FACTS ONLY
06-25-08, - 09:14 AM
By IANTHIA SMITH, Guardian Staff Reporter, ianthia@nasguard.com
An international human resource and financial advice watchdog has rated the nation's capital as one of the best cities in the world, as it relates to personal safety.
In its 2008 quality of living survey, Mercer has ranked Nassau, Bahamas at number 51 of 215 countries on its personal safety list. Taking into consideration The Bahamas' relationship with other countries, its internal stability and crime and law enforcement, the company said all three factors have all played a major role in keeping the country in good standing, when compared with the rest of the world. Mercer press officer Stacy Bronstein, commenting from the company's New York office, told The Nassau Guardian the fact that The Bahamas made the list, was no small feat.
"We rank countries based on an index, some of the countries are tied with others at certain positions, but at number 50, The Bahamas has made it into the top numbers."
Mercer is a leading global provider of consulting, outsourcing and investment services, and works with clients to solve their most complex benefit and human capital issues. The firm also designs and assists in the management of health, retirement and other benefits. It is also a leader in benefit outsourcing and trusted source for human resource and related financial advice, products and services. The 2008 survey used data that was largely collected between September and November 2007, and is regularly updated to take an account of changing circumstances. The Mercer database contains more than 350 cities, however, only 215 cities have been considered for the quality of living 2008 ranking. The company's website indicated that large, internationally-recognized corporations use their rankings to determine which countries would be best suited to do business in, to send expatriate workers and to live in.
This year, the country's capital has been rated as number 51 on the prestigious list and ranked highest among the Caribbean countries. The Bahamas followed Adelaide and Brisbane, the Australian cities that were tied at 49th place. Bronstein explained that the survey ranked the cities against New York City, which acts as the base city with an index score of 100. Luxembourg has been ranked the highest country in terms of personal safety, while Baghdad, Iraq holds the lowest spot.
Acting Commissioner of Police Reginald Ferguson said even though violent crimes have ripped through the country recently, he agrees that The Bahamas is a safe place to be.
He said that despite having recorded 33 murders for the year so far, the country has much to be proud about, when compared to other countries in the region. According to him, even though the criminal element in The Bahamas has caused much distress in the country, there is a silver lining around that dark cloud.
"I do consider The Bahamas a safe place," Ferguson said. "If you look at what's happening all around the world, all around us in the Caribbean region, you have some nations who have had 33 murders in one day. If you look at our Caribbean brothers and sisters, some of those countries have like a dozen murders in one weekend. Not that what we have is okay, because I would like to see that we have none at all."
He added he believes Nassau was able to make it high up on the list because, as he claims, much of the violent crimes that have rocked the nation in the past has not had a direct affect on the traveling community. Ferguson said it is a blessing that The Bahamas has not been plagued with kidnappings and terrorist acts, adding that the absence of these situations may have also played a factor. He added that as unfortunate as it is to have Bahamians "killing off each other," these incidents are confined to a certain group of people and don't really affect the country's standing on the international stage.
"That would resonate differently, though, if a tourist had been killed," Ferguson said. "So to a certain extent, it's confined to a certain locale and among certain people, and it's because of what's fueling these homicides, that is, they are domestic and drug related. So you see where the drug culture has permeated and where the domestic situation has deteriorated, these things are happening and it has a different impact in terms of security. So you have to look at what kinds of crimes we are having."
The Mercer survey also ranked The Bahamas, in terms of its overall quality of living, at 111th of the 215 countries surveyed, one notch up from last year's standing at 112. This ranking took into consideration the country's political, social, economic, and socio-cultural environments, health and sanitation, schools and education, public services and transportation, recreation, consumer goods, housing and its natural environment.
An international human resource and financial advice watchdog has rated the nation's capital as one of the best cities in the world, as it relates to personal safety.
In its 2008 quality of living survey, Mercer has ranked Nassau, Bahamas at number 51 of 215 countries on its personal safety list. Taking into consideration The Bahamas' relationship with other countries, its internal stability and crime and law enforcement, the company said all three factors have all played a major role in keeping the country in good standing, when compared with the rest of the world. Mercer press officer Stacy Bronstein, commenting from the company's New York office, told The Nassau Guardian the fact that The Bahamas made the list, was no small feat.
"We rank countries based on an index, some of the countries are tied with others at certain positions, but at number 50, The Bahamas has made it into the top numbers."
Mercer is a leading global provider of consulting, outsourcing and investment services, and works with clients to solve their most complex benefit and human capital issues. The firm also designs and assists in the management of health, retirement and other benefits. It is also a leader in benefit outsourcing and trusted source for human resource and related financial advice, products and services. The 2008 survey used data that was largely collected between September and November 2007, and is regularly updated to take an account of changing circumstances. The Mercer database contains more than 350 cities, however, only 215 cities have been considered for the quality of living 2008 ranking. The company's website indicated that large, internationally-recognized corporations use their rankings to determine which countries would be best suited to do business in, to send expatriate workers and to live in.
This year, the country's capital has been rated as number 51 on the prestigious list and ranked highest among the Caribbean countries. The Bahamas followed Adelaide and Brisbane, the Australian cities that were tied at 49th place. Bronstein explained that the survey ranked the cities against New York City, which acts as the base city with an index score of 100. Luxembourg has been ranked the highest country in terms of personal safety, while Baghdad, Iraq holds the lowest spot.
Acting Commissioner of Police Reginald Ferguson said even though violent crimes have ripped through the country recently, he agrees that The Bahamas is a safe place to be.
He said that despite having recorded 33 murders for the year so far, the country has much to be proud about, when compared to other countries in the region. According to him, even though the criminal element in The Bahamas has caused much distress in the country, there is a silver lining around that dark cloud.
"I do consider The Bahamas a safe place," Ferguson said. "If you look at what's happening all around the world, all around us in the Caribbean region, you have some nations who have had 33 murders in one day. If you look at our Caribbean brothers and sisters, some of those countries have like a dozen murders in one weekend. Not that what we have is okay, because I would like to see that we have none at all."
He added he believes Nassau was able to make it high up on the list because, as he claims, much of the violent crimes that have rocked the nation in the past has not had a direct affect on the traveling community. Ferguson said it is a blessing that The Bahamas has not been plagued with kidnappings and terrorist acts, adding that the absence of these situations may have also played a factor. He added that as unfortunate as it is to have Bahamians "killing off each other," these incidents are confined to a certain group of people and don't really affect the country's standing on the international stage.
"That would resonate differently, though, if a tourist had been killed," Ferguson said. "So to a certain extent, it's confined to a certain locale and among certain people, and it's because of what's fueling these homicides, that is, they are domestic and drug related. So you see where the drug culture has permeated and where the domestic situation has deteriorated, these things are happening and it has a different impact in terms of security. So you have to look at what kinds of crimes we are having."
The Mercer survey also ranked The Bahamas, in terms of its overall quality of living, at 111th of the 215 countries surveyed, one notch up from last year's standing at 112. This ranking took into consideration the country's political, social, economic, and socio-cultural environments, health and sanitation, schools and education, public services and transportation, recreation, consumer goods, housing and its natural environment.