cheap? cheap? a foreigner costs me at least 5 (yes, FIVE) times as much as a Bahamian. I could not care less whether Bahamians are too dumb or not. All I know is there are none here NOW. I need a worker NOW. It is not my job to TRAIN anyone. It is my job to run a business and satisfy its demands. It is not my fault that the education system is sub par, nor is it my fault that further education is non-existent. And just to explain to you how real business works: since a foreigner is too expensive, we have put off indefinitely any expansion plans. Want to know why GDP growth has been ZERO forever? There, you have your answer.

the only difference between an annual and permanent residency permit is the cost and the qualifying sum. One costs $1k per year, the other $10k once off.

The Constitution is the highest legal document of a country. I am not a lawyer, but I would argue that the Bahamian Constitution springs from English Common Law. This should be obvious to all, as the people who wrote our Constitution were schooled in the British system and were advised by people schooled in the same. As we all know, Common Law is NOT based on a written Constitution but on Precedent. This aside is necessary to understand the next part of the argument.
The real question here is: can a Constitutional RIGHT spring from a CRIME? Illegal entry into the Bahamas is illegal and therefore a CRIME. Hence the people who illegally settled here are criminals in the eyes of the Law. I think there can be very little argument about this. Some people might not like this fact just as some people might not like the fact that the sun rises in the East, but there is no arguing with it in Law. A crime remains a crime until an Amnesty is proclaimed.
One of the central tenets of Common Law is that no benefit or gain should accrue to the criminal from a crime. It is pretty obvious why. If I break into your house and steal your wallet, it would be a pretty stupid legal system that would send me to jail but allow me to keep your wallet. I would have benefitted from the crime. Hence not only do I have to give the wallet back but I ALSO go to jail.
Let us apply this principle here. If necessary we can hold a simple Referendum and insert "but both parents legally settled" to the clause above. This would elegantly solve the problem and specify something that the framers of the Constitution obviously intended but did not formulate tightly enough. I refuse to believe that the framers of the Constitution intended to give any rights to criminals.

You do not seem to understand how the system works. Permanent Residency "costs" $10,000. That is the fee you pay the government to grant your application.
The other amounts you licitate are the amounts that someone invests (usually in property). But that remains his property. It is therefore not a cost.
Are you suggesting that the application fee should go up from $10,000 to $1,000,000? And if not, why on earth would you care how much someone has paid for his house? Are you going to live in it? What difference is it going to make to YOU?
What the government should do is clearly distinguish between property and other investments (businesses, shares, government bonds). That has the potential to benefit the country & society. How much someone pays for his house to another foreigner has a very marginal benefit to anyone here.

Answers to your questions, so you can become more enlightened on this topic.
Can you apply and be granted a Bahamalander Passport? No.
Can you work? No.
Can you buy, or start a business and manage it? No. Unless you apply for PR with right to work, which is a separate category.
Can you enroll children in public schools? Theoretically, yes. But you would need to certifiably insane or really hate your children to do that.
Can your spouse/common-law spouse and children work? No.
Would you and family members qualify for national insurance and pension benefits? No.
What, if any, proof minimum annual income must be maintained to provide the government? None.
How long can you or a family member be absent from the country to void yours, or their PRC status? If you look up the word "permanent" you will find that it means "f'eva". Therefore: As long as you like.
What happens to an applicant holding one or more citizenship's, or even Permanent Residency's? Nothing. PR grants you the RIGHT to live here, not the obligation. You can spend as little or as much time here as you like.

Try this: permanent residency does not confer the right to work. A permanent resident does not have the right to work. Therefore: the government could grant a million permanent residencies and not a single one could compete with your job. Always been the case. Nothing has changed. Where have you been all your life?

You are right. And it is totally unnecessary. If I employ an expat, it costs me several times more than a Bahamian. I have to cover his rental costs, medical insurance, moving costs, club memberships, etc. All in all at least $250,000 per year. A Bahamian would be a lot cheaper, so naturally I would prefer to hire one. But, as you say, I do not have the time nor the skill to train someone. I need them today! It is not my job to educate. That is the Government's job. If only they had enough brains to let the market do its job. Let the expats in, grow the economy, collect taxes, right the ship of state and in 20-30-40-50 years time you will be able to properly fund the education system and produce candidates that are employable. There are no shortcuts.

If we can get to within 10% of Grand Cayman, it will be great. For we are at 0% now.

Read the article. If they do not reply within 14 days, it is deemed to be granted. Simple.

This was misreported. What she actually said was: "You take the pain, we will take the gain."