We are told that the Chinese might want to invest as much as $2.1 billion in The Bahamas. Bless the Lord! We are told that they might want to invest this in the areas of agriculture and fishing. Bless the Lord! We are told that they may want to make much of this investment in Andros. Bless the Lord!
Am I out of my mind? Not at all. If all the information I have about a new investment proposal in this country is that it's by the Chinese, exceeds $2 billion, targeting agriculture and fisheries and may take place in Andros, I have nothing about which to be alarmed. Nothing about that limited set of information causes me any concern.
I don't care that the investment is by the Chinese. Investments do not dictate sovereignty or Atlantis would rule in The Bahamas. Investments influence economic, and to some degree, social life, but sovereignty is a question of law, freedom and courage. The Chinese are investors in the United States, Canada, Barbados, Russia, South America, Africa and many other countries. They are global economic players and they are putting their money to use in almost every country around the world.
The recipients of their investments must think that it works for their economies because they are receiving it, and given how powerful some of them are, there is no reason to believe that they are being forced to do so. Perhaps, they are wise enough to know how to butter their bread and not think that they will lose their shirts doing so. Incidentally, these same countries are also investing in China. Eight percent of all Fortune 500 companies have operations in China. Imagine that!
I don't care that the amount of money is $2.1 billion. I wish that it was $4.2 billion. If we can get the Chinese, Germans, Americans, French or Brazilians to put a fraction of that amount in our economy, producing good paying jobs and new business opportunities for Bahamians, God bless them and let them in. This nation needs an economic renaissance of the highest order to stop the impoverishment that is emerging in our state. This will not happen without money, and lots of money.
Money has no race or creed. It is an instrument of economic power and we need more of it. The politics, creed and attitudes of people may make the use of that instrument good or bad, but the instrument is not the problem at all. A hundred dollar bill in your hand can help a needy single mother or hurt a drug-addicted young man.
I don't care that the investment is in agriculture or fisheries. Foreigners investing in agriculture or fisheries in our country does not hurt these sectors or us in and of itself. God knows, both sectors have potential and can only realize that potential through appropriate and substantial investment, no matter who is doing the investing. How they invest, how they are allowed to operate and how effectively we monitor their activities is what matters. I don't have this detail, so for the time being I hold out hope and resist assuming the worse.
I don't care that the investment is in Andros. That sleeping giant can sit at the center of the next 100 years of economic growth and prosperity of our nation, if we find the right investment mix for it. Again, what matters is that the investment is appropriate and substantial for Andros and that the nation regulates it effectively.
So, nothing I know about what is proposed bothers me so far. The fact is, I don't know enough but what I know does seem to have potential. But don't misunderstand me, I do have a concern on this matter. It is deeply troubling that the government, led by Prime Minister Perry Christie, is being so coy with the information regarding this proposal. We need economic growth and we need as much help to encourage it as possible.
The government, led by Christie, has a duty to push for that growth. If it has a proposal that it is deciding or decided it should bring the matter to the public. If the government believes it is acting in the nation's interest it should, no, it must let the country know what it is doing or has done unless there is some risk to national security. Governments make judgements and sometimes those judgements are not popular with their people. That's leadership; you do the best you can and live with the results, no matter how popular.
Hiding stuff is unacceptable. Secret clauses are unacceptable. And pointing to what the former administration did is no defense. If the actions of the former administration become the standard by which the present administration acts, then why the hell was a change necessary?
It is necessary for all politicians in our nation to appreciate that they help neither their cause nor the people's cause by not being transparent. Public business is public. If it has to be conducted in the dark, in whole or in part, it is fishy business; no pun intended. Prime Minister, release all the info about this Chinese proposal. Give your rationale for considering it and/or approving it.
Take courage and do what you believe is best. Clearly you cannot be afraid because you legalized numbers against the wishes of the majority of people who voted in the gambling referendum and you passed VAT notwithstanding most Bahamians did not want it. The posture you are adopting on this issue does not bode well for you, your team or governance in this nation.
Do better please, for the good of the nation. I can tell you, knowing how dire our need for economic growth is, I want the details to see if it makes sense for the nation. No hysteria here. I will leave the politics to the politicians.
o Zhivargo Laing is a Bahamian economic consultant and former Cabinet minister who represented the Marco City constituency in the House of Assembly.
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