The point of the suggestion was that if we say that our present permit process is broken, inefficient, failing, etc., then the solution cannot be that the Minister must personally vet each and every single permit. The solution must be legislative. If we are going to really change anything, it cannot be a case of a subjective assessment which subjective assessment inevitably will result in claims of victimization, bias, prejudice, etc. The assessment must always be objective. If the system is not working, then change the system at its root. Look around and take what's working from other jurisdictions, or craft something new. But do more than you're doing now!!

This whole announcement is puzzling to me in the context of the fact that we have some serious illegal immigration/resident/workers issues. Yet, Mr. Gibson is focusing on the legitimate permit holders, the fees from whom go to the Consolidated Fund, and who (employer and permit holder) by applying for and paying for a work permit comply with the immigration laws of this country, and who, depending on the reason for the work permit, leave once their permits have expired (does not refer to the domestic help, maintenance men, farm helpers etc. that live in this country). In contrast, he doesn't utter a peep about the thousands of undocumented workers and illegal residents in this country who don't comply with the laws, do not pay any monies by way of application and permit fees into the Consolidated fund, but who benefit from the services which are paid for out of the Consolidated fund, and certainly must be taking jobs that Bahamians are capable of performing. There is no succession plan for this type of individual due to their unregularized status. We have no idea when they are going to leave and since they didn't seek permission to enter and stay, we can't say how long they will be in the positions they are in. So ultimately, no Bahamian will ever succeed to those positions. Translation: Bahamian out of work. please mr. minister, you mean to say you don't recognize that the greater threat to Bahamian jobs is the thousands of illegal workers in this country as compared to the holders of legitimate work permits? Man, you need to get real!!

I would really be impressed if the Minister had said that the Government is going to amend the immigration laws so that it looks something like the immigration laws of Bermuda - five year maximum for work permit per person. After the time has expired, and unless you are married to a Bermudan, you have to pack your georgie bundle and go, no exceptions, no renewals after the fifth permit issued. Now that announcement would have been revolutionary!

By the way, I hope that this scrutiny extends to all of the domestic help that his parliamentary colleagues have brought into this country...the latest wave is Filipinos. Surely, there must be some Bahamian out there who knows how to swab a toilet...but maybe not...

OH! OH! Get ready! The new Minister of Labour has identified a loophole in the process that needs to be closed! NOT! I suppose that for those who do not know what the process for a work permit entails, then what the Minister has stated is revolutionary! Minister Gibson really should stop with the posturing and the smoke and mirrors. The only company he wanted to target in this self-aggrandizing statement was BTC! But he knew he couldn't just signal BTC out, so he dragged in all employers. Please! So transparent!

While condmening 1plpgovernment for his or her lack of humanity is appropriate with respect to his or her comments directed at the mother of the deceased young man, at the end of the day let us recognize a fundamental truth about our society: we are a violent people, and because of that violence we have become callous about the loss of life! Listen to the casual conversation of those around you. Hence, what 1plpgovernment has expressed at the beginning of his or her comment is what countless Bahamians think - "one less %$#&* to deal with". It is that violence in us that permits us to be cold and heartless, unsympathetic and unempathetic to a mother losing her son. We as a people think it appropriate for the police to "beat" persons in custody, or are unfazed in our daily lives when we hear about situations like this. We, the collective, should be absolutely outraged when we hear about something like this and demand accountability of the Police. But we don't. Why not? Because we are a people who, while wielding the Bible like a hammer and quoting sparing the rod and spoiling the child ad nauseum, do not even blink when we see a parent physically disciplining a child in public. We have been inculcated with the view that in certain situations it is not only right but necessary to use physical force to impose our will on others. When the physical force is wielded by those in uniform, we justify the brutality by relegating those unlucky enough to be in custody to a less than "decent people" standard. Hence there will always be sentiments expressed like that from 1plpgovernment.

"Mr Bell said this initiative is just one of many the government is considering in response to the escalating crime rate" really? What the H do you mean by "considering"? I thought the PLP had a plan already! Well by damn! Ya'll only now looking for solutions when ya'll tell me not less than 30 days ago that ya'll had a plan! SMT!

So it's justifiable for Mr. Bell to have a handgun because he's an ex-cop? Don't make me laugh! Anyone know how he was able to live and function in this country without a handgun since he resigned from the Police Force? From the time he resigned until now, he was and will continue to be an ex-cop! Utter foolishness!

The Prime Minister needs to take this one in hand and issue a gag order on this junior minister/unelected member of Parliament. de higha de monkey clime, de mo' he expose!!

By the way, let's talk gender equality in this country. Anyone out there remembers the Referendum which was, among other things, intended to make Bahamian women Constitutionally equal to Bahamian men when it came to the issue of passing on Bahamian citizenship? How about the marital rape law which would have permitted a woman to no longer be subjugated to husband's will when it came to the issue of sex? The direct effect of amending the citizenship provisions of the Constitution would have meant that a Bahamian woman, married to a foreign man, no longer had to ensure that she was in The Bahamas to give birth if she wanted to pass on her citizenship to her child, or apply for her child to be registered as a Bahamian citizen while the married Bahamian man, whether married to a Bahamian or not could have a child every and anywhere in the world and his child was a Bahamian by birth and as of right. The indirect effect of that amendment would have also meant that no longer would a Bahamian woman married to a foreign man in this country have to wait five years before her husband could get apply for and be granted permanent residence when there is no such requirement in law for the Bahamian man married to foreign woman.
Marital rape! Where do I begin? If we truly believed that each of us are fundamentally equal and equally entitled to consent to what happens to our bodies, and that equality is our god-given right, then no ritualistic religious service or civil process ought to be able to take that right away from us.
These are issues that I will rally up on support of on any given day...