I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth." - President John F. Kennedy's address to Congress, May 25th, 1961.

From the dawn of human history, great ideas have shaped our world and our lives. These seminal ideas can be gleaned from the writings of the ancient Greeks, Romans and Orientals, to the authors of the Bible, the Quran and so many others who chronicled the history of philosophy throughout the ages.

Monumental ideas have been transformed into reality. The great inventions of the Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and many others have appreciably altered our daily lives. One of the greatest ideas of the 20th century was articulated by President John F. Kennedy's vision in 1961 of launching a manned rocket into space with the objective of landing men on the moon and safely returning them to earth by the end of that decade. The execution of this big idea has immeasurably changed the lives of billions who call Earth their home.

Therefore, this week we would like to Consider This... what are some of the great ideas that shaped our nation?

A short list
A short list of great ideas that shaped The Bahamas would include the development of our tourism and the financial services industries, national independence, the implementation of a well-considered and radically transformative Bahamianization policy, the establishment of the National Insurance scheme, the development of the Defence Force, the College of The Bahamas, serious consideration of a national youth service and the Law of the Sea agreements.

More recently, the liberalization of the airwaves, tax reform, a deliberate focus on universal health insurance and economic empowerment could also be added to the short list. Of course, there are others.

This week, we will address some of the great ideas that shaped our nation before and during the Pindling era.

Pre-independence developments

Dating back to the early days of the Colony of the Bahama Islands, tourism developed as a seasonal industry, primarily catering to wealthy Americans who travelled to The Bahamas during the winter months, staying in hotels like the Royal Victoria and the British Colonial hotels. Considerable credit for the development of tourism before Majority Rule in 1967 can be attributed to the efforts of "the Bay Street Boys" who governed The Bahamas, first as the white, minority oligarchy and, after 1958, through the United Bahamian Party.

Those businessmen-by-day and parliamentarians-by-night appreciated the economic benefits that would accrue to The Bahamas from the development of this industry in the post-World War II years, when returning American soldiers were beginning to look for places to travel as they began to enjoy their new peace and prosperity.

After Majority Rule was achieved, even greater emphasis was placed on transforming tourism into a year-round industry. The overwhelming success of this plan was demonstrated by the rapid development of major hotels, casinos and the ancillary tourism and entertainment services that have benefitted from tourism's growth.

The development of the tourist industry in The Bahamas differed from the path to development of many Caribbean countries that initially developed as agrarian economies and, only after fully observing the benefits of tourism as a national development tool, shifted their focus to rapidly develop their tourism product.

The Bahamian tourism industry rapidly expanded and today represents approximately 65 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. Tourism remains the primary pillar of our economy and provides an impressive quality of life and standard of living for many Bahamians.

Financial services
The Bahamas deliberately developed as an offshore financial center which, until its blacklisting by the Organization for Economic Development (OECD) at the end of the 20th century, was referred to as a tax haven. The absence of corporate and personal income taxes, inheritance, gift, sales, capital gains and other taxes represented a tremendous attraction for high net worth individuals seeking to avoid the burdensome tax authorities of the developed countries. Today, the financial services sector accounts for approximately 20 to 25 percent of our Gross Domestic Product and has become the second most significant pillar of the Bahamian economy.

National independence
The Bahamas obtained its independence from Great Britain on July 10, 1973. With it came the establishment of indigenous institutions such as the Central Bank, the College of The Bahamas, as well as public corporations that provided important infrastructural amenities such as telecommunications, electricity and water and sewerage.

National independence also empowered The Bahamas to chart its own future and facilitated our entrance into the community of nations. National independence ushered in an independent parliament that enacted local legislation that no longer required approval from Great Britain.

Independence also provided us with our own constitution and other important institutions such as the Office of Governor General, an indigenous public sector and an independent judiciary, although we opted to retain the British Privy Council for the ultimate review of our laws and interpretation of our written constitution.

The Bahamianization policy
With the attainment of national independence, the government quickly established a new and unique policy to ensure that employment opportunities were afforded Bahamians before being given to non-Bahamians: Bahamianization.

This Bahamianization policy encouraged the development of a professional class of Bahamians to replace expatriates who had previously dominated the professions, tourism, and financial services. Today, most professions boast many qualified Bahamians at the executive level and all sectors of our society. Only the tourism industry's boardrooms and executive offices remain as a final challenge for the full realization of this important policy.

National insurance
National independence also facilitated the establishment of the National Insurance Board which oversees insurance coverage for unemployed and disabled persons, as well as retirement benefits for the elderly.

The National Insurance Board has amassed more than $1 billion, the proceeds of which are used not only for the aforementioned benefits, but also as a tool for national development which underwrites the cost for the construction of offices and public health facilities for the government of The Bahamas.

The Royal Bahamas Defence Force
Given The Bahamas' strategic geographic location between the Caribbean and North America, and in light of the country's enormous area that spans more than 100,000 square mile, in a kaleidoscopic archipelago of nearly 30 inhabited islands and hundreds of uninhabited, pristine islands, cays and reefs, the government recognized the urgent need to establish a Defence Force to protect our sovereignty and challengingly porous national boundaries.

The Defence Force is mandated to protect our seas from foreign poachers who illegally fish our waters that teem with an abundant variety of sea life, as well as to interdict illegal immigrants seeking to escape the islands of Cuba and Haiti, often pursuing asylum in the United States, but landing on our shores instead.

The College of The Bahamas
The College of the Bahamas (COB) was established by an Act of Parliament in 1974. The College amalgamated four institutions: The Bahamas Teachers' College, San Salvador Teachers' College, C.R. Walker Technical College and the sixth form program of The Government High School.

After more than 35 years of serving The Bahamas, first as a two-year institution, then as a four-year degree-granting College, COB now offers Bachelors degrees in Business Administration (BBA), Education (BEd), Science (BSc), Nursing (BSN), Science in Electronics Technology (BSET), Law (Ll.B) and the Arts (BA), to mention a few.

Student enrolment includes approximately 5,000 students, and enjoys an alumni base of more than 11,000. Today, many captains of industry and leaders in the professions, religion, government, health care, education, technology and other areas of civil society can boast of owning COB as their alma mater.

In June 1995, legislation was passed that granted COB full autonomy of its affairs and an expanded mandate. It expects to become The University of The Bahamas by the end of this year.

Conclusion
The year after President Kennedy addressed Congress on America's commitment to space, in an speech to Rice University in Houston, the president admonished that: "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win..."

In a similar manner, if we are to formulate and advance the great ideas that we seek to achieve, we must also be bold and dream big dreams. We must always remember that the big ideas that will change our country and shape its future will only be realized if, as a nation, we seriously commit to attaining them.

In our next column, we will continue our review of other big ideas that have changed our nation and helped to create the future.

o Philip C. Galanis is the managing partner of HLB Galanis and Co., Chartered Accountants, Forensic & Litigation Support Services. He served 15 years in parliament. Please send your comments to pgalanis@gmail.com.

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