The Unique Bahamas
Olivia C. Saunders
The
Commonwealth of The Bahamas Trade Union Congress
International
Labour Conference
Wednesday,
29 October 2003
Whyndham
Nassau Resort and Crystal Palace Casino
What is The Bahamas? The typical response is, ‘a country of 700 islands, cays, and rocks just off the coast of Florida’. Depending on who you ask, the response is expanded to include opinions like, ‘the most beautiful country in the world’, ‘the nicest people in the world’, ‘one of the most stable democracies in the world’, and of course, ‘the most Christian nation in the world’. And we really can’t argue with any of those descriptions because this is our country; we love it. The last few years have seen a rise in nationalist rhetoric and prideful displays of national symbols. There is a greater thrust to recognise the contributions of our heroes and nation-builders as a result I suspect, of the challenges and pressures being thrust upon us by the winds of change.
What makes The Bahamas The Bahamas and not another country? Geographically, The Bahamas is an archipelago as defined by the Law of the Sea Convention, “made up of a group or groups of closely related islands and interconnecting waters”. The territory of the country is described by way of its “sovereignty over a sea area enclosed by straight lines drawn between the outermost points of the islands” and “the waters between the islands”. This encompasses a total of some 100,000 square miles notwithstanding a land mass of 5,382 square miles. Some thirty inhabited islands but the department of Statistics zoned them into 17 districts for the Census enumeration exercises. The Bahamas is bordered by four nations: The United States of America (USA), Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and a colony, the Turks and Caicos Islands. Our position adjacent to the United States and Cuba is considered strategic by the Central Intelligence Agency. Our territorial sea extends outward twelve nautical miles and we have an exclusive economic zone extending outward 200 nautical miles. Where there is overlap the boundaries are delimited by the mid-point between us and the other country.
The 1993 Archipelagic Waters and
Maritime Jurisdiction Act of the Bahamas, which entered into force on 4 January
1996, covers archipelagic waters, internal waters, the territorial sea,
innocent passage and the exclusive economic zone. The Act provides for
archipelagic and other baselines, extends the outer limit of the territorial
sea from 6 nautical miles to 12 nautical miles and establishes an exclusive
economic zone of 200 nautical miles; for the use of the median line where the
territorial sea of the Bahamas meets with the territorial sea of another State,
... (http://www.un.org/depts/los/legislationandtreaties/latinamerica.htm)
Nonetheless there are outstanding agreements to be negotiated with these neighbours to define boundaries. The highest point in the country is in Cat Island measuring 63 metres and the third largest coral reef in the world exists off Andros. The country holds a permanent population of over 303,000. Table 1 shows the number of inhabitants residing throughout the islands based on the 2000 Census.
|
Table 1 |
|
|
Islands of The Bahamas and their population |
|
|
Island |
Population |
|
Abaco |
13,170 |
|
Acklins |
428 |
|
Andros |
7,686 |
|
Berry Islands |
709 |
|
Biminis |
1,717 |
|
Cat Island |
1,647 |
|
Crooked Island |
350 |
|
Eleuthera |
7,999 |
|
Exuma and Cays |
3,571 |
|
Grand Bahama |
46,994 |
|
Harbour Island and Spanish Wells |
3,166 |
|
Inagua |
969 |
|
Long Island |
2,992 |
|
Mayaguana |
259 |
|
New Providence |
210,832 |
|
Ragged Island |
72 |
|
San Salvador & Rum Cay |
1,050 |
|
Source: Report of the 2000 Census of Population and Housing |
|
Politically, we were granted independence 30 years ago and inherited and continue a bicameral parliament of elected and selected membership. Our head of state remains Queen Elizabeth II. There is no separation between the political and executive directorate. Because of the archipelagic nature of the country, the country has 21 administrative districts scattered throughout the chain of islands.
Demographically, we are a youthful country with a median age of around 27 years; with 38.1% under 20 years, and around 29% of the population below 14 years of age. The estimated birth rate is 18.57 births per thousand and death rate of 8.68 deaths per thousand. Compared to 1970, infant mortality has dropped from 38 to 13 in 2001. The population growth rate is just a little over 1%. Over the years, the fertility rate have dropped from 3.4 during 1970-1975 and is expected to decline to 2.3 during the period 2000-2005. This can be reflective of our economic growth. Contrary to popular belief the male-female ratio is just about 1:1. Our life expectancy at birth is 67.2 years which is only slightly higher than the 1970-75 66.5 years.
