Bahamas News
Ministry of Labour’s Vacancy Notice Services Launched on MyGateway
By: STIRLING STRACHAN
Bahamas Information Services
#NASSAU, The Bahamas, August 21, 2022 – The Ministry of Labour and Immigration in conjunction with the Ministry of Economic Affairs held a press conference to launch the Department of Labour’s Vacancy Notice Services on MyGateway, Wednesday, August 17, 2022 at the Ministry of Labour.
“I am confident that making the Vacancy Notice Application available online is a sign that we have heard our clients
and we are in tune with the vision of the Government of The Bahamas,” said the Hon. Keith Bell, Minister of Labour and Immigration.
“We are not here to simply talk about making a process paperless or extending a service to more islands,” Minister Bell said. “We are here to herald a moment in time where we have made a government service more easily accessible and its process more transparent.
“The new service will enable employers to apply for a Labour Certificate, upload all of the supporting documents to facilitate the application, pay for the service and obtain a certified labour certificate from any place in the world. In addition to significantly reducing the time to process and application, the new system will also allow the staff of the Department of Labour to have digital access to date that will reduce fraud and attempts by unscrupulous persons to have multiple applicants applying for the same job. As this project was completed in conjunction with the staff of the Department of Immigration, the personnel can also authenticate each Labour Certificate that accompanies an application for a work permit,” Minister Bell said.
“The Digital Transformation Unit was created within the Department of Transformation and Digitization in 2019 to focus on the objective of making it easier to do business in The Bahamas. Their work with this Department since November 2021 has been exemplary and made more evident in what we are jointly launching here today. This new digital service signals our collective commitment to build a strong foundation for digital transformation in our nation.
“A great number of employers will reap benefits from taking advantage of this service online, as it saves time and resources, which are both major factors when running a business. It is my hope that they will go on this journey with the Department of Labour and utilize the online option made available. Moving forward, we will continue to work with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and hopefully onboard more of our service offerings for the benefit of clients near and far. The staff here are excited about this roll-out and have been engaged and trained to work efficiently in this new system. That means when you use it to apply, they will use it to better serve you.
“We are in the midst of a digital revolution and we are ready to work with our clients in new, more progressive ways,” said Minister Bell. “We want to ensure that you are always completely satisfied with our service. I remind the nation that the Department of Labour remains motivated to encourage the full utilization of Bahamian labourers wherever necessary and will only grant a Labour Certificate when a qualified an available Bahamian is unable to fill the job vacancy. We live and breathe our theme of: “Securing and Safeguarding Decent Work for All.”
Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Wayde Watson spoke at the press conference on behalf
of Minister of Economic Affairs, Sen. the Hon Michael Halkitis.
Mr. Watson said there is no doubt that Digital transformation will play a key role in fostering the competitiveness of The Bahamas by reducing the costs of conducting business with the government and help to improve the ease of doing business in the country.
The Government Digital Transformation to Strengthen Competitiveness project has achieved numerous groundbreaking accomplishments, implementing a number of ‘firsts’ for The Bahamas.
- Developed the Great Bahama Bank – A platform for digital inter-agency connections that allows users to seamlessly register, complete the verification process, and access government services online.
- Created and launched MyGateway, the buzzword of the day and a part of the reason we are here celebrating with the Department of Labour.
- Formed the country’s first Cyber Incident Response Team (CIRT) to assess cyber threat vulnerabilities.
- Created the first Centralized Collection Center for the collection of government documents.
Mr. Watson said, “We have so much to celebrate as a Government, and coming here today as two Ministries in agreement with the vision for change with the launch of this service, Bahamians everywhere should be proud of the GoB’s digital transformation initiatives, consistent with this administration’s Blue Print for change, Digital 700 Revolution.
“Since its launch in February 2021 MyGateway now boasts of:
- Almost 85,000 registered users, based here in The Bahamas and in over 66 countries around the world.
- We have developed and launched 48 services online for 13 government agencies. Today, The Department of Labour is in that number.
- The portal has received and processed approximately 86,000 requests for various government services.”
(BIS Photos/Ulric Woodside)
NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Bottling Company (CBC), local producers and distributors of Coca-Cola and Dasani products concluded their 10 weeklong Twist To Win campaign with four $5,000 Mall at Marathon shopping sprees.
The campaign which was available throughout the entire Bahamas allowed consumers to enter by purchasing a 20oz bottle with a yellow cap
from the following brands: Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola No Sugar, Sprite, Fanta Orange, or Fanta Grape. Each yellow-cap had a unique alpha numeric code underneath which they submitted to the Twist To Win WhatsApp number.
With each qualifying purchase, participants residing in The Bahamas were entered to win instant prizes and into a grand prize draw to win one of four $5,000 shopping sprees at the Mall at Marathon.
Participants also enjoyed exciting instant prizes such as: Airpods, JBL Speakers, premium Coca-Cola merchandise, $500 Visa gift cards and Amazon, Spotify and Apple Music digital gift cards.
Out of 76,000 plus submissions, Brian Bethel, Ashia Demeritte, Merlin Adams, and Taraceta Neely won the coveted Mall at Marathon shopping sprees at the following select stores, Kelly’s House & Home, The Sports Center, John Bull, Brass & Leather, and BTC.
