Tal, it maybe a prosperous country for you but have you walked through Bain Town recently? Many people's electricity is off as they can't afford it, a lot of people don't have running water in their homes, they use public water dispensers in the road, garbage is everywhere, most of the young women have babies and are single mothers, most of the young men don't have jobs, recreational drug use abounds, web-shops are everywhere along with bar rooms. Gambling addition is running high. The youth are unskilled.

So Tal, it maybe properous for you but many of your fellow Bahamians are hurting. And hurting badly.

Banker I couldn't agree with you more. As a Bahamian I enjoy going to the movies once a week. This week R&D did not bring in any new movies despite the critically acclaimed movie "Arrival" being released in the US. This happens every week.

Then when you go to the movies many of the seats are broken, the electric signs in the hallway for each movie don't work there is nothing healthy to eat, they don't turn down the lights properly, many times the sound or the picture is messed up and nobody is even looking to fix it, many of the movie previews are not shown before the movies. etc. etc.

Also, due to crime you dare not got to the movies too late at night.

By the time a consumer buys a drug or medications from the hospital there are 5 VAT charges embedded in it.

1. VAT on the import price, freight and duty paid by the wholesaler
2. VAT on all inward charges related to the movement and storage of the drugs in the Bahamas (electricity, trucking, generator, air conditioning, security services, audits etc. etc.)
3. VAT when the drug is sold to the hospital or retailer
4. VAT when the drug is sold to the patient/consumer
5. The worse part of this entire fiasco is that the consumer also pays VAT on their medical insurance

The cruel irony of the use of the term Value Added Tax is that none of these charges actually "adds value" to the consumer. Indeed products loose value as they move through this chain of handlers.

My understanding from merchants is that prices are uplifted sufficiently so that VAT returns can go to profits and not to reduce consumer prices in each of the above 5 stages.

In reaction to spiraling cost the government wants to cut out the middlemen. This will be disastrous for healthcare in the country because the government will manage drug purchases the same way it manages BEC, Water and Sewerage, roads, BahamasAir, Bamsi, National insurance, Bank of the Bahamas, island airports etc. etc.

Drug purchases will be run into the ground.

Soon there will be inventory spoilage (when a/c and generators don't work), missing purchases (through theft), insufficient drugs for the country when international vendors are not paid etc. etc.

Meanwhile 55% of Grand Bahama residents don't have light. Des people ain checkin for po negros, dey dealin wit superpowers and billionaires, ain nuttin in dis da me, I jus ain ga regester ta vote now.

Las time I vote against gamblin cause I gat so many gamblin addicts in my family, when I look more web shop open over da hill. I even pressing my luck gamblin now cause I ain ga no hope. Ma light off, ma telephone off, ma internet off, I ain gay no drivers licence, no passport, ma roof done blow off...lord have mercy

...not to mention the 120th most difficult place in the world to do business out of 180 countries.

Bahamians are not registering to vote because they simply can't afford to get a passport or drivers license. The rollover of the old voter register is the tipping point to the corruption of the foundation of our democracy.

Why not just have same day registration. Why should the registered dead now have the right to vote.

The PLP can't even be bothered to hold a convention and democratically elect thier leader.

Something just doesn't feel right about this.

...and open in just enough time for the June 2017 hurricane season.

Why battle BEC power cuts, sky high generator/diesel costs, energy cost 3 times higher than the US, expensive employees, uncooperative unions, extreamly high imported goods due to customs duties, VAT and a monopoly port of entry charging high fees, insurance companies that don't want to pay out, hurricane induced shortage of building supplies and corrupt government officials when you can stay closed and blame the hurricane.

Why would anyone in their right minds want to open a new business in the Bahamas and invest hard earned money when it is so difficult to get anything done with the government.

But even when you get your business set up the electricity costs (3 times higher than Florida), the load shedding/generator cost and the damaged electrical equipment make it almost impossible to manufacture anything for a profit.

Lets face it, BEC will never be fixed, it is truly the Bahamas' Achilles heel. It needs a completely brand new energy efficient gas power plant and sensible management - it will cost $500 million. Then BEC needs to write-off $450 million in existing debt. Add to that another $50 million to fix the out dated electric grid for a total cost of $1 billion. It can't be raised, the country is essentially at its debt limit.

Every day the electricity goes off.

Even hurricane relief has been politicized.

Certainly there should be non political teams in each community to deliver hurricane relief supplies.

The insurance adjusters are just saying that to cut down how much they will pay out. If they can say that the loss was not caused by the hurricane then they don't have to pay out.

Try to get an insurance company to inspect your house before the hurricane. Its impossible. They just want your cheque and complain later.

We export our best and brightest and imports the dregs.