At a press conference Wednesday hosted by The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and the Tourism Task Force on Trade Liberalization, private sector leaders said there was an urgent need to upgrade general education and training, improve civil service efficiency and streamline the country’s regulatory system.
Over the past year, these private sector groups have analysed The Bahamas’ readiness to deal with the unprecedented economic liberalisation demanded by the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, the World Trade Organization and the Caribbean Single Market and Economy.
Their report said The Bahamas has to attract foreign investment to maintain economic stability and said issues like education and training, public safety and the rule of law, employee productivity, and civil service efficiency were key to whether we sink or swim in the new world economy.
According to Barrie Farrington, chairman of the Tourism Task Force on Trade Liberalization, “unless we seriously address the underlying reasons for our high costs and resolve to correct them, we will increasingly find ourselves outside of the foreign investment loop. Government revenue cannot keep pace with our nation’s demands without a steady infusion of foreign capital.”
He said The Bahamas needs a mix of foreign and domestic investment in order to meet employment and revenue needs.
“The data we’ve compiled clearly shows that notwithstanding the investments in tourism over the pat 10 years and those that have been announced recently, we have actually lost ground to key Caribbean and US competitors.
Their economies are out pacing ours because they are more productive and more cost efficient,” he said. The cost burden to the public and private sectors from the inefficiencies of government corporations and agencies is tremendous, he said, adding that the expedited privatisation of these assets would free public resources and for more productive purposes.
He said by not keeping pace with a rapidly changing world, the entire country has been put at a competitive disadvantage that could have serious economic consequences.
“The depth and breadth of skills is not sufficient to sustain or grow our economy.
We are far too inefficient and unproductive as a people. We must learn from other countries, like Ireland, who have turned their economies around by largely focusing on improving education and investing in training,” Mr. Farrington said.
Newly elected Chamber President Winston Rolle said, “Unless dramatic and sustained efforts are quickly undertaken to address serious deficiencies in our social and economic fabric, our ability to compete in the future will be seriously undermined.”
Without such action, he said, we will not be able to meet future needs for job creation, business development and government revenue.
“Without a road map, it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible to achieve essential national and social objectives.
Whether or not trade liberalisation becomes a reality is not as significant as the reality we now face.
“We have huge economic and social challenges which we must face up to while the they are still manageable or we may very well find ourselves going down a road from which we cannot return,” Mr. Rolle said.
Nearly 100 business leaders from all sectors of the economy helped with the research; and key government officials and international trade experts were also consulted.
By Vanessa C. Rolle, The Nassau Guardian
