I too am concerned about what are the mechanics of the drainage system proposed? We are not a society that maintains complex processes very well.

The governmental authorities need to protect consumers better. Regulation, environmental and building codes should be strengthened to prevent a repeat of the Pinewood fiasco. While some of these folks bought into Pinewood after flooding was known to occur I suspect it was miscalculation on their part or they were duped.

Regardless of how we got here, or the fact that many of these homes are valued at less than $250K which means they don't pay Real Property Taxes, we need to fix this problem. So I support using public monies to do that.

However, government should make ever effort to recoup the monies over time. If this means going after unscrupulous developers, realtors, contractors or lawyers using existing laws they should do so. The home owners who live in Pinewood should be levied a "Drainage Tax" to fund the cost and ongoing maintenance of the system. Additionally the homes in the area should be reevaluated and all valued for more than $250K should be made to pay their property taxes.
There's no such thing as a free lunch, or drainage system.

Mr. Minnis you and your advisors need to read up on VAT and meet with the government's New Zealand Consultants before proclaiming your plan to repeal certain aspects of it make sense. In fact they have answers and suggestions that address your very proposals. Including addressing Social Services to offset the struggles the poor will face upon VAT implementation. Following their advice and the NZ GST as close as possible may indeed be your best suggestion.

That said, the previous commenter brings up an excellent point regarding government's spending. We Bahamians have no "choice" when it comes fiscal responsibility amongst our political parties. All seem to be in the "promising business". Unfortunately none hail limiting government spending, promotion of private business expansion and elimination of monopolies as a priority.

Mr. Minnis, you are the Leader of the FNM, act like it!

I've read the New Zealand Consultant's report on VAT. They suggested reducing the Customs Duty to a small amount on virtually everything (Customs Duties in NZ have largely been eliminated as well as all of their other taxes being substantially reduced). When you have only some exemptions on particular items people have to wonder "in whose favor are these exemptions meant"?! The NZ Consultants also recommended reducing the VAT exemptions to only "financial services, certain insurances (like annuities which have a finance component) and residential rent". The initial increase in inflation faced by the poor/ working class should be accompanied by increased social services assistance.
Once the Customs Duties are reduced across the board then the overall cost of living in the Bahamas should come down since these Custom's Duties (taxes) are likely the greatest component to the high cost of living here: Bahamians we are some of the most heavily taxed citizens in the world, lack of income tax not withstanding!
Now the consumer protection agencies will need to police our businesses to ensure that those cost savings are passed on to the consumers. However simple business competition should encourage folks to "drop their prices", but keeping an eye out for "hogs" is a good idea.
Why is it that our government thinks it can do a better job implementing VAT than the New Zealanders, whose Goods & Services Tax (GST) is acknowledged as being the best on earth?! Hopefully government will get their policies in gear and adopt the good advice that they have been offered, as well as tightening their own belts on the spending side!

Hopefully this episode along with the debacle that is BEC will convince politicians, even the most strident socialist, that "government owned" is rarely a good policy. Especially as an economic or efficiency concept. Selfish government employees have no concept of business responsibilities and are not worth the political headache they cause.
Anyone who owns a business or whose income is tied to business (or one's own) performance understands that a pay raise, or god forbid a"bonuses" in a company whose income is "in the red" is incongruous.
Privatization, with competition, is the only way to solve our government's fiscal woes. So it must be for Bahamas Air, fortunately as stated by the DPM there is already competition, and for BEC. However without liberalization of electrical generation and distribution we'll face the same shoddy service from BEC as we now get from BTC (C&W) and Cable Bahamas. So I join the voices calling for private ownership at both these entities, however we need to also fight for the allowance and encouragement of competition which is what actually makes
privatization successful and ensures consumers get the best prices and services.

Criminal prosecution as practiced in our country is largely a failure: prolonged wait, in most instances for many years before cases make their way to court, witnesses and victims not showing up to court, evidence being judged inadequate or contaminated, alleged police brutality, prosecutors constantly out-foxed by highly paid/experienced/ superior defense attorneys.

I understand the frustration about crime and the lack of faith in our judicial system, not to mention the deterioration in our socialization and child rearing prowess. However why Mrs. AG waste time and limited resources perusing a death penalty that's not going to happen, despite what Mr. Munroe espouses?! Remember his', and his ilk benefit with every court appearance. Evidence, in the form of many peer reviewed studies, has shown that the death penalty is not a deterrent for the type of murders we see here in Nassau. It is morally reprehensible and archaic.

I for one will be most happy once we accept its ultimate demise!

Is that Casino Manager aware "that you never get a lickin' 'til you go down ta Bimini"? ;-)

It's hard to believe that this was not a coordinated effort from the Immigration officers, even if not union sanctioned. It does beg the question "whose controlling the workers?"
This debacle by our Immigration Officers at LPIA does erode the positive impression and support Bahamians had of them with their recent professional performance following the Nov 1st change in policy. Those at the forefront of our tourist industry must always bear in mind how important, but fickle this industry is and should not play around with it!
Our Arrival Area at LPIA leaves a lot to be desired during the best of times and should be looked at. May be VIP's, especially those in positions to make a change should actually "walk through" the process to see how frustrating it can be. Both at the Immigration and the "free for all" Customs area! Many have suggested the Customs area should be more organized, with signs specifying "declared vs undeclared" rows, as well as a "Bank Teller" type turn style line. Better management, oversight and accountability is what we need: someone's head should roll, oh wait I forgot it's "government" that I'm talking about ;-(

Remember these are engineers and mechanics, worldwide they are highly sort after and similarly paid. I have no problem with highly technical, intellectually challenging jobs being compensated accordingly. That said BEC is an economic failure, as such their cost of doing business needs to be reduced, if workers are costly then you may need to have less of them. Problematic Human Resource issues are pervasive in the government/ government corporation agencies. That said the main problem with them all is that they are "public" vs private, and there is lack of competition. Any fixes attempted without addressing those two issues, including friggin' around with unionized workers is just tinkering around the ages ;-(

"American Exceptionalism" lol

The NAD model seems more sensible if chosen carefully and allowed to truly run BEC without government interference, which would include retirement of the Chairman position for that period of time.

If BEC can actually run as a competitive private company, even if as a US style "Nonprofit" where profits are pumped back into the company, then it would actually be "worth something" when it comes up for sale. Many folks thought that should have been the process prior to BTC's sale!

Now all that stated above is provided government has a watchdog agency oversee the "private firm" to avoid contract selling via "kick backs" etc. ;-)