Dear Editor,

I recently became an ambassador in the tourism industry. The experience so far has been breath taking.
I have worked in many fields during the course of my professional career ranging from being a Royal Bahamas Defence Force officer, a senior bank manager and a grocery store manager, just to name a few. I have worn many hats.
I always believed in providing excellent customer service while in these professions, and the tourism industry for me is no different. But for some reason I feel a deeper sense of pride. Everything seems to be so natural. The tourism industry has given me a totally different perspective on life and servitude.
I vividly remember in 1998 when I fell in love with the woman of my dreams. We are now married and have a beautiful teenage daughter. Like most couples, our journey has been a storied one, but we are still together, and she is still the one. I knew even back then that she was the one when we met. I know now that The Bahamas is my new love, and the tourism industry will be one channel that I use to express this passion.
Working directly in the tourism industry for only five weeks has made me think about when I met my first love. Do you know what goose bumps are? They are what I get when I learn something new about The Bahamas.
Do you know what it is to lose sleep at night? This has been happening to me ever since I started the Ministry of Tourism's tour guide course several weeks ago.
Do you know how it feels to wake up on a Sunday morning and browse YouTube to listen to Ronnie Butler's songs, like "Shot Gun Wedding", "Burma Road" and "Bungy on Fire"? Or Kirkland "KB" Bodie's "Coo Coo Soup"? Or Gino D's "Drunk Again"? Or The Brilanders' "Party in the Backyard"? Do you know what it is like to do all of this before getting out of bed?
Do you know the feeling of looking at the same buildings that you once passed every day of your life with a renewed sense of pride, and then searching online and through local sources to become better informed about their history?
Scott Kelly, an American astronaut who spent one year in space said, "The Bahamas is the most beautiful place from space". I believe we are the most beautiful country on earth and we have a storied and rich history that all Bahamians need to explore more.
At 43, I have suddenly acquired an insatiable desire to learn more about my country.
I want to now know the full story, the true story. I want to learn about the grave site that is now covered by the basketball court near Reeves Street in Fox Hill.
I want to learn about the early inhabitants, who, I am told, were in The Bahamas as early as 600 AD. I want to learn more about the Glass Window Bridge in Eleuthera.
I need to visit Cat Island, Mayaguana and Rum Cay.
I will continue to learn more about The Bahamas. I will treat her right and take good care of her, because she is mine. I will not allow anything bad to happen to her, no, not under my watch.
I am in love again, and this time it's with my country, the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

- Dehavilland Moss

Dear Editor,

What is the reason for "know your customer" (KYC) policies?
No, I mean, what is the real reason, as surely it is not for I.D.
Woe is me. These days you cannot use a restroom without three forms of I.D.
Not until you are 18, and obtain (after jumping through many hoops, wasting many hours and spending a lot of money) a passport and a driving license, along with every possible document know, may you open a bank account.
And then you can expect to pay between $5 and $15 to save your money, and then wait in long, slow lines to get your money. And once the account is open, do not attempt to make any changes.
This KYC is out of control and borders on insanity. Only God can help you if you do not travel or drive, and therefore do not have a passport or driver's license.
Why is it that one cannot get a government-issued I.D. that can be used by itself?
Okay, so you had a passport, driver's license and voter's card, but you have stopped travelling, driving and voting, so you only have a N.I.B. card? Sorry, they must all be valid.
Why is a utility bill necessary? Are they going to pay it? Why do they need to know where I live? Are they going to visit me?
And then they want to know why it is that Bahamians do not save more. Come on, after buying food, paying rent, paying the electricity bill, etc., what is left?

- Call me stupid.

