The Will Of The Few

• Author: Derence A. Rolle Davis
• Pages: 56-60

Derence Rolle Davis

14. “THE WILL OF THE FEW”

The manner in which we have been bombarded by external economic

forces to put the laws in place may have been the impetus for the ill-fated

decision to rush the legislation that still gives no benefit to Bahamians or for

those who once used The Bahamas as a tax haven. This is proven by the fact that

The Bahamas once rivalled Switzerland in the number of banks and offshore

companies; a status reflected in the appellation “the Switzerland of the

Caribbean”.

Moreover, the departure of the offshore banks since 2002 has been

extraordinary and the numbers continue to decrease and remain depressed. The

demands of the FATF have caused a mass exodus on banks from the country. It

seems as if the gaping wound caused by the rushed slew of Bahamian laws

continues to bleed the economy. The continued regulation of the industry is most

surprising since no Bahamian government has seen the wisdom in ceasing to

yield to the EU demands, which it seems they will continue to make until the

industry is a complete replica of what laws exist in their own countries. As a

result, no European citizen will be allowed to invest outside of the European

community since the world will all have the same policies of taxation and

investigation of income and sourcing.

The Bahamas is allowing the will of the European Union (EU), the

International Monetary Fund (IMF), and other international organisations to be

reflected in the laws that we enacted through our financial industry regulations.

We as a country, if we desired to do so, could not demand the European Union

to do our bidding in their country to prevent our citizens to keep or spend their

money within our markets. Yet every occasion the EU says that we are now

being placed on a list (Blacklist), or otherwise, we cower and go in a mad dash to

change the law to fix what they say is a problem.

The will of the Cabinet affects us all. Some quarters would dare say that it

is the will of the Prime Minister. The government, through the Cabinet,

determines that the laws must be created under the direction of and the

interpretation of the Attorney General as to what may be the need of a particular

Ministry. The Attorney General formulates through his Office, draft legislation

so as to meet the need of that Ministry.

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