By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 26, 2021 — The Bahamas has been without an U.S. Ambassador since California businesswoman Nicole Avant, who was appointed by President Barack Obama, served in that capacity from October 22, 2009 to November 21, 2011.
Since Ambassador Avant’s tenure ended, however, the United States unquestionably has had excellent diplomatic leadership in the country that is its closest Caribbean neighbour. Indeed, after Avant, the top U.S. diplomats in The Bahamas have been John W. Dinkelman, Chargé d’Affaires, November 2011 to July 2014; Lisa A. Johnson, Chargé d’Affaires, July 9, 2014 to November 9, 2017; and Stephanie Bowers, Chargé d’Affaires from March 1, 2018 to 2020, all of whom were highly regarded by Bahamians generally.
The tradition of excellence as the top U.S. envoy in The Bahamas has been seamlessly continued by the current Chargé d’Affaires Usha E. Pitts since she officially assumed office on New Year’s Day, 2021, under the new administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Ms. Pitts first met with Bahamas Prime Minister Dr. Hubert A. Minnis at the Cabinet Office in downtown Nassau on February 4, and according to a press release at the time they discussed the many important areas of cooperation between the United States and The Bahamas, including cooperation on disaster preparedness and COVID-19 response, collaboration on issues of regional importance, and partnership towards combatting climate change under the new administration of President Biden.
Earlier during that week, she met with Minister of Foreign Affairs Darren Henfield and subsequently made courtesy calls on various Cabinet Ministers and other top government officials.
At the community level, she has been ubiquitous in attending functions that require the presence of a U.S. envoy, as was the case today (April 26) when she joined Prime Minister Minnis and Ministry of Health officials at Odyssey Aviation to send off the first aircraft deployed to the Bahamas Family Islands for the full roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccine on the Family Islands.
On its Facebook page, the U.S. Embassy Nassau noted: “This morning at about 8:00am a Rhode Island National Guard C-12 aircraft left Nassau heading to Mayaguana, carrying COVID-19 vaccine doses and Bahamian medical personnel and volunteers. Today is the first day of a five-day joint mission to distribute COVID-19 vaccines to eight Family Islands. It’s another example of the power of the close partnership between the United States and The Bahamas.
“The U.S. Embassy, the National COVID-19 Vaccination Consultative Committee, The Bahamas Ministry of Health, the Rhode Island National Guard, and other partners on the ground came together to develop and execute this joint mission, helping Bahamians in remote areas throughout the archipelago get vaccinated. Stay tuned for more photos and details in the coming days.”
Several days earlier, on Thursday, April 22, Charge d’Affaires Pitts joined Minister of Education Jeffrey Lloyd at Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) in Nassau to receive 119 donated computers made possible through the support of several high schools in Virginia, thanks to an initiative by Jay Lightfoot from Northumberland High School (NHS).
The post of U.S. Ambassador to The Bahamas has long been one of the most-sought-after diplomatic positions by high-level supporters of an incoming administration, but there are sundry reasons why The Bahamas has not had a U.S. Ambassador since Nicole Avant in 2011.
Cassandra Butts, who was nominated by President Barack Obama in 2014, died in May of 2016 while awaiting US Senate confirmation, and several big contributors to former President Donald Trump’s campaign were reportedly being considered for the position. Indeed, on May 18, 2020, The Tribune, one of The Bahamas’ leading newspapers, reported that President Trump had announced his intention to nominate entrepreneur and philanthropist William A Douglass of Florida, but that did not materialize before President Trump’s defeat in the November 2020 general election.
Whether or not the Biden administration has on its agenda the appointment of an Ambassador to The Bahamas is uncertain, but the fact Chargé d’Affaires Pitts, a highly qualified career diplomat, is doing such an outstanding job mitigates against the appointment of a Ambassador to The Bahamas being a top priority.
To be sure, Ms. Pitts is indeed highly qualified. She has served at diplomatic posts in Russia, Cuba, Italy, Austria, Panama, and Brazil. She has also served in Washington, D.C. and New York City.
“As the Diplomat in Residence for New York City, Ms. Pitts traveled a region of 45 million Americans, recruiting aspiring diplomats and promoting public service,” the U.S. Embassy in Nassau noted on its website. “During her most recent tour abroad, Ms. Pitts led the U.S. Consulate General in Recife, a seaside city in Brazil’s growing Northeast region. Ms. Pitts also worked in Rome and Vienna as a U.S. liaison to international organizations dealing with food security and atomic energy.”
The website adds, “During her tour in Washington, Ms. Pitts supervised a team in the State Department’s Operations Center, a 24-hour crisis management and communications center. Earlier in her career, Ms. Pitts worked in Havana, where she tracked the Cuban economy. She began her career at U.S. Embassies in Moscow and Panama City.
“Ms. Pitts was born and raised in Massachusetts, the daughter of an interracial marriage. She traveled to India at age 11, an experience that led to a lifetime of travel and an eventual career in the Foreign Service. She speaks Chinese, Russian, German, Spanish, and Portuguese. She holds degrees from the University of Massachusetts, the George Washington University, and the Naval War College. She and her husband are raising two teenagers and looking forward to learning about The Bahamas and other island nations in the English-speaking Caribbean.”
It such a pity, actually a disgrace, that the current powers-that-be in the government of The Bahamas do not recognize or appreciate the importance of “spreading the word” about the diplomatic accomplishments of The Bahamas, especially in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, where just about every country in the world has an embassy.
That was an essential part of my job when I was Press, Cultural Affairs and Information Manager at the Embassy of The Bahamas for four-plus years before the change of government in May of 2017. When my diplomatic status was revoked, I decided to remain in D.C. and established THE BROWN AGENCY LLC, a public relations company that publishes the online publication BAHAMAS CHRONICLE, which was launched to keep Bahamians and nationals from other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries in the diaspora up-to-date on news from their respective countries.
BAHAMAS CHRONICLE has attracted a huge following in The Bahamas, especially in Grand Bahama, as well as among Bahamians and other CARICOM nationals in the diaspora across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
I certainly hope that current Bahamas Minister of Foreign Affairs Darren Henfield sees the good sense in abandoning his Rip Van Winkle-approach to diplomacy and implement the proposal I submitted almost three years ago to continue what I did at the Embassy on a contractual basis that I was told by Ambassador Sidney Collie – and subsequently confirmed by Attorney General Carl Bethel – had been approved.
Given my current dire financial situation and imminent eviction from my apartment as a result of a ruling by the D.C Superior Court Landlord/Tenant Court on Wednesday, March 17, in favour of my landlord because of back rent that I owe, I am again appealing to Minister Henfield to resolve the issues surrounding his Ministry’s refusal to implement my approved contractual agreement.
