In 1999, the population of the Bahamas was estimated to be around 307,451 people. The economy of the Bahamas was largely based on tourism and banking. Its foreign relations were mainly with the United States and other Caribbean countries, with whom it had strong cultural and economic ties. Politically, the Bahamas in 1999 was a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy. The Governor-General represented Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. The Prime Minister was Hubert Ingraham and his Free National Movement (FNM) party held a majority in Parliament. See ethnicityology for Bahamas in the year of 2018.
Bahama is an archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean, E of Florida and Cuba, since 1973 independent state within the Commonwealth (head of state Elizabeth II of England); the capital is on the island New Providence.
Visit Countryaah official website to get information about the capital city of Bahamas. The political climate changed even more strongly in 1984 due to the accusations by the North American broadcaster NBC against Prime Minister Pindling. The prosecutors alleged that he had received bribe in the million class for having agreed that a consignment of drugs could pass through the country. A commission of inquiry confirmed that government officials were involved in drug trafficking but at the same time cleared the prime minister of suspicion.
- Also see Abbreviationfinder.org to see the acronym of BAH which stands for Bahamas and other definitions of this 3-letter abbreviation.
In 1987, the unemployment rate reached 18%; women and adolescents under 25 were the most affected; for the latter the figure was about 35%! This explained why the residents turned strongly against the refugees from Haiti, who in large numbers went ashore on the island and got a work permit from the authorities. After being the government’s loyal backers through the ages, the unions now began to criticize the lack of projects that in the longer term would solve the problems of unemployment.
In 1987, Lynden Pindling achieved his sixth consecutive victory and his Liberal Party captured 31 of Parliament’s 49 seats. Opposition Party The National Freedom Movement, led by Cecil Wallace Whitfield, repeatedly demanded the departure of the Prime Minister, with charges of electoral fraud, corruption and indulgence in drug traffickers.
A significant decline in the number of tourists who were otherwise estimated to be approx. 3 million people annually, in 1991 added to fame as one of the most cocaine-consuming nations in the world and one of the most criminalized. Despite a slowdown in the inflation rate and a smaller surplus on government finances, the protests and demonstrations were not avoided multiplied.
North American government officials accused Pindling of allowing the Bahamas to be used as a transit country for drug dealers. Testimony in connection with the lawsuit against Panama’s former strong man, Manuel Antonio Noriega, indicated that Pindling had received at least $ 5 million in bribes.
In 1992, tourism, which contributed more than 65% of the gross domestic product, fell by approx. 10% compared to 1990, while the banks had lost customers in competition with the Caiman Islands. In addition, the government failed to expand agricultural production, which forced the country to import 80% of its food.
25 years of uninterrupted rule with Pindling found its end in 1992 when Hubert Ingraham, former Pindling’s protégé and leader of the National Freedom Movement, won the parliamentary election with 55% of the votes cast. The new government embarked on combating unemployment through liberalization of foreign investment laws and in turn making the Bahamas an important tourist destination.
Attorney Nigel Bowe, one of the prominent figures of the Pindling period, was jailed in February 1994 in Miami for drug trafficking. The same year, the government appointed a commission to investigate the former prime minister’s affairs. He was charged with misusing funds from the Association of Hotels for his own benefit; Pindling dismissed these charges, citing the banks’ secrecy, which hindered the Commission’s work.
