Bahamas News
Parliamentarians sensitized on legislative frameworks for empowerment of women and girls
By: Matt Maura
Bahamas Information Services
#TheBahamas, June 4, 2022 – Parliamentarians from across the political landscape, including both Upper and Lower Houses, participated in a one-day training session on legislative reform for The Bahamas, hosted by the Department of Gender and Family Affairs, Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development, in collaboration with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).
Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development, the Hon. Lisa T. Rahming, said the Session targeted the country’s Parliamentarians in recognition of the importance of legislative reform — including legislative frameworks — for the empowerment of women and girls. The Session was conducted by Ms. Tonni Brodber, Representative, UN Women Multi-Country Office-Caribbean.
“UN Women is an international partner that has, over the years, supported the work programme of the Department of Gender and Family Affairs as well as other agencies, and has supported the country in a number of initiatives in an effort to formulate strategies to address gender-based violence in The Bahamas for many years, and we are grateful.” State-Minister Rahming said.
“Ms. Brodber has provided technical assistance to countries in the region on gender equality and women empowerment matters and possesses a wealth of experience in human rights and development issues. My colleagues came out in record numbers, they were engaged, they asked many questions, and I am sure that they got a lot out of it. They got to see what we are faced with in the Ministry of Social Services an Urban Development as it relates to laws pertaining to children, boys, women and girls, and so now when we bring them (draft legislation) before the table, they will be even more in tune with those laws and how they affect the wider society.”
The Session covered a wide-range of topics including Mainstreaming Gender Equality across the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment across the SDGs, a focus on the Spotlight Initiative, CEDAW, the Declaration on Human Rights, Convention of Belem Do Para, Better Policies for Gender-based Violence Legislation, Equality vs. Equity, Gender-responsive budgeting, and Understanding Gender and Gender equality, among many others.
Ms. Brodber said there were three key take-a-ways from the Session, held at the Paul H. Farquharson Centre.
“The first take-a-way is understanding that gender equality is good for men and that it’s good for women and that it is something that will support our economies and assist with citizen security. The second is that legislation that does not reflect gender equality is not good for The Bahamas, it is not good for the Caribbean, it is not good for the world and in terms of low-hanging fruit, like legislation around sexual assault, it is something that can be addressed and should be addressed. There is better practice across the region and The Bahamas is a leader in so many things. It should not be falling behind on that. And the third thing is women and men, working collaboratively in Parliament for the people of The Bahamas, is the only way in which you will be able to really recover from COVID-19.”
Ms. Brodber said local, regional and global societies benefit even more when there is equity and equality between sexes — men and women, boys and girls.
“Something as simple as thinking about the kind of time that it takes to take care of elderly people, children, persons living with disabilities, if that falls only on women, then it means that they are not able to fully engage in other forms of work in society. That means the government is not able to benefit from their work. That means communities are not also able to benefit from their work. It is an honour to be able to care for your family and that is an honour that men should be able to participate in as well.
“Another issue is around violence. If you think women should only be one way and men should only be one way, you may find yourselves in more fights as young men with other young men and demanding certain things from women because you think they should give it to you because you are a man and they are a woman. That is not healthy for peaceful relations.”
Ms. Brodber applauded the Parliamentarians for their participation.
“I was really excited and impressed by the Parliamentarians in The Bahamas. They are dedicated to the people of The Bahamas, they are dedicated to making sure that they represent their constituencies effectively and they are open to learning anything and more of things, but they are grounded in their determination to serve their people in the best way they believe. And that is impressive.”
Attorney-General, Senator, the Hon. Ryan Pinder, was among the Parliamentarians who participated in the Session
“Personally, I am an advocate certainly for equal rights amongst men and women in all regards and protecting the most vulnerable as well and so I support the legislative amendments that we discussed in the Session. We are working very closely with Social Services to put forward the necessary amendments on the matters discussed. All in all you have to look at it as a full picture, providing the necessary protections for the most vulnerable and maintaining equality amongst your people,” the Attorney-General said.
Photo Caption: Ms. Tonni Brodber, Representative, UN Women Multi-Country Office-Caribbean, pictured centre left, addresses Parliamentarians during Monday’s Session at the Paul H. Farquharson Centre. Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development, the Hon. Lisa T. Rahming, is at centre, right. The event was a collaboration between the Department of Gender and Family Affairs, Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development and UN Women.
(BIS Photos/Mark Ford)
PM: Project delivers on promise and invests in youth, sports and national development
GRAND BAHAMA, The Bahamas — Calling it the fulfillment of a major commitment to the island, Prime Minister Philip Davis led the official groundbreaking for the Grand Bahama Aquatic Centre, a facility the government says will transform sports development and create new opportunities for young athletes.
Speaking at the Grand Bahama Sports Complex on February 12, the Prime Minister said the project represents more than bricks and mortar
— it is an investment in people, national pride and long-term economic activity. The planned complex will feature a modern 50-metre competition pool, designed to meet international standards for training and regional and global swim meets. Davis said the facility will give Bahamian swimmers a home capable of producing world-class performance while also providing a space for community recreation, learn-to-swim programmes and water safety training.
He noted that Grand Bahama has long produced outstanding athletes despite limited infrastructure and said the new centre is intended to correct that imbalance, positioning the island as a hub for aquatic sports and sports tourism.