Socially, we pride ourselves in a high literacy rate of around 96%. This is so because of compulsory primary and secondary education between the ages of 5 and 16 and the fact that in the modern Bahamas education has always been allocated one of the largest proportions of budgets over the years. The scourge of HIV/AIDS remains notwithstanding the great work being conducted by Dr. Perry Gomez and his staff and the handsome allocations to healthcare by successive governments. The United Nations reports that in 2001 there were 2,700 people between the ages of 15 and 49 living with HIV/AIDS in The Bahamas. The CIA estimates 6,200 people overall living with HIV/AIDS in The Bahamas. Interestingly, in 2001 there were about 57 reported cases of tuberculosis.
In terms of diversity, we are perceived to be a monolithic society. Officially, the racial composition of the country is said to be 85% of African ancestry. Even so, there are people living in The Bahamas originating from North, Central and South America, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean. Table 2 shows 48 countries from which citizens and other residents of The Bahamas were born or have ancestry and this listing is not exhaustive.
|
Table 2 |
||
|
The Origin of People Presently Living In The Bahamas |
||
|
Argentina |
Austria |
Australia |
Bangladesh
|
Barbados
|
Belize |
|
Belgium |
Bermuda
|
Britain/England |
Canada
|
Chile
|
China (People’s Republic of) |
|
Costa Rica |
Croatia |
Cuba |
|
Czech Republic |
Denmark |
Dominica |
|
Dominican Republic |
Ecuador |
Ethiopia |
|
France |
Germany |
Ghana |
Greece
|
Grenada |
Guatemala |
|
Guyana (Republic f) |
Haiti (Republic of) |
Honduras |
|
Hungary |
India |
Indonesia
|
Ireland
|
Italy |
Japan
|
|
Mexico |
Morocco |
Netherlands/Holland |
|
Nepal |
New Zealand |
Nigeria |
|
Norway |
Panama |
Paraguay |
Peru
|
Phillipines (Republic of) |
Poland |
Puerto Rico
|
Russia |
Denmark |
|
Finland |
Iceland |
Norway |
|
Sweden |
Scotland
|
Sri Lanka
|
St. Lucia
|
South Africa
|
Spain
|
Sweden
|
Switzerland |
Trinidad & Tobago (Republic of) |
United States of America
|
Venezuela
|
Wales |
|
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
||
When asked their religion, at least 95% of Bahamians will respond, Christian, the majority of whom are Baptist (37%) followed by Anglican (16%), Roman Catholic (14%), Pentecostal (9%), Methodist (5%), Church of God (5%). There are also persons living within our borders who are non-traditional Christians and of non-Christian faiths. There are Jews, Rastafarians, Muslims, Hindi among others. This very religious state of affairs is put side by side with the reality that in 2002 we had a prison population of over 1,200. This places us within the top 10 in the world with respect to prison inmates per 100,000 inhabitants in the Interpol survey of 205 independent and dependent nations. Of independent Caribbean countries, comparing our 2002 figures we are just behind Belize (1999 figures) and Dominica (1999 figures). As regards crime, Interpol reports that for 1999 the volume of crime in The Bahamas per 100,000 persons was 4,869.57. This compares to the 2000 figure for the USA of 4,124.79; the 1999 figure of 3,813.01 for Barbados; the 1999 figure of 3,808 for Saint Kitts and Nevis; the 1998 figure of 1,870.56 for Jamaica, the 1999 figure of 1,276.55 for Guyana, and the 1998 figure of 640 for Belize. See table 3.
|
Table 3 |
||
|
Selected Countries Volume of Crime per 100,000 inhabitants |
||
|
Country |
Date of statistics |
Volume per 100,000 inhabitants |
|
The Bahamas |
1999 |
4,869.57 |
|
The USA |
2000 |
4,124.79 |
|
Barbados |
1999 |
3,813.01 |
|
Saint Kitts and Nevis |
1999 |
3,808 |
|
Jamaica |
1998 |
1,870.56 |
|
Guyana |
1999 |
1,276.55 |
|
Trinidad and Tobago |
1998 |
1,170.07 |
|
Belize |
1998 |
640 |
|
Source: Interpol International Crime Statistics |
||
Economically, we have enjoyed a good life, low inflation rate, high per capita income, relatively low unemployment rates, relatively low deficits and debt, modern communications systems, access to world markets, and home to one of the world’s modern marvels – Atlantis.
