Bahamas Consul General in New York, Leroy Major, has been in the position for six months. Though that may be his official title, there are ten states within his purview including New Jersey, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. He spoke to ZNS News about his duties and progress in the post. Mr. Major said, “our responsibility is to assist Bahamians in those ten states in whatever need they may have in terms of renewal of passports, visas and if there are persons who are in a situation and need assistance then the consulate of The Bahamas would render assistance to them, if they find themselves in need. We also work with the persons who are incarcerated in those ten states. We have Bahamians who find themselves in problems and if they’re incarcerated in any of those ten states, its the Consul General’s responsibility to make sure that they’re treated well.”
In additional to his routine duties, Major aims to build relationships with the Bahamian diaspora in the states that he serves. On this he said, “one of the things I realize quite early, you know, is that the Bahamas government can only do so much with the budget that they have to work with on an annual basis or for a term they would serve. And I think the Consul General in the various states have a wonderful opportunity to build relationship with partners in the private sector where we can assist in securing or soliciting, whether it be, business ideas or opportunities for Bahamians in these ten states that would manifest itself down in The Bahamas to assist in carrying that load.”