The Prime Minister also linked the development to the broader national recovery and revitalisation of Grand Bahama, describing the project as part of a strategy to expand opportunities for young people, create jobs during construction and stimulate activity for small businesses once operational.
The Aquatic Centre, he said, stands as proof that promises made to Grand Bahama are being delivered.
The project is expected to support athlete development, attract competitions, and provide a safe, modern environment for residents to access swimming and water-based programmes for generations to come.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
The Bahamas, February 15, 2026 – For the better part of three years, Bahamians have been told that major Afreximbank financing would help transform access to capital, rebuild infrastructure and unlock economic growth across the islands. The headline figures are large. The signing ceremonies are high profile. The language is ambitious. What remains far harder to see is the measurable impact in the daily lives of the people those announcements are meant to serve.
The Government’s push to secure up to $100 million from Afreximbank for roughly 200 miles of Family Island roads dates back to 2025. In
its February 11 disclosure, the bank outlined a receivables-discounting facility — a structure that allows a contractor to be paid early once work is completed, certified and invoiced, with the Government settling the bill later. It is not cash placed into the economy upfront. It does not, by itself, build a single mile of road. Every dollar depends on work first being delivered and approved.
The wider framework has been described as support for “climate-resilient and trade-enhancing infrastructure,” a phrase that, in practical terms, should mean projects that lower the cost of doing business, move people and goods faster, and keep the economy functioning. But for communities, that promise becomes real only when the projects are named, the standards are defined and a clear timeline is given for when work will begin — and when it will be finished.
Bahamians have seen this moment before.
In 2023, a $30 million Afreximbank facility for the Bahamas Development Bank was hailed as a breakthrough that would expand access to financing for local enterprise. It worked in one immediate and measurable way: it encouraged businesses to apply. Established, revenue-generating Bahamian companies responded to the call, prepared plans, and entered a process they believed had been capitalised to support growth. The unanswered question is how much of that capital has reached the private sector in a form that allowed those businesses to expand, hire and generate new economic activity.
Because development is not measured in the size of announcements.
It is measured in loans disbursed, projects completed and businesses expanded.
The pattern is becoming difficult to ignore. In June 2024, when Afreximbank held its inaugural Caribbean Annual Meetings in Nassau,
Grand Bahama was presented as the future home of an Afro-Caribbean marketplace said to carry tens of millions of dollars in investment. What was confirmed at that stage was a $1.86 million project-preparation facility — funding for studies and planning to make the development bankable, not construction financing. The larger build-out remains dependent on additional approvals, land acquisition and further capital.
This distinction — between financing announced and financing that produces visible, measurable outcomes — is now at the centre of the national conversation.
Because while the numbers grow larger on paper, entrepreneurs still describe access to capital as out of reach, and communities across the Family Islands are still waiting to see where the work will start.
And in an economy where stalled growth translates into lost opportunity, rising frustration and real social consequences, the gap between promise and delivery is no longer a communications issue.
It is an inability to convert announcements into outcomes.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
A hardline strategy that reduced murders, gunfire, and collateral deaths
The Bahamas, February 8, 2026 – What happens when police stop routinely granting bail to high-risk suspects and aggressively execute outstanding warrants? In The Bahamas, the answer in 2025 was fewer murders, fewer gunshots, and safer communities.
The Royal Bahamas Police Force arrested 4,337 individuals on outstanding warrants last year, ensuring suspects were brought directly before the courts instead of being released back onto the streets. At the same time, police significantly curtailed the use of police bail for high-risk and repeat offenders, particularly those already entangled in violent disputes.
Police Commissioner Shanta Knowles said the shift was informed by hard lessons from previous years. Intelligence reviews showed that
many homicide victims were not random targets, but men already wanted by law enforcement and — critically — by other criminals. When released on bail, those individuals often became targets themselves, triggering retaliatory shootings that spilled into neighbourhoods, roadways and public spaces.
By keeping high-risk suspects in custody pending court appearances, police say they disrupted that cycle — removing both potential offenders and potential victims from the streets.
The impact was stark. Murders declined by 31 percent in 2025, falling from 120 in 2024 to 83, the largest percentage decrease in homicides since national tracking began in 1963 and the lowest murder count in nearly two decades.
Police leaders say the strategy also reduced the collateral damage that had increasingly alarmed communities. Innocent residents had been caught in “sprays of gunfire” as targeted attacks unfolded in residential areas, at traffic stops, and in public settings.
Gun-violence indicators reflected the change. Gunshot reports fell by 35 percent, while incidents detected by ShotSpotter technology declined by 29 percent, confirming that fewer shots were being fired across the country.
“Gunshots ringing out and cutting through our peaceful paradise were down remarkably,” Commissioner Knowles said, attributing the improvement to decisive enforcement, tighter bail practices, and sustained pressure on offenders.
Police also intensified enforcement against breach of bail conditions, charging and detaining more suspects than in any previous reporting period. Officers say the approach removed the opportunity for repeat offending while matters were before the courts.
Police leadership said the results go beyond statistics. By limiting bail for high-risk suspects and executing warrants at scale, the strategy saved lives, protected bystanders, and restored confidence in public safety.
In 2025, fewer people were hunted, fewer bullets were fired, and fewer families were left grieving — a shift police say was no accident, but the result of deliberate, hardline choices.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
