Since the Prime Minister has promised that his government would ease the restrictions for persons or companies wishing to invest, more partnerships like the one with China should be forthcoming.
The People’s Republic of China gave a $250,000 grant to be used for various technical, agricultural, handicraft and cooperative projects and is the second sum of monies received from the Chinese since the Progressive Liberal Party government was elected to office.
Moreover, Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said The Bahamas is already carrying out some $60 million in trade with China and that does not include what they did with the former government.
He also mentioned that this summer, another ship made in China would be joining The Bahamas shipping registry, in addition to the future implementation of a Resident Ambassador Embassy in Beijing.
The funds that the partnership is bringing to the country demonstrates that moving beyond tourism, will funnel more money into the country, and at the same time disprove individuals who claim that diversification is not necessary.
There are other countries and individuals who will and can invest millions to revitalise the economy. Just weeks ago, San Salvador received a boost in the arm from Club Med reopening and Emerald Bay will add some spark to the Exuma economy.
However, there must be ways to take those investments made in the tourism industry, and create other businesses and fund other sectors.
But as it stands now, The Bahamas’ dependence on tourism keeps the country in a constant state of flux, always at the mercy of how other countries are faring. For example, most visitor arrivals are from the U.S., and whenever that country is going through economic woes, the tourist flow drops.
Moreover, if the U.S. and its allies go to war with Iraq, the flow of people from other countries would drop as people begin to fear venturing far away from home. And because of the power of the tourism industry here, businesses all over suffer.
Yet, there is good news, as according to the government, the financial sector contributes approximately 20 percent to the GDP, with expenditures in the local economy of the banking sector alone approaching $400 million, and with assets under management already reaching $1 trillion.
With such figures, the country must continue to push the financial sector and promote other initiatives as well.
Editorial, The Nassau Guardian