Materially, The Bahamas’ natural resources are listed to be salt, aragonite, timber and arable land. (We wait with bated breadth for the oil.) The business of the country was once agriculture. In the latter part of the 19th century and early 20th century, The Bahamas was noted for its exports of tomatoes, pineapples and citrus products, tourism although secondary in its contributions to the economy of the early years of the modern Bahamian economy had well-established roots even in the 19th century. Today of course, tourism accounts for the lion’s share of economic activity in the country and is followed in significance by financial services. We have been able by way of these two industries and a tax regime that supports them, to enjoy a quantity of living second to no other independent territory in the Caribbean and Latin America.
The reconciliation of social well-being with economic well-being is measured by the United Nation’s Human Development Index (HDI). The HDI takes into account:
Life expectancy at birth (years),
Adult literacy rate (% age 15 and above),
Combined primary, secondary and tertiary gross enrolment ratio (%),
“The HDI was created to re-emphasize that people and their lives should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth.” (http://hdr.undp.org/statistics/faq.cfm#1). Of the 173 countries assessed The Bahamas ranks 49 with an HDI of .812. This places us in the region, slightly above Trinidad and Tobago with a 54 rank and HDI of .802; Cuba with a 52 rank and HDI of .806, and Saint Kitts and Nevis which ranks 51 and HDI of .808. The Bahamas lags conspicuously behind Barbados which has a rank of 27 and HDI of .888. Nonetheless, The Bahamas is one of 11 countries in the hemisphere that are categorised as having High Human Development, ranking 7 in the hemisphere. These data are shown in table 4 along with other countries in the region.
|
Table 4 |
||
|
Human Development Index and rank |
||
|
Country |
HDI Value |
HDI rank |
|
Barbados |
0.888 |
27 |
|
Bahamas |
0.812 |
49 |
|
Saint Kitts and Nevis |
0.808 |
51 |
|
Cuba |
0.806 |
52 |
|
Trinidad and Tobago |
0.802 |
54 |
|
Belize |
0.776 |
67 |
|
Jamaica |
0.757 |
78 |
|
Guyana |
0.740 |
92 |
|
Source: The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) |
||
One of the standard measures of a country’s economic well-being is the per-capita GDP and as is commonly touted, The Bahamas enjoys the third highest per-capita GDP of all independent territories in the Western Hemisphere. Using 2001 figures, the United Nation reports a nominal per-capita GDP for The Bahamas of US$15,797, followed by Barbados with US$10,281. Interestingly, Barbados’ GDP ranking is higher than its HDI ranking, whereas The Bahamas’ HDI ranking is higher than its GDP ranking indicating a relatively higher social advancement as compared to our economic advancement. [1]Conversion to PPP US$ changes The Bahamas’ position relative to other countries however. For example, nominally The Bahamas’ GDP over Barbados is 54% but for GDP PPP US$ it is only 5% higher than Barbados indicating that the purchasing power of the Bahamian dollar is relatively not as strong as it appears on the surface. Our per-capita income is not as large over our neighbours as we have come to believe. Table 5 shows nominal per capita GDP and per capita GDP PPP US$. Table 6 shows the Bahamas’ relative nominal GDP and GDP PPP for selected (Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago) Caribbean countries.
