The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement leader Michael Pintard and East Grand Bahama MP Kwasi Thompson said a new report shows The Bahamas is struggling to recover economically after Hurricane Dorian and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The fact of the matter is The Bahamas’ economy is growing at a lower rate than is necessary to absorb those persons who are coming out of school and those persons who are being discouraged from applying for jobs. Our real discussion should be, are we growing at a rate required to address the recurrent needs and the emerging needs of this economy.

 We should get out of this business of just focusing on pre-pandemic numbers and what do we need to do to fix the gut of this economy, the structural problems with the economy to grow at a rate that’s going to benefit the majority of Bahamians.

The Bahamas National Statistical Institute’s 2023 quarterly gross domestic product report revealed the economy experienced increased growth compared to 2022, with all but one quarter of 2023 seeing a year-over-year increase.

“The first and last two quarters of 2023 recorded higher levels of Real GDP compared to those same pre–Pandemic quarters in 2019,” the report noted. 

Mr Thompson, the Shadow Minister of Finance, questioned whether the average Bahamian feels the benefits of the GDP growth.

“What I think we have to bear in mind is, numbers are numbers, but what we have to look at is whether the ordinary Bahamian is feeling it, whether the ordinary Bahamian is benefiting from it, and I don’t believe that the ordinary Bahamian is feeling what those numbers are reflecting,” he said.