Currently, there is a very active debate about the natural resources of The Bahamas. There is a question of whether we are being disenfranchised as a people, both in the past and in the current era. Questions have arisen as to whether we have been hoodwinked or defrauded by foreign entities, who intentionally disguised their transactions to undervalue our resources and then to conceal their scheme, established multi-layered entities that self-traded to avoid paying royalties. I do not know whether this is a factual assessment or not, and I presume that in time the truth will be revealed, but until it is, it does raise eyebrows and cause concern.
To date, there have been conflicting reports about the value of our resources, particularly sand, aragonite and salt. Some reports have placed the value in the billions and other reports have the value at modest; or some would even say minuscule levels.
What is the truth?
Time will tell.
It is certainly incumbent upon the Bahamian people and our leaders to find out the truth – and once the truth is revealed, pursue what is in the best interest of Bahamians.
This is particularly important right now when we consider the current financial hardships we are experiencing and the notion that outside of tourism, there is no abundant valuable resource that could, in the future, sustain us if tourism is challenged by natural disaster, disease or pandemic. If there is an alternative to supplement tourism and it is ours to exploit, we need to know in order to secure our future.
As an outgrowth of the discussion, the idea of a sovereign wealth fund being established has been floated and seems like a very logical path. It has been noted that there are several countries globally that have used this model to empower their people and this is something that must be explored.
Countries like Norway and some Arab middle eastern countries have been posited as existing examples that we can draw from as we consider our future. There has also been recent discussion about the possibility of oil coming into the mix, which gives added weight to this discussion. I am personally skeptical of the oil idea from an environmental perspective – but as we have seen, it is something that has been given the green light by the past two administrations, so it certainly has the possibility of coming into play.
Getting back to the aragonite and sand issue, I understand that in addition to the current information in circulation, a parliamentary select committee has been appointed to explore this and report to the Bahamian people. I, like many other Bahamians, await this report as the implications affect our future viability and prosperity as a people. If what has been posited is true, this could have a life-altering positive effect for all Bahamians. If there were mistakes made in the past, it is now time to correct those mistakes and to take a different position going forward.
We were once a colony of slaves under minority rule, but we are no longer slaves and are very much in charge of our own destiny. We can no longer blame oppressors or colonizers because the ball is squarely in our court and success or failure is in our hands.
God gave man dominion and authority to rule the earth, to develop it, and as stated in Genesis, “To be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth”. In the domain of The Bahamas, we are the rulers, and we can determine to be fruitful or unfruitful. The Bahamas is a pearl and a jewel in the sea, and this jewel was given to us to be faithful over. When you are faithful, Jesus said you will be given more. If you are unfaithful, whatever you have will be taken from you. Let our natural resources be ours and let us be faithful to ensure that it benefits us before anyone else.
• Pastor Dave Burrows is senior pastor at Bahamas Faith Ministries International. Feel free to email comments, whether you agree or disagree, to pastordaveburrows@hotmail.com. I appreciate your input and dialogue. We become better when we discuss, examine and exchange.
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