I am an investor in BPC and therefore have an interest in the outcome of both the elections and permissions to drill argument.
The original licences were granted with what is now to be considered significant commercial advantage to the company.
I agree that if oil is found in the Bahamas, all the local population should benefit from the revenue stream that it would create.
Simply taxing the proceeds is not enough to guarantee the population would reap the benefits as the cash would be distributed by who ever was in power at the time, and politicians usually have their own agenda.
Maybe the Bahamian people should demand a similar system to Norway or Alaska where a proportion of income is placed in a ring fenced fund with trustees and and the people deciding how the fund is used.
Every citizen in Alaska receives a payment each year dependant on fund income from oil and reinvestment, and other cash is used for education and other community projects. The fund is designed to be self financing for future generations so when oil runs out, the benefits will continue through the years.
I note the argument over rebuilding the market and this is the sort of project the fund could finance. Scolarships, especially for oil exploration and development would ensure your future generation would benefit fom employment in not only in the Bahamas, but around the world.
One has to take into account the cost of oil exploration and development but once BPC have recovered costs there is no reason why a community tax could not be implemented over and above the current exploration contract terms.
It is up to the Bahamas people to decide how this pans out but the government spends more than it earns, so will fishing and tourism make up the shortfall. Even if it does, how many years will that take?
M33 says...
I am an investor in BPC and therefore have an interest in the outcome of both the elections and permissions to drill argument.
The original licences were granted with what is now to be considered significant commercial advantage to the company.
I agree that if oil is found in the Bahamas, all the local population should benefit from the revenue stream that it would create.
Simply taxing the proceeds is not enough to guarantee the population would reap the benefits as the cash would be distributed by who ever was in power at the time, and politicians usually have their own agenda.
Maybe the Bahamian people should demand a similar system to Norway or Alaska where a proportion of income is placed in a ring fenced fund with trustees and and the people deciding how the fund is used.
Every citizen in Alaska receives a payment each year dependant on fund income from oil and reinvestment, and other cash is used for education and other community projects. The fund is designed to be self financing for future generations so when oil runs out, the benefits will continue through the years.
I note the argument over rebuilding the market and this is the sort of project the fund could finance. Scolarships, especially for oil exploration and development would ensure your future generation would benefit fom employment in not only in the Bahamas, but around the world.
One has to take into account the cost of oil exploration and development but once BPC have recovered costs there is no reason why a community tax could not be implemented over and above the current exploration contract terms.
It is up to the Bahamas people to decide how this pans out but the government spends more than it earns, so will fishing and tourism make up the shortfall. Even if it does, how many years will that take?
On Call for government to come clean on oil
Posted 22 April 2012, 11:41 a.m. Suggest removal