Small business operators and entrepreneurs attending a Bahamas Development Bank town meeting Thursday night on diversifying the Bahamian economy called on the government to level the playing field when it comes to granting concessions and business incentives.
The meeting, held at Worker’s House on Harrold Road, was a part of the bank’s 25th anniversary celebrations, and featured panelists, including Trade and Industry Minister Leslie Miller, Board Chairman K. Neville Adderley, Accountant Milford Lockhart and Bahamas Employer’s Confederation President Brian Nutt.
The small business operators said they require the same level of tax breaks and concessions as those given to foreign investors if their businesses are to have a fair chance of succeeding.
Mr. Nutt agreed.
“One of the challenges that Bahamians face is that when they want to start a business they have to go to several different government agencies to get all their permits, approvals and other documents,” Mr. Nutt said. “If you’re a foreigner you can come in and go to The Bahamas Investment Authority, a one-stop shop. Why can’t Bahamians go to the Bahamas Investment Authority?”
Mr. Nutt also stressed the important role of strategic planning.
He cited a farming project in a Family Island where citrus products were grown. The products, he said, were then bulk packaged and shipped to Florida where they were graded and re-packaged before being exported to The Bahamas.
“That’s ridiculous,” he said. “Why didn’t we strategically plan to make sure that we could grade and package those fruits here ourselves and keep those dollars at home?”
Mr. Lockhart also supported the need for concessions to be granted to local entrepreneurs.
“Every country, except The Bahamas, has incentives for people getting into business, especially in depressed areas,” Mr. Lockhart said. “Where are our incentives? How can the government give foreign people all the incentives in the world to come here to do the same thing that we can do,”
Mr. Lockhart also said the government should re-examine and revise the legislation relating to the establishment of small businesses, community re-investment laws for multi-national corporations operating in The Bahamas and improving access capital markets through public offerings for Bahamian investors.
Trade and Industry Minister Leslie Miller meanwhile said Bahamians must come to appreciate the importance of supporting domestic companies if the level of imports is to be reduced and the economy truly diversified.
Mr. Miller added that the “myth” that Bahamian-produced goods are inferior to foreign products has been a major obstacle for local businesses and must be dispelled.
“The products in this country are as good as the products produced anywhere in the world because the raw materials that are used in Bahamian products come from the highest quality countries in the world,” he said. “The problem is with Bahamians because 90 percent of all Bahamians make it a point to never patronise Bahamian products.”
Mr. Miller also challenged local wholesalers and merchants to lend greater support to local manufacturers.
Bahamas Development Bank Chairman Mr. Adderley said the bank’s purpose has been to encourage Bahamian participation in business, creating jobs and assisting in the diversification of the economy.
Mr. Adderley also said that the bank recently established a “fire brigade” of inspectors to collect the borrowed money left unpaid by investors who defaulted on their loans.
He added that the money that the Bahamas Development Bank lends to prospective entrepreneurs is borrowed from the Caribbean Development Bank and the National Insurance Board and must be re-paid. Collection of the delinquent funds is therefore of the utmost importance, he said.
Deputy Director of Agriculture and Fisheries Simeon Pinder, who was also a panelist, said farmers and small business owners must coordinate their operations if the country is to succeed at import substitution or producing goods of export quality.
Mr. Pinder challenged the entrepreneurs to be actively involved in not only producing their goods, but also in marketing and negotiating better prices for their products.
“It is criminal for a farmer who has invested his time and money and exposed himself to all the risks of producing the crops to be paid $16 for his goods and to see it sold 24 hours later for $64,” he said.
Some business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs attending the town meeting cited several other processes they said are obstacles to diversifying the economy through the development of small businesses.
They pointed out that they would like for Development Bank loan applications to be processed more rapidly. The also called for more pieces of legislation to assist small business owners and greater support for non-traditional business ventures.
By Darrin Culmer, The Bahama Journal