Like most countries in the world, The Bahamas is struggling economically, the IMF estimates a 0.7% real per capita GDP growth for 2002. Barbados and Saint Kitts and Nevis are estimated to have experienced negative real growth in 2002, while Belize, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago projected positive real per capita growth.
|
Table 5 |
||
|
Nominal and PPP US$ per capita GDP |
||
|
Country |
Per capita GDP |
Per capita GDP PPP US$ |
|
Bahamas |
15,797 |
16,270 |
|
Barbados |
10,281 |
15,560 |
|
Belize |
3,258 |
5,690 |
|
Guyana |
912 |
4,690 |
|
Jamaica |
3,005 |
3,720 |
|
Saint Kitts and Nevis |
7,609 |
11,300 |
|
Trinidad and Tobago |
6,752 |
9,100 |
|
Source: United Nations Development Programme
|
||
|
Table 6 |
||
|
Bahamas’ relative nominal GDP and GDP PPP for selected Caribbean Countries |
||
|
Country |
Nominal GDP |
GDP PPP US$ |
|
Barbados |
1.54 |
1.05 |
|
Belize |
4.85 |
2.86 |
|
Guyana |
17.32 |
3.47 |
|
Jamaica |
5.26 |
4.37 |
|
Saint Kitts and Nevis |
2.08 |
1.44 |
|
Trinidad and Tobago |
2.34 |
1.79 |
In addition, we, The Bahamas are a small island developing nation state. We suffer some of the burdens associated thereto, for example, high degree of openness and therefore no control of and vulnerability to external forces; susceptibility to natural disasters and environmental change; limited diversification of markets which further adds to the vulnerability; pockets of poverty arising from uneven distribution of income; limited resources and capacity; economic volatility; limited access to external capital; diseconomies of scale, and distance between islands.
So what is the point of all these statistics and information?
There can be no argument. The Bahamas is different from every other country in the world. In some aspects we are similar but in other ways we are different. This country is one of a kind and because of our uniqueness it is perhaps only fair that we be afforded special treatment in these trade negotiations.
But the
reality is every country is unique – geographically, demographically,
economically, socially, politically and otherwise and each country wants
special treatment. All of the Caribbean has a colonial history. All of the
English speaking Caribbean went into independence with very similar constitutions.
Jamaica has claimed archipelagic rights. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is
made up of a number of islands. All of
the countries in the Caribbean are fighting the scourge of illegal drugs and
criminal activities associated therewith. Creating opportunities to resolve
high unemployment is a common goal for each country in the region. Belize is
bordered by Mexico, Guatemala and the Caribbean Sea. Guatemala is claiming half
of southern Belize. Suriname and Venezuela are claiming portions of Guyana.
Guyana has the next lowest per capita GDP ahead of Haiti in the region. Jamaica
is mountainous with a population dispersed throughout its terrain. Trinidad and
Tobago has to deal with and ethnically diverse population of 39% black, 40.3% East Indian, 18.4% mixed, 0.6% white, 1.2% Chinese
and others. The Dominican Republic experienced and earthquake over the weekend
registering 6.5 on the Richter scale. One thing that truly distinguishes The
Bahamas from every other country in the region is that we are not a member of
the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
I suggest that we stop holding onto the claims of
uniqueness, of difference, of special-ness, of better than, and get on with
building a society that reflects the aspirations of its citizens to have a better
way of living, a secure society, a fair society, an innovative society, a
self-reliant society, a tolerant society, a healthy environment, a society
comprised of people progressing towards a common purpose.
There are calls for a national tourism plan, an education
overhaul, prison reform, judicial reform, reform of the financial services
industry, national insurance reform, national health plan and so on. I suggest
that these can all be done and as with so many things that we have done they
would look good; sound good on the press releases and cater to some political,
social or economic interest.
The focus has to be on the national interest.
We are polishing up the financial services industry by passing new legislation and looking to new products. We are supposedly raising the industry to ‘international standard’. The fact is, we are acquiescing to a certain group of nations who themselves are not adhering to these ‘international standards’ and we can brush up and polish up as much as we like, the fat lady is on the stage and ready to sing for our the financial services industry. It will not, in the near future return to its former ‘glory’.
E-commerce has been bandied about as a liberator from our
reliance on tourism and financial
services and the response can only be, “Surely you jest”. Legislation is
necessary but definitely insufficient to create a ‘third economic pillar’. We cannot be serious if our goal is merely
to have a computer in every classroom. At the present time around 28% of the
population has access to a computer and only around 15% has access to the
internet. In New Providence around 21% of households have access to a computer
with 12% having access to the internet. In Grand Bahama, only 4% of the households has access
to a computer and 2% with access to the internet. In Abaco only 1% of
households has access to a computer with 0.6% with access to the internet.
