GUEST COMMENTARY: BY IVOINE W. INGRAHAM JP
BAHAMAS CHRONICLE EDITOR’S NOTE: I saw this brilliantly written letter by Ivoine W. Ingraham JP that was published in The Nassau Guardian on Tuesday, June 18, 2024, that I absolutely had to share as a Guest Commentary with readers of my Wahington, D.C. – based online publication, BAHAMAS CHRONICLE, which has a huge following among the Bahamian diaspora across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom as well as in The Bahamas and the wider Caribbean.
NASSAU, Bahamas – The uproar about Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis traveling is nothing more than an annoying, politically immature pessimist who would rather remain in the Dark Ages than move The Bahamas out of the third-world mentality and behavior. Unfortunately, the gullible who do not read believe the worthless rhetoric they hear and quickly share foolishness.
Davis’ staying home cannot yield good fruit, worrying about nagging naysayers. So it is prudent to ignore the talk completely, go to the sources, wherever they are, and search for a better way for The Bahamas. Lord knows we need to change the status quo.
From the beginning of the Davis government, he has decided to seek a firm footing and create relationships that will be meaningful to the Bahamian people. He decided to “change the status quo”; thankfully, that is what he is doing. So he packed his bags and set on a course to meet with and discuss how he could network to make The Bahamas a better place than he had found it.
Davis, unquestionably a man of enormous wisdom, frequented countries that the West shunned and discouraged, carefully using planned rhetoric and propaganda to discourage association. His very calculated travel compiled information that would contribute to making The Bahamas better and beneficial to all at the end of the day.
So, his visits took him to several African countries, among others, with the expertise, money, and genuine willingness to help The Bahamas rather than exploit us. We’ve tolerated the carefully orchestrated financial suffocation that stifled and retarded our growth individually and as a nation long enough.
For the record, Africa has been superior in many aspects of human existence, but the stories were intentionally skewed or hidden. Therefore, we on this side of Jordan are naive about her power. She is rich in history, minerals, brain power, advanced in science, and, most of all, pride. We would be wise to embrace our heritage and support those we know will support us in the end.
The monopoly of the Canadian, American and European Bank banking systems has fleeced Bahamians. They suffocated us with a system designed to enslave us in many cases for all of our lives, consumer lending only, but have no appetite for nation-building through entrepreneurship.
The banks had the blessings and permission to strangle the people with interest rates, raising them at any time they wished without any resistance, worry or repercussion from the authorities. The necessary regulatory framework to prevent them from increasing interest rates still needs to be implemented or enforced if it is.
But what Bahamians needed to learn was that influential oligarchs were on the boards, directing who got what. They determined which businesses survived and which were discouraged. Home and car loans are quickly approved, but new small business loans are reluctant to be facilitated.
These practices controlled the country’s finances and, thus, its direction. We were kept in the third world simply because it was feasible. These policies turned us into beggars.
Now, Davis is “changing the status quo.”
The financing will not come from the banks already having a stake but from a new relationship with Afrieximbank, embraced by The Bahamas and the Caribbean.
The game is about to change. It cannot be business as usual, and the money can only stay in the same pockets for a while because Afreimbank brings the much-needed relief.
It is high time for Bahamians to realize their true potential. It’s time to level the playing field. No more boards not sensitive to our needs or not interested in real progress.
I applaud Mr. Davis for creating opportunities for people to thrive. The economy is opening more comprehensively than it has ever been.
If I could offer some unsolicited advice, it would be for the prime minister to abandon “business as usual”, break monopolies and continue on the new path to changing the status quo. We must move above and beyond the third-world mentality and expectations. We are better than that, believing deep in our bones and gathering the will to embrace our new possibilities boldly.
The presence of the Afrieximbank in The Bahamas is a paradigm shift. We now have a stronger sense of self; this new phenomenon unashamedly lifts our spirits.
Our hearts are in the right place, connected to our origin, the land of our heritage. There is no way to explain how powerful the presence of representatives of the motherland is.
The Bahamian people will now experience “creating a new Middle Passage” and, for the first time, we will be “owning our destiny”.
Those unafraid to be honest must applaud Philip E. Brave Davis for being unwavering in his quest to make a positive difference, ignoring what those whose greed drives them say or do.
The prime minister’s travels were worth every penny, and he should continue to embrace new and innovative ideas that will help us feel better about ourselves. This will undoubtedly usher in a new, much-needed sense of pride.
Awake, Bahamas awake!
“You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas” — Shirley Chisholm.
BAHAMAS CHRONICLE EDITOR’S NOTE: Ivoine W. Ingraham JP was a trainee at The Bahamin Times in the 1960s when I worked at that newspaper. Obviously, like myself, he must have developed his writing skills as a protégé of Sir Arthur A. Foulkes, who was one of the founders of Bahamian Times and was its editor.
