The notion that we "can't" farm profitably is absolute nonsense. we are surrounded by water, R/O systems are a dime a dozen, there is also ample access to shallow well water, and solar and wind power is already in use throughout the islands producing power at a fraction of local cost.
The Cayman Islands and Bermuda are much smaller than we are albeit with less population, face similar challenges, but they both are more successful at farming than the Bahamas.
Hatchet Bay Eleuthera was a shining example of what could be accomplished with the right expertise and there was no hindrance to water shortage. Instead of reinventing the wheel "again" we should look into bringing in the right people for guidance and re-establishing operations at Hatchet Bay. It worked before and should work again with PROPER management and less government interference.
The Bahamas needs to source experts capable of determining what products should be grown on various islands, best methods, and how to capitalize on the $100M's in losses suffered annually by California and Florida citrus industry to cold and frost.
Our main problems are being too pig-headed to admit **we know nothing about farming** and being smart enough to seek the help we need, and mandating the government to keep their political hacks and interventions out of the business!
Michael Pintards' statement "We have to wean ourselves off the addiction of things coming from overseas" is something we the people have been warning successive governments about for decades.
To carry the importance of the point a few steps further, we have also been warning successive governments about giving foreigners 100% of development opportunities. If a potential foreign investor doesn't want a Bahamian investor component, then that foreign investor obviously does not have the well being of the Bahamas and Bahamians in mind and should be automatically denied.
Warning successive governments of the dangers of issuing work permits to nonessential ex-pat workers doing jobs that Bahamians could do has also always fallen on deaf ears. In fact, the more we warned them about the folly of this stupidity the deeper they dug-in even to the point of Brent Symonett thinking and bragging about his issuance of $20M in work permits being a good thing!
The multifaceted socioeconomic damaging effects caused by nonessential ex-pats of rising unemployment and the associated increase in crime, negative pressure on foreign reserves due to repatriation of income, a drastic decrease in local consumption because they do not spend in the local economy and the hugely negative impact on commercial banking because of the substantial amount of local currency being diverted out of circulation. These problems are now manifesting themselves and all coming home roost compliments of COVID19.
Michael Pintard needs to man-up and accept the fact that although we have the perfect climate, we have always failed, and need help in the production of food. Now is the time for us to seriously pursue cooperatives with other caricom and Latin American states with proven food production abilities. And for GOD's sake DO NOT tell us you are looking at bringing in Haitians.
Identifying food imports and development partners from caricom states and Latin American countries in the immediate term should Pintards top priority which should be implemented immediately so that our country has an established secondary food supply chain up and running just in case.
Governments are notorious for being pig-headed and ignoring our suggestions and just as notorious at failure because of it!
Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, is seeking answers to the right questions and is 100% correct that global mega tourism destinations will soon set standards and protocols for resorts to receive and entertain tourists.
The ministry of tourism now faces the daunting task of a 180-degree rethinking and reprioritizing of the tourism industry, realizing that smaller properties i.e. Airbnb type properties will be the preferred lodging in the immediate, short and medium terms until tourist feel comfortable staying at 1000 room properties.
However, there also exist the equally important and complex questions of how to market, encourage, safely facilitate, and maximize, resort excursion spending which should be the ultimate goal of tourism!
Answers to these questions are not difficult to find but do require years of multiple levels of experience to arrive at reasonable working conclusions.
My heart goes out to this terrified lady, and the 1000's of other people caught in the middle of this COVID19 dilemma.
Unfortunately, despite trying, the governments' system is totally unprepared to provide the emergency spontaneous assistance required to citizens, not to mention the high volume of people claiming daily.
People not caught up in this mess cannot possibly begin to imagine the stress and mental anguish this poor woman and 1000,s of Bahamians must endure in these unprecedented hard time.
Churches are abundantly plentiful in every community, perhaps the government could look into using them to at least coordinating some form of immediate food assistance programs to people in need.
As an overwhelmed, self-employed small business owner that also can see no way of receiving government assistance, I too understand the frustration and fear of overnight being unable to provide for one's self and family.
We are in totally uncharted waters, better not be stupid enough to try being the first country to experiment with reopening, until COVID19 is totally eradicated!
Although painful and inconvenient, reopening later rather than sooner is the best course of action, rather than risk an even larger second wave of infections.
Taiwan, Austria, Italy, and Spain have reopened segments of their economy to some degree. The Bahamas would do well to wait and see the results of what happens to them first, rather than taking questionable steps that might further damage the countries reputation.