Table 7 shows the percentage of households with access to computers and the
internet.
|
Table
7 |
||
|
Households in The Bahamas with
access to a computer and access to the internet |
||
|
Island |
Access to Computer |
Access to Internet |
|
Abaco |
1.1% |
0.59% |
|
Acklins |
0.0% |
0.00% |
|
Andros |
0.3% |
0.11% |
|
Berry
Islands |
0.0% |
0.01% |
|
Biminis |
0.1% |
0.02% |
|
Cat
Island |
0.1% |
0.03% |
|
Crooked
Island |
0.0% |
0.00% |
|
Eleuthera |
0.4% |
0.18% |
|
Exuma
and Cays |
0.2% |
0.10% |
|
Grand
Bahama |
4.2% |
2.12% |
|
Harbour
Island |
0.1% |
0.05% |
|
Inagua |
0.0% |
0.02% |
|
Long
Island |
0.2% |
0.07% |
|
Mayaguana |
0.0% |
0.00% |
|
New
Providence |
20.8% |
12.00% |
|
Ragged
Island |
0.0% |
0.00% |
|
San
Salvador & Rum Cay |
0.1% |
0.01% |
|
Spanish
Wells |
0.2% |
0.13% |
|
Total |
27.9% |
15.45% |
|
Source:
Data calculated from the Report of the 2000 Census of Population and Housing |
||
There is talk of expanding tourism into areas such as health-care tourism. This sounds good. Do we have sufficient health-care professionals? Do we have the required mix of professionals? Do we have the facilities? If the answers to these questions are no, no, and no, then what would have to be done to say triple the number of health-care professionals? First and foremost a transformation of our educational system to emphasis mathematics, science, and technology, and even if we had the political and financial will to make this transformation, can we succeed with the current state of affairs where parents are negligent in the supervision of their children; where parents do not take responsibility for the actions of their children; where 40 year old men and women are sexually seducing boys and girls with impunity; where the ambitions of many young men are influenced by trusted adults who knowingly gain from and participate in criminal activities, and where education is subordinated to a life in the under-world?
Ladies and gentlemen, it is time we put quick fix short-term plans that are good press behind us. The Bahamas is in need of a National Audit which will lead to the formulation a Shared National Vision that articulates the values, goals and aspirations of the people – all the people.
The purpose of the statistics and information is for us to get a sense of where we are politically, socially, economically and otherwise. We have made tremendous strides in many areas and are deserving of hearty congratulations but there is much work to be done in many other areas. And the relevance to the alphabet soup of globalisation (CSME, WTO, FTAA)? The reality is that the Bahamian economy will be transformed. What I am suggesting is that the transformation should come about not just because ‘they’ say so.
The Bahamas needs to methodically review, examine and rationalise its institutions, its talents, its skills, its resources, its thought processes, its systems, and determine whether they are adequate to carry us forward in these challenging times. We have to clearly identify our strong points as well as those areas such as education that we know are weak. This alphabet soup of globalisation presents opportunities as well as threats. Our greatest fear is immigration. Look around. This country was built by immigrants and their descendants and immigrants continue to contribute to our development. We fear ‘they’ will take our jobs, but immigrants provide talents and skills for harmonisation with the talents and skills that we have here already for us to transform and develop the country.
We are not as monolithic a society as we believe. Our economy is not as strong as we think it is. In addition to data given previously, the IMF in its Article IV Consultation in July said,
The economy is expected to strengthen gradually in 2003 and 2004, but remains vulnerable to a prolonged U.S. slowdown and growing competition from other tourist destinations. The scope of policy maneuver has narrowed because of the weakening in the fiscal position and the decline in reserves. Economic policy should focus on raising international reserves and regaining room for fiscal maneuver as a shield against unforeseen contingencies. Structural reforms should also be pursued to heighten resilience and improve competitiveness over the medium term. (p.23)
Socially we are falling behind. In 1999 we ranked 42 on the HDI. Barbados moved up from 31 to 27. Life expectancy is anticipated to increase slightly during the 2000-05 period over 1970-75. See table 8. Life expectancy increase is projected to be lowest for the major Caribbean countries.
