Bahamas News
Department of Labour ~ National Productivity Legislation Workshop
#Bahamas, September 26, 2017 – Nassau – As the Department of Labour continues to fulfill its’ mission of fostering good industrial relations between employers and employees, while promoting high levels of employment, the Department facilitated a two-day “Productivity Legislation Workshop” from September 20 – 21, 2017. The workshop, sponsored by the International Labour Organization and the National Tripartite Council, brought all social partners to the table to discuss the state of productivity and competitiveness in The Bahamas. Social partners included executives of The Bahamas Department of Labor as well as participants from various trade unions, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce & Employers Confederation, corporations and other local agencies.
On Wednesday, 21st September, at the opening ceremony of the two day workshop, brief remarks were given by representatives from each pillar of the National Tripartite Council including Mr. Bernard Evans, President of the National Congress of Trade Unions Bahamas (NCTUB); Mr. Peter Goudie, Bahamas Chamber of Commerce & Employers Confederation (BCCEC); Mr. Tyrone “Rock” Morris, Secretary General, Commonwealth of The Bahamas Trade Union Congress (CBTUC) and Mr. Kelvin Sergeant, ILO Specialist for Sustainable Enterprise & Job Creation.
Mr. Bernard Evans stated in remarks at the opening that after more than 20 years of advocacy for implementation of the Productivity Council here in The Bahamas, it would provide hope in an effort to save a generation of unskilled, unprepared working Bahamians who are ill-equipped to compete on a level both regionally and internationally. He noted that the main objective of the two day workshop would be to bring together key stakeholders in the various sectors to strategize on productivity improvement and competitiveness with special focus on private sector; to develop a National Action Plan for Productivity Development in The Bahamas.
Mr. Evans stated that the plan should outline the performance priority areas, the key indicators of performance on all islands and also focus on a system for monitoring performance and assignment of responsibilities by all stakeholders. Also, to establish a Bahamian organization of Productivity Agents that will promote the development of productivity and performance-related activities to facilitate regional and international competitiveness and sustainability in production of goods and services within all of our islands. This, he noted, will improve the quality of life for workers and citizens alike. Mr. Evans suggests that legislation is a start and is hopeful that the current Government administration will commit to putting necessary legislation in place to begin the process.
Similarly, Mr. Kelvin Sergeant, ILO Specialist for Sustainable Enterprise & Job Creation is pleased with productivity becoming a critical word in The Bahamas over the past few years. He is encouraged that there are a broad range of voices – from politicians and business groups to economists, academics and unions – who are talking about productivity and what should be done to get performance up to speed. He noted that in order to achieve the acceleration of productive growth in The Bahamas, it requires a country-specific mix of policies aimed at creating an environment conducive to sustainable enterprises, building human capital in basic education including technical and core skills, encouraging the application of decent and productive workplace practices, addressing sector-specific challenges, promoting environmental-friendly technology and ways of doing business.
Mr. Sergeant specifically noted that the focus for the two day workshop would be frank discussions on the importance of productivity performance and what the productivity challenges are in The Bahamas. The interventions needed at all levels of productivity improvement, including the need for legislation to establish a national productivity council is also a paramount focus.
The Minister of Labour, Senator the Hon. Dion A. Foulkes officially opened the workshop by thanking the ILO Team, including Claudia Coenjaerts and Kelvin Sergeant, for their exceptional job in executing the mandate of the ILO in the region. Minister Foulkes stated that the Government of The Bahamas cannot achieve the goal of increasing economic growth through National Productivity by itself, therefore he congratulated the organizers of the workshop and pledged the Government’s full commitment to continue to work with the International Labour Organization, the National Tripartite Council and all of the social partners to fully implement a National Productivity Council. Minister Foulkes declared the historic workshop open and noted that he looked forward to the results of the deliberations over the two days.
The workshop was held at the Department of Labour on Rosetta Street and included discussions and work sessions on The State of Productivity and Competitiveness in The Bahamas, Understanding Productivity and its relation to economic growth and Economic Transformation and Policy Reponses.
Director of Labour, Mr. A. Robert Farquharson advised that he was pleased with the work completed during the workshop and looks forward to presenting the results to the Minister.
Press Release: Department of Labour
Photo captions:
Header: Group of workshop participants representing the Department of Labour, ILO, National Tripartite Council and other social partners.
1st insert: Workshop participants at the National Productivity Legislation Workshop.
2nd insert:Peter Goudie, presenting to the workshop participants.
3rd insert: Workshop Facilitator, Kelvin Sergeant, ILO Specialist for Sustainable Enterprise & Job Creation presenting to the workshop participants.
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.
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