The government hires consultants to provide technical analysis on complex issues in order to facilitate policy decisions. Often, as in the case of the gambling referendum, these consultants are foreign. When the prime minister disclosed that Dixon, Wilson, & Co. never visited a web shop, he highlighted a limitation of foreign entities – that is, their trouble adequately capturing and understanding Bahamian culture. This is an inability that limits the expertise of foreign consultants when analyzing our country.
Bahamian input is crucial to any analysis and assessment of anything about The Bahamas. Just as models are only as good as the data, the model analysis must be placed in the appropriate cultural context.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Perry Christie said: “… his team [the British consultants] has not had the opportunity to go in to the web shops to analyze their operations, to determine the accuracy of what they’ve reported to the Ministry of Finance to see in detail the implementation of the games they play.”
Such immense reliance on the advisory services of British consultants without taking into consideration any of the local knowledge that is abundant on this local issue, and without an intimate view of what type of local gaming is currently in practice, was a serious shortcoming in any advice the British consultant reported that was used to support the government’s decision on the gambling referendum.
Given the relatively small population size of The Bahamas, it is expected that the government will require and have to contract foreign consultants from time to time. We simply do not have a population that can support expert review in all subject areas. But as more and more Bahamians attain higher education, the case for outside consulting will not be so straightforward. And it will probably be wise going forward that if foreign consultants are necessary on an issue where specific local expertise is scarce, those consultants should be paired with Bahamians who have knowledge as related as possible to the area of inquiry in order to contextualize the foreign advice with local realities.
An interesting contradiction exists in respect of immigration issues and work permits taken and applied for by Bahamian companies. Generally speaking Bahamian companies are frowned upon when they look to hire “foreigners” when it is claimed that a Bahamian can do the job. Our government should adhere to the same standards it holds local businesses accountable to. Right now, our government is hypocritical. It loves to hire foreigners when it needs help, but local businesses are blocked and discouraged from doing the same by that same government.
Editorial from The Nassau Guardian
