The immediate practical problems for the economy of The Bahamas lie in ensuring the future of the financial services sector and encouraging additional investments in tourism so as to maintain and enhance the competitiveness of the sector, according to Prime Minister Perry Christie.
Speaking at the opening of the Bahamas Business Outlook Seminar 2003 at the Radisson Cable Beach Resort this morning, Mr. Christie also said that developing other international services and diversifying the economy through the growth of new businesses in new sectors is one of his government’s focuses.
“The major task with the financial services sector is to ensure that the regulatory environment meets the international requirements,” Mr. Christie said.
He said that small countries that fail to meet international standards may find certain sectors of their economies being curtailed or eliminated by the developed world.
Mr. Christie said that his government is deeply cognizant of the issues that present challenges for The Bahamas and is working as rapidly as possible “to ensure that all remaining features of the required regulatory environment are in place,” he said.
With regard to tourism, Mr. Christie pointed out that the immediate future of that industry is contingent upon the occurrence of war in the Middle East and the prevalence of international terrorism.
In the absence of these factors, the Prime Minister said that it is expected that further substantial inflows of productive capital investment into the tourism sector will occur.
Despite the gloomy world economic outlook, Mr. Christie reminded participants at the seminar of the new resort development projects approved by his government recently that are expected to revive the economy through employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for Bahamians, particularly in the Family Islands.
He also said that there were hundreds of millions of investment dollars represented by pending applications before The Bahamas Investment Authority and the National Economic Council.
Mr. Christie said that his government has intensified its attention to these development proposals and will introduce “new administrative measures designed to reduce the time it takes to efficiently process good, solid, credible and legitimate development proposals.”
He admitted that the wheels of government are still moving too slowly and inefficiently in this regard.
“We can ill-afford to frustrate potential investors, particularly at a time like this,” he said.
The increased emphasis that is being placed on the reduction of red tape will help speed up the process, Mr. Christie told participants.
“I am satisfied that the fruits of these initiatives will soon be evident and will meet with universal satisfaction,” he said.
By Julian Reid, The bahama Journal
