The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has announced that Ghana has reached an agreement with the Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas to renew the work permits of Ghanaian nationals employed in the country’s construction and engineering sectors under private business arrangements.
According to the Minister, the agreement was reached following constructive diplomatic engagements between the two governments after The Bahamas began implementing stricter immigration and labour policies aimed at increasing employment opportunities for its citizens.
Mr Ablakwa expressed appreciation to the Bahamian Minister of State for Immigration, Darron S. Pickstock, for what he described as his leadership and willingness to engage Ghana through dialogue, resulting in a mutually beneficial outcome that preserved the longstanding relations between the two countries.
“We have successfully resolved the issue following constructive discussions. I thank the distinguished Minister of State for Immigration in The Bahamas, The Honourable Darron S. Pickstock, MP, for his remarkable leadership,” the Foreign Affairs Minister stated.
The development follows immigration reforms introduced by the Bahamian government to prioritise employment for qualified Bahamian nationals. As part of the measures, authorities announced that work permit renewal applications from expatriates who had continuously received approvals for ten years or more would, in principle, no longer be automatically renewed.
The reforms are intended to address what Bahamian authorities describe as a growing dependence on long-term foreign labour in sectors where suitably qualified local workers may be available. The Bahamian officials had argued that repeated renewals of work permits have, in some instances, limited employment opportunities for Bahamians while creating pathways for foreign workers to eventually qualify for permanent residency and, subsequently, citizenship.
The government had also raised concerns over the implementation of its labour localisation policy, particularly the requirement for employers to train Bahamian understudies alongside foreign employees. According to immigration officials, investigations revealed that in some cases designated understudies were either unaware of their roles or a single Bahamian employee had been assigned to understudy multiple expatriate workers, undermining the policy’s objective of building local capacity.
The reforms further respond to trends within the country’s work permit system. The Bahamian Department of Immigration processes more than 30,000 work permit applications annually and approves roughly 15,000 permits each year. Authorities maintain that the system must better balance the country’s labour needs with the government’s commitment to ensuring that qualified Bahamians are given first consideration for available jobs.
While reaffirming its policy of placing Bahamian workers at the centre of national employment opportunities, the Bahamian government engaged Ghana through diplomatic consultations to address concerns affecting Ghanaian nationals already contributing to the country’s construction and engineering industries.
The agreement reached between Accra and Nassau allows affected Ghanaian workers to continue their employment under agreed conditions, reflecting both countries’ commitment to resolving labour and migration issues through dialogue while preserving their longstanding bilateral relations.
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