mine lives is light years ahead of Nassau in livability. The living conditions of this island is one of the factors that driving the brain drain from this country I know somebody who lives in gated community out west. His eldest son has chosen to live and work in Canada, His son said New Providence is not an attractive place to live.

This story illustrates some of the problems of life in the Bahamas. The ineptitude of political administrations in the Bahamas. The high cost of housing in the Bahamas. The lack of affordable rental housing in Abaco, The abandonment of families by Bahamian men , especially black Bahamian men. Many times ,they walk away from parental responsibilities. Life in the Bahamas despite the claims of some politicians is getting progressively worse for some Bahamians.

The situation with the school on Ragged Island is disgraceful. It shows the ineptitude of both the FNM and PLP administration. Ragged Island despite it's size has produced some leading citizens in this country. I just found last week that the former secretary to the cabinet, Camille Johnson born and grew up on Ragged Island.

@ This is Ours, you really do not understand public policy. This has nothing to do with the financial secretary. This audit requirement for firms with turnover of five million dollars was passed with the budget legislation of 2023. An accountant explained that to me. The reasons he gave are

1. The International Monetary Firm wants the government to provide more accurate financial information. They also propose that the Bahamas eventually move to an income tax.
2. The government needs to be sure that financial numbers presented by businesses
are accurate. The accounting firms through their audits will ensure that.
3. The accounting firms and BICA is on board with this.This audit requirement is a big money earner for them. At least two senior accountants admitted that off the record.

Your mentality like so many Bahamiams is why this country has lost ground. You oppose changes for the positive.This is why the Bahamas has lost ground in financial services to Cayman Islands and Bermuda.

Some parts of the island of New Providence resembles a dump, Governments long ago should have stop this practice of roadside garages in residential areas. This was spoken about from the time , Leslie Miller was Minister of Trade and Industry. All bahamians do is talk.

A next thing needed on this island is the enforcement of zoning laws. Also a top to unregulated building on this island. A relative of mine pointed out just today, how people have built near or in the road in some areas. This makes it extremely difficult to put in proper sidewalks. Bahamians need to leave this country to see how a well, planned and governed city works.

This tax is an idea of the Biden administration through his treasury secretary Janet Yellen. This is designed to go after american multinational who move their corporate head quarters aboard to reduce their tax liability to the U.S. government. This idea is supported by the OECD.Over 140 countries signed on to it including the then Minnis administration.

There is an acute shortage of nurses in the United States and Canada. Many bahamian nurses have migrated to greener pastures. I know a lady whose daughter is a highly qualified nurse at John Hopkins University in Baltimore. I worked with a lady whose daughter makes over one hundred thousand dollars a year as a nurse in New York.

@ Economist. The government will get that money two ways, both of which will affect you. One they will tax or two, they will borrow it. Bahamians like you do not understand basic government finances.

One of the many mistakes of the PLP was the destruction of Jumbey Village. It was both deliberate and by neglect. Jumbey Village was the late Edmund Moxey's baby. It could have been a place to showcase Bahamian culture. It could have been marketed to both tourists and Bahamians. It could gotten more tourism dollars directly into the hands of people over the hill.

Bahamians like the DPM Chester Cooper are talking about the projected tourism arrivals for 2024. If they analyze the numbers, they would see an interesting trend. More visitors visit the Bahamas by cruise ship than by air. Compare that to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Both countries have had high growth rate in stop over visitors/ Hotels are being built at a faster rate in those two countries. Pat Rahming has written about that on several occasions

The reason I first mention Jumbey Village is what I hear some cruise passengers saying. There is little worth while to see on New Providence. A cruise passenger on Bay Street said all the stores are basically the same. The Bahamas despite attracting a lot of cruise tourists seem to have trouble providing them with experiences to entice more of them off the cruise ships.