MITCHELL RESPONDS TO D’Aguilar
sildenafil nurse times;”>From Fred Mitchell MP, Minister of Foreign Affairs And Immigration:
18 June 2015
I read with interest the comments [ in the Nassau Guardian 18th June] of the former Chamber of Commerce President Dionisio D’Aguilar who is also a well-known businessman. I am deeply concerned that people reading what he had to say might accept uncritically as truth that the policies of the Immigration Department and Ministry in The Bahamas are xenophobic. Plainly and simply that is untrue. Mr. D’Aguilar should not assert that as truth and should stop giving the impression that the department’s policies, rules, regulations and procedures are in any way portraying a fear of foreigners or are biased in their applications.
The procedures laid down in law and policy by The Bahamas government on immigration are broadly similar and not different from any other country in this hemisphere. The requirement for the grant of a work permit is first of all that there is no Bahamian available for the job. That fact must be certified by the Department of Labour. Exceptions are broadly exercised where an entity wishes to have an owner’s representative, where there is a franchise which requires special expertise or where the owner prefers to have a chosen Chief Financial officer.
Once the Department of Labour certifies that there is no Bahamian available for the job, the Department of Immigration will grant the permit, many times subject to the condition that the person must train a Bahamian.
The rate of rejections of work permit applications is less than five per cent if that. I would be so bold as to say that no business can say that they have not been able to get the work permits they need to operate their business.
While Mr. D’Aguilar’s hyperbole and exaggeration might be good for newspaper headlines, Mr. D’Aguilar should know that it is irresponsible in the extreme to portray his country in that light when everything that is available by evidence suggests that his version of the facts do not reflect reality.