Leading up to the grand finale shopping spree, Coca-Cola hosted a Trivia Showdown with the eight finalists to determine the four winners. Finalists were tested on their knowledge of World History, Pop Culture, Caribbean Bottling Company and Coca-Cola Facts!
After a few rousing rounds of trivia, the four winners were declared after each winning their spot in the shopping spree by answering their questions correctly and choosing the “Grand Prize” Coca-Cola labeled bottles at random.
The morning of the shopping spree Coca-Cola gave the winners exclusive access to the Mall at Marathon and its participating stores before
their usual operating hours. Grand prize winners were greeted with wide smiles from Coca-Cola brand representatives and morning bites before the big event.
At the start of the thirty-minute clock the grand prize winners along with each of their Coca-Cola shopping assistants ran to the various stores collecting items in their arms and carts.
Merlin Adams, a husband and father of four was proud to have executed his game-plan at the end of the shopping spree. With toys, a new phone and materials for his home from Kelly’s, Adams felt accomplished in what he gathered.
Taraceta Neely, a winner from Eleuthera collected beautiful bags for herself and relatives from Brass and Leather and Brian Bethel bought matching athletic and outdoor wear from The Sports Center for his family.
The final winner Ashia Demeritte bought linens and household items in addition to a new phone from BTC right in time for Christmas.
Caribbean Bottling Company is proud to share the real magic of Coca-Cola with the grand prize winners and the may instant prize winners across the Twist To Win campaign. For more updates on new products, promotions, and events follow www.cbcbahamas.com.
Bahamas News
The Coca-Cola Art Project Astonishes Art Lovers at The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival
NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Bottling Company (CBC), local producers and distributors of Coca-Cola and Dasani products displayed
their astonishing Coca-Cola Art Project (CCAP), during Baha Mar’s five-day Culinary & Arts Festival. Earlier this year, Coca-Cola partnered with The University of The Bahamas’ Visual Art and Design Department for a culturally rich art competition. UB’s art students were challenged to create pieces surrounding the theme, Bahamian music.
As a result, 20 student works of art were made, with four students declared as winners at the CCAP exhibit opening in Baha Mar’s ECCHO: Art Gallery in August. To recreate the culturally stimulating magic felt at the exhibit’s premiere, the CCAP was featured at the FUZE Art Tent during The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival.
Nine incredible pieces of art lined the walls of the Coca-Cola Art Project, four of which included the winning pieces from Jhanaisia Cole,
with ‘Gaulin Bride’; Alyssa Pinder, with ‘Shotgun Wedding’; Nelson Gray, with ‘Untitled’; and Jaela Bowe, with the piece ‘Whims of Obeah, a Folktail’. Additionally, an intimate listening room was built. It displayed students’ artistic processes, UB Visual Art and Design representatives, and a recap of the exhibit opening for audiences.
Art enthusiasts also enjoyed premium limited-edition CCAP keepsakes at the booth. Journals which featured a collage of all 20 student submissions on the front and back cover, postcards with an art piece on the cover along with the student’s name, title, dimension and materials on the back and pens designed with the CCAP’s dynamic logo.
Throughout the art festival diverse groups of people visited the art tent taking in the displays while enjoying the artistic insights from the
listening booth.
Community and culture are always at the forefront of Caribbean Bottling Community, and it was boldly showcased during The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival for the third consecutive year.
For more details on the Coca-Cola Art Project, events and new products visit www.cbcbahamas.com today!
NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Wines & Spirits (CWS), The Bahamas’ premier wines and spirits distributor delighted Jollification
attendees with bubbles from their Bottega and Bouvet Ladubay sparkling wines and Besserat de Bellefon champagne lines.
Located in the Monument Circle on The Retreat grounds, CWS transformed The Retreat Garden into a lush lounge with Besserat, Bouvet and their latest product addition, Bottega, during the two-day affair.
The festivities kicked off Friday during BNT Member’s Night. Guests enjoyed exclusive offerings from CWS’s catalogue, offered exclusively to members. Complimentary mixes or glasses on the rocks included El Tequileno tequila, Hard Truth whiskey, House of Angostura rum, Cross Keys gin, Nemiroff vodka and a slew of wines such as Fonesca Bin, Bottega and Besserat.
Guests also savored the ‘Jolly Paloma’ cocktail, an instant favorite made with El Tequileno tequila, Schweppes Grapefruit and Domaine de Paris rose wine. To end the night, guests were treated to branded limited-edition wine tumblers as keepsakes.
On Saturday and Sunday, Jollification attendees delighted in glasses or bottles of champagne and sparkling brut or rosé wines while taking
in the comfort of the chic lounge. In addition to purchasing bottles for onsite consumption, consumers were also able to purchase bottles as gifts whether for themselves or someone special.
The sophisticated “bubble lounge” lounge was decked with velvet couches, gold rimmed cocktail tables, blue and pink pillows, and a white floral branded backdrop created for capturing the perfect picture.
Caribbean Wines & Spirits, a historic partner of the Bahamas National Trust was pleased to support Jollification 2025 to kick off the festive season and share their expansive range of spirits.
To keep up to date with all CWS products and events, visit their website at www.cwsbahamas.com today.
