The Tribune

The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) has urged the Government to “redirect its energies” to more pressing issues, now it has resolved the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) deal behind it.

“We trust that the Government will now re-direct its energies to the pressing issues impacting our country like fiscal reform, tax reform, job creation, small and medium-size enterprise development, growing the economy and fighting crime to preserve the quality of life for the Bahamas,” the BCCEC said in a statement yesterday.

The Chamber reiterated its 2012 release on the subject, when the Government made known its desire to renegotiate the BTC agreement.

“We know that the Government would appreciate the importance of maintaining the unshakable confidence of domestic and international investors,” the private sector body said then.

“We urge the Government, therefore, to exercise care in ensuring that its policy endeavours do not have the unintended impact of discouraging future significant foreign and domestic investments in the Bahamian economy.

“Understandably, investors will be less likely to make significant investments in strategic industries under the prospect of a government reacquisition of assets that the investor would have obtained legitimately, contractually and in good faith.”

Concluding its assessment, the BCCEC said: “With the above in mind, we are pleased that the Government and Cable and Wireless have been able to find common ground in an amicable way in reaching an agreement.”