My God this country can't think beyond its next lunch. We need to increase skilled immigration to deal with the challenges we face. Like k4c says, which part of the D-average sector are going to be to be tackling these problems? The 10,000 imaginary agricultural scientists on Mayaguana? Exuma's hidden engineering hub?

Still, so much easier to win some political points with the bottom 5% of the electorate by claiming you're fighting all those evil foreigners.

If you were an alien looking in from space, you'd have to conclude the Bahamas was trying to devolve itself back to an isolated tribe in a jungle somewhere.

Sounds great, apart from one small problem. He's a doctor, and swore an oath to do no harm. Not exactly a win for integrity. More a win for schizophrenia.

Oh, and the organised modern world moved on from that medieval practice a long time ago (except for the US, which is the last and only major country to still allow it - like it did with racial segregation).

This isn't news. It's another foolish PR stunt to appear the caring CEO, when he's a vindictive piece of work.

Anonymous tips for Rolle: stop playing with stupid gimmick software and do your job to fix the Port Area, stop trying to graft 10% of licensees' businesses, stop making idiotic TV shows, and stop stealing American investors from local Bahamians.

Canada solved this problem with equalisation payments: take all the income from the 10 provinces, then divide it by 10, distribute equally. It's not perfect at all, but it's a great start.

If resource distribution is a problem, analyze and redesign the layout more cleverly.

If central government is a problem, create an internalised federation - devolved government on each island with its own parliament/assembly.

All of these problems have been solved elsewhere, but the politicians don't seem to be able to want to actually research or learn how, i.e. by asking, or reading.

The issue in this country is a lack of thought: the problem behind the problem. And they're not thinking, because they're focused on controlling, stealing, grafting, and posing for photographs.

Leakage? You mean theft? The dept with the nicest looking building? The one John Rolle openly admitted in the press was appallingly corrupt (http://www.bahamasb2b.com/news/wmview.p…

*"a project said to be in the final stages of completion."*

Oh really? Anything after day 1 is the final stages of completion. $15M and it's apparently entirely broken.

Wait, the Bill will enable *BahamasNightmAir* competitors the freedom to increase prices? Competition is supposed to lower them.

How about we sell it off, get the government out of aviation,allow in lots more foreign airlines, and let the carriers do as the market wants?

Are they going to do a rain dance too? The power of magical thinking.

How is this in a newspaper?

*"This is not about race," Mr Mitchell said*

In the same breath...

*"This is a classic example of what is known as Uncle Tomism," Mr Mitchell said"*

And that, our man-loving friend, is why you're out, and hopefully gone for good. Like the racist black nationalism.

And Mayaguana can be the "space hub" for inter-planetary travel.

Of course Andros can be an agricultural juggernaut. Only a few things need to happen first:

- It needs arable soil (irrigated pH 7, not 8.5)
- It needs freshwater irrigation
- It needs paved industrial roads that are driveable (like every other island)
- It needs population and commercial farmers free of government interference
- It needs regional trade routes and regional demand
- It needs hurricane and crime-resistant agri-infrastructure
- It needs potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in development funding
- It needs an actual plan with serious international scientists who won't have work permits threatened or suffer nationalistic abuse

And most importantly, it needs a whole network of entrepreneurial farmers who won't be bullied out of the country like the Israelis BAMSI "replaced" or the citrus fields in Abaco. Many of which wouldn't be Bahamian.

Essentially the same problem again - it could fulfill its potential if the government get as far away from it as physically possible and stop trying to control everything. If ordinary everyday Bahamians were free to farm, you'd see organic (pun intended) growth.

Get rid of it all. Get rid of the license fee. Get rid of the quangoes and approval boards. Get rid of any impediments to business. Get the government completely out of anything to do with business or trade.

And allow foreign companies 100% ownership of their own business and property, like Cayman. It's not the colonial era, it's globalisation (for those who don't understand that: air travel, internet, satellite TV, wealth mobility etc).

There is no reason or excuse for a "license" to trade, unless risks to public safety are involved. Countless countries just have registers maintained by admin fees. Get rid of anything that stops business from creating, and the peripheral benefits will dwarf any up-front fees. Hong Kong proved it almost 80 years ago, and Cayman is proving it right now.