economic order. we should consider most carefully if we are to take such a risk. with regard to labor issues more generally, our country is clearly faced with a crisis of unreasonableness in the expectations which labor has been made to understand it should have vis - avis what the economy can and should, given competitive realities, afford to labor. this, i think, is one of the largest issues challenging the orderly development of the bahamians economy. the time, i think, has come for tow things in particular to happen : there needs to be careful reflections on the operation of labor unions, to ensue the they do not continue to capriciously hold the economy at ransom ; and, the institutionalization of a meaningful forum for dialogue between labor, industry and government, as employer, needs to be pursued, to a ) develop a better appreciation by labor of its appropriate place in the economy, and b ) provide for a long - term stable framework within which orderly negotiation and determination of labor contracts, and other issues of importance between these groupings, could be pursued. i would argue that the influence of labor leaders - as distinct from the union membership - is currently far in excess of what it should be given what they represent in the entire process. one can wonder whether they have not been allowed to direct the administration of labor far too much in their individual interest. is the bahamas ready for these types of reform? certainly not for the most part. there is a pervasive bahamian desire to resist change and to assume that our country can continue to enjoy the fruits of our traditional good fortune without any particular effort on our part. of course this is a badly mistaken view which in any event does not seem to recognize that we ourselves demand an ever increasing improved standard and quality of life. unless we are willing to embrace these types of reforms in the way we pursue development, the improvements which we have known for three half decades of development will become increasingly difficult to realize. a development vision for the bahamas over the next decade must be based on the principle of openness.

: the need for these is, of course, rooted in the country ’ s decision, almost forty years ago, to adopt its own currency at values which have always been fixed and not permitted to float on the currency markets. had the decision been taken at the beginning or early on to adopt the u. s. dollar ( for example ) as the currency, or to allow the b. dollar to float, exchange controls would not have been necessary. i would argue that we are too far down the path of having pursued the fixed exchange rate arrangement to make a sudden complete reversal. it is therefore, in my view, necessary to pursue the measured liberalization path which has been followed for more than ten years now, the ultimate objective being complete removal of controls in the future. i have said on a number of occasions before, and sincerely believe, that the bahamas will at some point during the next ten or so years decide to become a member of a larger currency arrangement. the main implication of such a step would be the loss of the government ’ s ability to borrow from the central bank. the most important theoretical benefit to the economy of the eventual removal of exchange controls is the removal on restrictions to the movement of capital. i believe that the bahamas would be a considerable beneficiary of such a development when it eventually is possible, but wish to emphasize that it would probably not be possible in the very short term. investments : national security, environmental, and reputational concerns dictate that there should be some level of approval with respect to proposed investments into the economy. however, i am not certain that the strict reservation of certain activities for bahamians can be maintained if our economy is to achieve the level of competitiveness needed in the current and developing environment. the policy requires review in the context of what is happening around us. public utilities : unless we move quickly to commercialize the benefit of the diminishing monopoly, we will completely lose the stock of value developed in the national telephone company over the years. as in the tourism and financial services industries, and numerous others, telecommunications has become one of those industries which is driven by global forces. in the same way that communist china found that they could not control it, and particularly its internet applications, the bahamas needs to embrace international telecommunications industry fully, and allow business and the community generally to realize the tremendous benefits it provides. i realize that there is an understanding of this reality at the policy - making level, but as in other domains