|
Table 8 |
|||
|
Life Expectancy and expected increase (years) |
|||
|
Country |
1970-75 |
2000-05 |
Increase |
|
Bahamas |
66.5 |
67.1 |
0.6 |
|
Barbados |
69.4 |
77.2 |
7.8 |
|
Belize |
67.6 |
71.4 |
3.8 |
|
Guyana |
60.0 |
63.2 |
3.2 |
|
Jamaica |
69.0 |
75.7 |
6.7 |
|
Trinidad and Tobago |
65.9 |
71.3 |
5.0 |
And can we, with a straight face say that we are a family of islands when 96% of the population lives on 6 of the islands and economic activity is dominant in 2? See chart 1.
Chart 1
In the process of wading through the alphabet soup of globalisation a National Audit is in order so that we can determine and assess what we have in our storehouse with regard to resources, talents, skills, potential, institutions, processes, and thinking so that we can separate the positive from the non-positive in order for us to proceed with the formulation of a Shared National Vision; move on to strategic national planning, because this is the only way I believe we can move forward, upward, onward, together.
Box 1
|
VISION 2020 |
STATEMENT |
|
Government envisions that by 2020 Trinidad and
Tobago will be a fully developed nation: |
|
The citizens would enjoy a high quality of life
based on the highest standards of modern human development in the areas of: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
o The society will be cohesive and caring with
strong spiritual and ethical values and a deep sense of nationalism. It will
function on the principles of democracy, human rights and social justice; |
|
o The Government will adhere to the highest
standards of governance including public accountability and integrity in the
context of all public and private sector undertakings; and |
|
o Public sector agencies will be more efficient,
results-oriented and customer-driven. |
|
http://www.gov.tt/government/Vision2020/Vision2020_Statement.asp |
|
Box 2 During the 1970's Oregon's
timber-dependent economy experienced a boom period unprecedented in its
history. This economy generated higher than national average blue collar
wages; a booming low cost housing market and an expanding public sector.
Oregon also enjoyed a [f]ight alignment between its rural and metropolitan
areas. Portland Oregon's largest city depended upon the agriculture fishing
and timber industries for its success. Its port banks legal and accounting
services machine tool industry and mills all depended on the rural economy.
This tight linkage existed throughout Oregon and bound the state together in
a web of economic and social interdependence. When the national
economy turned down in 1980 Oregon's timber dependent dream became a
nightmare. Wages plummeted and unemployment stayed stubbornly in double
digits despite a massive exodus from the state. Falling tax revenues and
desperate economic times put severe pressures on the public sector. The compound
nature of the economic distress in Oregon and the growing influence of international
competition made it difficult for Oregon's economy to rebound when the
national economy's health returned. Automation in the mills and woods had
permanently reduced the employment base in those industries so that when
national housing starts began to grow again many workers were still not
employed. International competition keeps farm
commodity prices low severely hampering the farm-dependent segment of the
economy. Oregon needed and got a massive economic realignment. By the middle of
the decade a mild recovery was underway but property values were still below
their historic levels. Wages were still well below the national average and
stagnant. In response Governor Neil Goldschmidt launched a strategic
planning effort in June 1988 with the formation of 16 committees
composed of business labor education and government leaders. Committees were
asked to review the competitiveness of Oregon as a place to do business. To
accomplish this they had to identify policies related both to the overall
economic climate of the state and those tied directly to specific industries that would improve Oregon's
competitive posture in the global economy. Their plan was
called Oregon Shines: An Economic Strategy for the Pacific Century. The plan
was divided into three parts; a vision for Oregon's next two decades initiatives
designed to achieve that vision and an implementation strategy for each
initiative. The plan describes three factors considered critical to its
success: implementation of the plan; engaging business labor government educators
and citizen groups in collaborative efforts to compete in a global economy;
and creation of the Oregon Progress Board to serve as the long-term caretaker
of Oregon's strategic vision. |
|
By WILLIAM P.
KITTREDGE(*), Syracuse University and GERALD R. KISSLER, University of Oregon.
Social Science Journal, 1998, Vol. 35 Issue 4,
p543, 21p |