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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
 Nassau, Bahamas - Remarks by
The following are remarks by Fred Mitchell at Kiwanis Club Worker’s House 27 August 2015:
I am pleased to be here tonight.
In many respects this is carrying on a tradition of long standing.
Long before I was a proper public figure in the sense of an elected or appointed figure, a regular stop on the way to influencing the country was the Kiwanis Club and forums such as this.
I am grateful for the invitation to speak here again this evening and to renew old ties.
Tonight there are a few things which I would like to discuss that have been in the public domain and might be of general interest to you.
The first is the situation at the passport office; the second is the state of our immigration policy.
The passport office has been in the news of late quite a bit. This is largely the only time that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs figures in the imagination of the public. There has been a deluge of applications for passports this year. We think that this is due in large measure to the confluence of the normal summer travel and the fact that there is a mandatory requirement to have machine readable passports by November of this year.
When I last spoke on the matter, I said that there was a backlog of passport applications. There were some 6500 applications waiting to be processed. There has been some movement on seeking to dent that backlog but it has not been significant and the office continues to experience challenges.
I have sought all along to be as frank as I could with the public on this matter. There are resource and process challenges that are to be met. Management issues in the main have to be addressed.
The system that we have for producing the passports is old and outdated and while it still works, there is a need to replace it. Thankfully the government has made that decision. The new vendors Canadian Bank Note are on site and are in the midst of tackling on two fronts.
First they want to see if there are some quick wins that can be put in place to ease the immediate situation. Secondly, there is the long term replacement of the system and processes. That was a fascinating discussion. The problems in the Bahamas are not unique to us. Some other countries in the region have experienced similar issues.
I smiled when I read a letter to the editor in The Tribune that praised the passport delivery system in Britain. The letter writer conveniently forgot that about two or three years ago Britain had a backlog for passports that required a six month wait for passports.
I have asked them to look at ensuring that when someone wants a passport they can expect to get one within twenty four hours. That is my aim. That will be a great day.
I do not want to give the impression that we do have adequate resources to manage our country. I think we do.
However, the more general point I want to make is that the country suffers not just in this area an execution or delivery deficit. We just don’t seem to be able to manage proactively, the processes are too deliberative, and the execution of the public administration leaves much to be desired. I have made the point before to my colleagues if we don’t fix this, we will face major problems going forward.
Let me then renew my pledge to the country to use my best endeavors at least on this matter to improve the delivery of the services of the passport office.
We have also asked Superintendent Clarence Russell to become the Chief Passport Officer. He brings with him some fresh talent and ideas about reorganization and it is our hope that the pubic will see changes shortly, adding to the work of his predecessor Superintendent Franklin Dames..
The second issue I wish to address is the immigration policies of the government.
These were announced almost fifteen months ago and came into force on 1st November.
Most people are complying with the law and the policies. Everyone must have a passport of their nationality if they are not Bahamian. Everyone must have a permit to reside if you are not a Bahamian citizen or some evidence that you have a right to and work here. You must have the passport of your nationality and a permit to reside or a work permit or some other permit to be here.
The Government has passed an amendment to the immigration act to create a Belonger's Permit for that category of person who was born in The Bahamas to non-national parents here lawfully and for the children of those who obtained their citizenship by virtue of Article 3(2) of the constitution.
Recently the Grand Bahama Human Rights Association has been in the press with long statements vilifying me personally and seeking to discredit the polices of the government.
Suffice it to say, their criticisms are of no effect. No action that they have taken has changed the policy one iota or the law. All must conform with the law.
I explained to someone today at a school. The Minister of Education has said that there will be provisional entry into the schools for ninety days to allow people to get their paper work in order.
The question of who enters the schools is the decision of the Minister of Education.
The law is that everyone in The Bahamas who is not a Bahamian must have the passport of their nationality and a permit to reside or a work permit or a Belonger's Permit or Permanent Residence. Applying for citizenship does not protect you from this requirement.
It is being enforced universally.
There is no decision made by any international organization or criticism by any such organization which has had the effect of changing the policy. In fact we have warned the international organizations to take with a grain of salt anything which comes from the Grand Bahama Human Rights Association whose progenitors are simply unbalanced and excessive so as to strain their credibility.
Most people are complying with the law. The enforcement division of Immigration is working well and the number of complaints has been minimal.
Meanwhile the gravy train of illegal migrants continues give protective cover by some of these same organizations who claim that they want to protect migrants. These local organizations have to be careful that they are simply not a cover for illegal operations and are defaming the country’s immigration officers and the people who carry out the policy.
The Grand Bahama Human Rights Association has been so extreme and unbalanced and untruthful in their commentary that they lack credibility in the eyes of the public.
I want to thank the public for their support and I thank you for this opportunity this evening.
I look forward to a dialogue with you.
Thank you very much indeed.
© Copyright 2015 by thebahamasweekly.com
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