The Bahamas; The Struggle Continues...

 The issue of social advancement has been our (The Bahamas) only victory claim for the 21th century although the battle for economic empowerment wages on.       While much has been said of the opportunities in education and many had taken full advantage thereof; there is still a severe lack of career opportunities in those respective field of choice.

We as Bahamians have, for far too long, relied upon our political leadership to stand at the forefront to set the pace for the proliferation of economical growth but as many Bahamians can attest; most of the major opportunities in The Bahamas are served on a silver platter to foreign investors, and, this sentiment is shared among our banking sectors whom are all too willing to readily accept the hand of the stranger over local and familiar ones.     The chances that a Bahamian do succeed in business at his or her chosen profession is slim to nil in an economy boasting potential growth sectors to every foreign investor with a dream and good credit ratings.

Yes I do strongly believe that we (The Bahamians) can build The Bahamas into a world class economic power house providing we forthwith change our dependency upon our governmental leadership for direction and focus our attention upon individual merits and contribution.   This obviously will need the support of all Bahamian and not just the regular selective few which have broken through the stereotypical barriers to create their mini empires, and, the way I perceive it; we can no longer enter this modern global market place on our own without first passing and ensuring that the appropriate legislation had been implemented and in place to compliment our business objectives.

I further believe that we can and we must seek alternative vehicles for diversifying our economy because tourism and banking alone will not support our social and national growth forever, plans ought to have been drafted in the eventuality there are sudden bottom fallouts in our number one and two industries.   This will take physical action and not simply political rhetoric serious or not.  The time has come, and now is, when every individual Bahamian ought to ask the question; what can I do for my country, and then just do it.   

Unemployment Benefit Issues and Employers that Pocket Contribution

Here is irony in its most despicable form, the saga of a lowly store worker who devotedly supported her three young children and an aged retired mother near blinded by glaucoma; living day to day desperately dependent upon weekly minimum wage to make ends meet.         For two years she awoke in the early hours of the morning seeing to it that her three children (one boy and two girls) got ready for school regardless if they had very little to any breakfast to start the day; it was a must, for her, that they maintain a good education and was each day in attendance at school, on time and in order, before she went to work.

Through sickness, sunshine and rain; this single mother of three arrived for a hard day’s work prompt and in good form despite the toils and hardship endured.    Each day management would try their utmost best to keep the cost of operation to its bare minimum; accusing newly and unsuspecting employees of insubordination and/or theft in effort to withhold wages which were honestly earned became common practice.

For two seemingly long years; this did not deterred her until one day; when she could no longer withhold her silence and allow management to destroy the reputation of a coworker accused on unfounded charges of employee theft.         Management, seizing an opportunity, accused both employees of "conspiracy to defraud the company by reasons of employment": without any support given from union representation and no funds to hire an attorney both accused coworkers services were soon terminated without pay.

A few months later, still unemployed and without any steady form of income, and despite helping out a friend a few days a week in the Straw Market, the single mother of three, near at the point of hopelessness, applied for governmental assistance when a national unemployment benefit scheme had be enacted.  After providing the appropriate documentations and filling out the necessary applications, she was told to wait two week and so she did.

On the day our single mother was about to collect her national insurance benefits, she was told, by one of the clerks; it was not possible because N.I. contributions were not made on her behave by her former employers, which needless to say came as a shock; leaving her in total astonishment and disbelief.      How could something like this happen?... she ask herself. Indeed, how can something like this ever happen to a Bahamian in The Bahamas.

Determined to pull herself up by her own "boot straps" and make a new start to support her family, the mother of three went to work helping her friend - serving tourist in the Straw Market when a text message came across her cell phone.  The message was by the co-worker containing recent information on their former employer which, in closing, read: “by the way, Mr. Schaffer got both his legs cut off…”

Apparently god does have a rather bizarre sense of humor.

UPDATE: A month later, the mother of three was hired as a short-order cook, providing excellent food and customer service to the present date.  Her former employee (the N.I.B contribution thief) is financially struggling and still has much to answer before the court of justice and public opinion.