Dear Editor

I hope this letter is interpreted in the light it is meant to be - as impetus to move our country toward providing better service for our citizens.
This week I stood in line with others, as we waited at the National Insurance Board (NIB) at Big Pond to pay our NIB fees. Many of us were there during work hours, either taking time from an employer, wasting productivity hours or utilizing our one-hour lunch time. I was in line for 45 minutes.
Big Pond has three wickets at which you can pay. Two of these wickets had people sitting behind the glass, but only one wicket was open to accept payments. I frequently visit NIB at Big Pond, and I've yet to see all three wickets utilized.
Earlier this week I also spent over an hour in a bank. It was the same situation. There was a line to the door and minimal wickets were being manned.
The doctor's office can be just as bad. I understand completely when a doctor has an emergency and appointments get backed up. However, patients can be advised and given the option to wait or postpone the appointment. Instead, we sit in an office for a 9 a.m. appointment and the doctor comes waltzing in at 11:30. I have been to doctors that do respect your time, so I know it can be done.
Police stop cars in the middle of the road, causing a backup of traffic. Jitneys do the same. Regular drivers don't see any problem stopping in the middle of traffic to hail someone. Pull on the side of the road and let traffic flow, please!
The University of The Bahamas has a beautiful campus. However, in the design, they should have considered how students would cross Thompson Boulevard. The crosswalk, as it is now, causes northbound traffic to back up past the Clarence Bain building. On the other side, it backs up along Nassau Street to Base Road.
Time is important and dear to everyone. If we want to improve productivity in this country, we should begin by respecting everyone's time.
Waiting has become too commonplace, and we, as Bahamians, have accepted it for far too long without realizing the impact it has had on our little country. We wait at the bank. We wait at doctors' offices. We wait at government offices. We wait. We grumble amongst ourselves, but still, we wait.
When we get back to work, our supervisors want to know why we've been gone so long. They do not understand when an employee's lunch hour runs into company time. Rightfully so, this is considered stealing time from the employer, and time used for personal business decreases productivity at work.
And so many people use weekends to conduct their business - at the bank, getting medical care, paying bills. Many offices, including banks, are now open on weekends for this same reason. Will government offices have to start doing the same?
This causes a catch 22 situation. Either workers become stressed, trying to fit what should be an hour-long appointment into an hour-long lunch hour - and failing miserably - or they use their "restful" weekend time to fulfill tasks. Either way, when stress is created, productivity reduces.
The decision makers in these offices think they are saving money by manning their wickets with a minimal number of staff, but are they really?
We should all strive to be like one local ferry company - when they say they shove off at 7:30, they shove off at 7:30. You be there, or you be left.

- Greg Lampkin

Dear Editor,

Last week, the nation's second city took center stage on the national dailies, but not in the way that many Grand Bahamians have hoped. The recent media reports surrounding the breakdown of negotiations for the sale of hotels on the Lucayan Strip on Grand Bahama are just the latest in series of unfortunate events for the island and its residents.
The passage of the hurricanes in 2004 and 2005 did irreparable damage to the Grand Bahama economy, sending thousands of Bahamians to the unemployment line when the Royal Oasis resort closed its doors. Since then the island has struggled to regain its footing and its residents, though promised help and hope by successive governments, have for the most part, been left to fend for themselves. Now, under this new administration - five members of which represent Grand Bahama - it appears that history is once again about to repeat itself.
The withdrawal of the Wynn Group from the ongoing talks is telling in many ways and raises some very important questions, including one obvious one: Why would the front runner for the purchase suddenly abandon the negotiations in which it has invested so much time and money into over the past many months?
Equally troubling has been the government's response. When speculation about the viability of the talks broke last week, the Minnis administration, whose entire campaign was run on transparency, missed an opportunity to frankly and honestly address the situation. Instead, it attempted to deflect from the ensuing complications by promising an announcement soon.
These empty, open-ended promises harken back to the previous administration, which while promising help and hope did nothing but ignore Grand Bahama and its residents.
During the last electoral cycle, Grand Bahama showed overwhelming support for the Free National Movement, sending all five of its nominated candidates to Parliament. It is the responsibility of these five individuals to do everything in their power to protect the interests of the men and women who voted for them.
Now, more than ever, Grand Bahamians deserve honest, transparent communication. They deserve a road map detailing the government's plans to rescue GB from the precipice of economic decline. They deserve real help and hope and not just more empty promises.

- Chris Mortimer, DNA deputy leader