The Abaco Contractors Association (ACA) is up in arms over what it calls the rampant exclusion of Bahamians in the construction industry.
With a number of large-scale projects throughout the island, the association estimates that Bahamian contractors are missing out on up to 75 percent of the work available. The situation is so bad, according to the ACA, that many contractors have folded up business and gone back to working on an hourly rate.
Michael Lundy, the executive secretary of the association, felt that the new government is doing a better job of keeping developers on their toes.
But there is still plenty of work to be done to ensure Bahamians are given the right jobs.
"We're missing out on 75 percent of the work. I don't have the exact numbers, but it is definitely more than half going to foreigners. It is a vexing problem," he told Guardian Business.
Lundy, who owns his own contracting firm, said he is one Bahamian that refuses to go back to hourly work.
He expressed hope that the new government will continue to pressure developers to hire Bahamians. Lundy reported that the ACA's president recently met with Philip Brave Davis, the deputy prime minister, to discuss the association's concerns.
One development on the ACA's radar is Baker's Bay, the elite island undergoing up to $1.4 billion in total development over the next few years. Construction is indeed ongoing on this 600-acre site, and it has served as a major driver of employment for Abaco.
That said, Lundy insists that local contractors are not receiving their slice of the pie.
"We spoke with the hierarchy of Baker's Bay, and it was agreed we would build several houses. They never fulfilled that agreement. Some of our people might have been pulled in that are part of our organization," he explained.
Livingston Marshall, vice president of Environment and Community Affairs at Baker's Bay, told Guardian Business during a recent tour of the site that the project intends on engaging local contractors, as it has done in the past.
A number of Bahamian contractors have joined the effort, he noted.
"We have a model we follow, which includes both the quality and the cost," Marshall said.
Geoffrey Jones, the head of sales, told Guardian Business the development plans on opening the door to substantial retail opportunities to service its hundreds of residents. There are 150 members at Baker's Bay now, and up to 400 are expected to come on in the coming years.
All of these retail opportunities would be left to Bahamians.
"There are lots of projects in Abaco," Lundy agreed. "We just want a level playing field so we can feed our families. What people would like to see happen is for the association to be in on the ground floor of any big developments coming in, whether it be government or a foreign project. We would like to have a policy in place whereby a certain percentage of the work is reserved for us."
The secretary of the ACA pointed to the arrangement between the Bahamas Contractors Association and Baha Mar as an excellent example of how to circumscribe participation from Bahamians.
Lundy estimated up to 50 percent of Bahamians in the construction industry are now unemployed, a statistic that can be easily changed if Bahamians are given jobs that they're qualified to perform.
The ACA said it hopes to bring in more trainers to provide further qualifications for its members, "because multinationals beat us because we sometimes don't have the credentials".

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