“Education is the single most critical element for preparing Bahamians and their economy to participate in a liberalized, global economy governed by rules-based trading regimes. If we're not educated, if we're not prepared, we will not be competitive, and if we're not competitive you know the downside for goods and services.

“Our fundamental existence will change over the next 10 years, and if we're not better prepared for it, we will find ourselves as a lost society.

“The Bahamas is a country which has a tremendous opportunity, a rich history and some of the most talented people in this region. In my mind, I believe that as a nation we have not lived up to our potential and we need to work a little harder at it and make some hard decisions.

“Some of the most talented people in the region are Bahamian. This nation needs more, and this was vital to address the critical mass of high school graduates - about 80 per cent of them - whose non-productivity and ill-preparedness for the workforce were driving up business costs.

“I'm concerned about the critical mass, because it is that critical mass that is not giving us what we want. They're the ones that are driving the cost of business up.

“The 'blended' average failure rate of 70 per cent among Bahamian public high school Math and English graduates, as cited by Caribbean Landscaping head Robert Myers, is indicative of the wider population as it stands now. Not enough emphasis was placed on educational achievement in Bahamian culture.

“Too much time, some 80 per cent, was spent on diagnosing problems and their cause, and not enough time, some 20 per cent, focused on solutions and their implementation/execution.

“Too many solutions were devised in bits and pieces and silos, with too many persons making decisions in their own kingdoms and reacting negatively to any external criticism, no matter how valid or constructive it was.

“This signified the absence of a national plan and vision. The time for talking is long over. We don't have the luxury of talking any more.

“We need some fundamental solutions, and are not employing enough.

“Competitive advantages, such as The Bahamas' proximity to the US, its US pre-clearance facility and its tax neutral platform, are all under pressure or being negated by steps taken by competitors.

“The issue is: When will we start to look at the inputs that made The Bahamas successful over the years? They're all underdeveloped because we have a protectionist policy, and we have an economy built on tourism and financial services.

“We have some structural advantages in place - our proximity to the US, and the US pre-clearance, which has made it easier to access The Bahamas.

“We developed somewhat of a good reputation based on tourism service, which led to other things, other opportunities, such as foreign direct investment.

“The majority of foreign direct investment has been tourism-related. Very little is related to other industries, such as manufacturing and financial services. A lot of that has been accomplished because we developed a reputation of being a first-class tourism destination.

“In the new environment, all of that is going to be challenged. We're looking for membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO), and I firmly believe at some point, our position as a leading tourism destination will be challenged.

“There will be some conditions that force us to review our customer service model, and we don't know how the US pre-clearance situation will play out. The Bahamas needs to develop policies and strategies for economic growth outside of its traditional reliance on proximity and a good tourism reputation, as it has been riding on that for many years.”