After biting the bullet and paying business license fees, the automated system does not generate a printable certificate, and I have found "Reaching out" to Inland Revenue" 100% impossible because no one answers the phone!
We are dammed if we do and dammed if don't!
Additionally, as a small business owner, there is no government financial assistance available. How are we supposed to survive?
Funny you should mention the banks. Just a few short weeks ago RBC was adamantly encouraging me with phone calls and emails to come in and borrow $80,000.00+ for a new luxury car. Now the same bank wouldn't loan me $10,000.00 when I need it most for survival!
Many people have had no other choice than carefully budgeting for quite some time!
With tourism dead in the water, 50%+ of the economy will grind to a halt negatively impacting 10's of 1000's of people across every sector, who will have nothing to budget with.
The elephant in the room is most Bahamians and lots of businesses have never recovered from the 2008 recession which was drastically deepened by hurricane Dorian just last year.
Covid19 pandemic is the icing on the cake that will finish destroying many businesses and countless families simultaneously that was literally barely hanging on month-to-month by the shoestrings!
As a self-employed small business owner and someone that also somehow fell through cracks, this is one instance where I must agree with Brave Davis!
For whatever reason, many people have been left without any resources for survival. Granted, the government has tried to reach out to a lot of people, but I for one have not benefited 0.1c to date and cannot see any hope of help on the horizon.
There must be some very desperately hurting people out there!!
SP says...
The notion that we "can't" farm profitably is absolute nonsense. we are surrounded by water, R/O systems are a dime a dozen, there is also ample access to shallow well water, and solar and wind power is already in use throughout the islands producing power at a fraction of local cost.
The Cayman Islands and Bermuda are much smaller than we are albeit with less population, face similar challenges, but they both are more successful at farming than the Bahamas.
Hatchet Bay Eleuthera was a shining example of what could be accomplished with the right expertise and there was no hindrance to water shortage. Instead of reinventing the wheel "again" we should look into bringing in the right people for guidance and re-establishing operations at Hatchet Bay. It worked before and should work again with PROPER management and less government interference.
The Bahamas needs to source experts capable of determining what products should be grown on various islands, best methods, and how to capitalize on the $100M's in losses suffered annually by California and Florida citrus industry to cold and frost.
Our main problems are being too pig-headed to admit **we know nothing about farming** and being smart enough to seek the help we need, and mandating the government to keep their political hacks and interventions out of the business!
On Pintard: Purchasers don't foresee scarcity of food in short term
Posted 19 April 2020, 12:12 p.m. Suggest removal
SP says...
Michael Pintards' statement "We have to wean ourselves off the addiction of things coming from overseas" is something we the people have been warning successive governments about for decades.
To carry the importance of the point a few steps further, we have also been warning successive governments about giving foreigners 100% of development opportunities. If a potential foreign investor doesn't want a Bahamian investor component, then that foreign investor obviously does not have the well being of the Bahamas and Bahamians in mind and should be automatically denied.
Warning successive governments of the dangers of issuing work permits to nonessential ex-pat workers doing jobs that Bahamians could do has also always fallen on deaf ears. In fact, the more we warned them about the folly of this stupidity the deeper they dug-in even to the point of Brent Symonett thinking and bragging about his issuance of $20M in work permits being a good thing!
The multifaceted socioeconomic damaging effects caused by nonessential ex-pats of rising unemployment and the associated increase in crime, negative pressure on foreign reserves due to repatriation of income, a drastic decrease in local consumption because they do not spend in the local economy and the hugely negative impact on commercial banking because of the substantial amount of local currency being diverted out of circulation. These problems are now manifesting themselves and all coming home roost compliments of COVID19.
Michael Pintard needs to man-up and accept the fact that although we have the perfect climate, we have always failed, and need help in the production of food. Now is the time for us to seriously pursue cooperatives with other caricom and Latin American states with proven food production abilities. And for GOD's sake DO NOT tell us you are looking at bringing in Haitians.
Identifying food imports and development partners from caricom states and Latin American countries in the immediate term should Pintards top priority which should be implemented immediately so that our country has an established secondary food supply chain up and running just in case.
Governments are notorious for being pig-headed and ignoring our suggestions and just as notorious at failure because of it!
On Pintard: Purchasers don't foresee scarcity of food in short term
Posted 18 April 2020, 12:34 p.m. Suggest removal
SP says...
Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, is seeking answers to the right questions and is 100% correct that global mega tourism destinations will soon set standards and protocols for resorts to receive and entertain tourists.
The ministry of tourism now faces the daunting task of a 180-degree rethinking and reprioritizing of the tourism industry, realizing that smaller properties i.e. Airbnb type properties will be the preferred lodging in the immediate, short and medium terms until tourist feel comfortable staying at 1000 room properties.
However, there also exist the equally important and complex questions of how to market, encourage, safely facilitate, and maximize, resort excursion spending which should be the ultimate goal of tourism!
Answers to these questions are not difficult to find but do require years of multiple levels of experience to arrive at reasonable working conclusions.
On Tourism has 'no choice' to devise virus safeguards
Posted 17 April 2020, 7:22 p.m. Suggest removal
SP says...
My heart goes out to this terrified lady, and the 1000's of other people caught in the middle of this COVID19 dilemma.
Unfortunately, despite trying, the governments' system is totally unprepared to provide the emergency spontaneous assistance required to citizens, not to mention the high volume of people claiming daily.
People not caught up in this mess cannot possibly begin to imagine the stress and mental anguish this poor woman and 1000,s of Bahamians must endure in these unprecedented hard time.
Churches are abundantly plentiful in every community, perhaps the government could look into using them to at least coordinating some form of immediate food assistance programs to people in need.
As an overwhelmed, self-employed small business owner that also can see no way of receiving government assistance, I too understand the frustration and fear of overnight being unable to provide for one's self and family.
On Left in tears as she pleads for a little help
Posted 17 April 2020, 5:55 p.m. Suggest removal
SP says...
We are in totally uncharted waters, better not be stupid enough to try being the first country to experiment with reopening, until COVID19 is totally eradicated!
Although painful and inconvenient, reopening later rather than sooner is the best course of action, rather than risk an even larger second wave of infections.
Taiwan, Austria, Italy, and Spain have reopened segments of their economy to some degree. The Bahamas would do well to wait and see the results of what happens to them first, rather than taking questionable steps that might further damage the countries reputation.
On Expanded testing to begin
Posted 17 April 2020, 5:28 p.m. Suggest removal
SP says...
After biting the bullet and paying business license fees, the automated system does not generate a printable certificate, and I have found "Reaching out" to Inland Revenue" 100% impossible because no one answers the phone!
We are dammed if we do and dammed if don't!
Additionally, as a small business owner, there is no government financial assistance available. How are we supposed to survive?
On Govt ‘taking from Peter to pay Paul’
Posted 17 April 2020, 4:48 p.m. Suggest removal
SP says...
At Supervalue the prices of eggs have literally gone up 95% over the last 4 weeks, and food prices, in general, have also increased.
With no income, and prices skyrocketing every week, how are we supposed to survive? What are we supposed to do?
The government needs to immediately remove duty and VAT on food. Canada has no VAT on food.
On Price regulator in egg shortage fear
Posted 17 April 2020, 4:28 p.m. Suggest removal
SP says...
Funny you should mention the banks. Just a few short weeks ago RBC was adamantly encouraging me with phone calls and emails to come in and borrow $80,000.00+ for a new luxury car. Now the same bank wouldn't loan me $10,000.00 when I need it most for survival!
On ‘Govt is not responding to struggling Bahamians’
Posted 16 April 2020, 10:05 a.m. Suggest removal
SP says...
Many people have had no other choice than carefully budgeting for quite some time!
With tourism dead in the water, 50%+ of the economy will grind to a halt negatively impacting 10's of 1000's of people across every sector, who will have nothing to budget with.
The elephant in the room is most Bahamians and lots of businesses have never recovered from the 2008 recession which was drastically deepened by hurricane Dorian just last year.
Covid19 pandemic is the icing on the cake that will finish destroying many businesses and countless families simultaneously that was literally barely hanging on month-to-month by the shoestrings!
On 'Budgeting so important in tough times'
Posted 16 April 2020, 8:03 a.m. Suggest removal
SP says...
As a self-employed small business owner and someone that also somehow fell through cracks, this is one instance where I must agree with Brave Davis!
For whatever reason, many people have been left without any resources for survival. Granted, the government has tried to reach out to a lot of people, but I for one have not benefited 0.1c to date and cannot see any hope of help on the horizon.
There must be some very desperately hurting people out there!!
On ‘Govt is not responding to struggling Bahamians’
Posted 15 April 2020, 9:33 p.m. Suggest removal