The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

THE private sector was yesterday urged to watch for business ease improvements "early" in the 2018 first quarter, with the Deputy Prime Minister revealing: "Nothing has been ruled out."

K P Turnquest told Tribune Business that the Bahamas needed the private sector to "kick in" and reverse a recent economic model that has relied heavily on the Government to generate economic growth.

Speaking after the Minnis Cabinet at the weekend discussed 'ease of doing business' improvements focused primarily on Bahamian-owned businesses, Mr Turnquest acknowledged there was no magical solution or 'one-shot silver bullet' to the obstacles impacting commerce in this nation. Declining to go into specifics on what was discussed, the Deputy Prime Minister said: "We've already agreed a few things. We're going through, and have to go through, a series of modernising efficiencies to improve the business environment, and get start-ups and those in existence to grow.

"It's unfortunately not a one-solution kind of situation. We will be rolling out a series of initiatives to, one, address the ease of doing business and the business environment, and second, to provide tangible direct support to those entrepreneurs as we encourage growth and diversification of the economy.

"There's nothing off the drawing board. All options we will look at and consider. We're always looking at potential improvements and issues we can take on to make a difference."

Asked when the Bahamian business community could expect to see the roll-out of these 'ease of doing business' initiatives, Mr Turnquest replied: "I would look to early in the first quarter next year.

"We hope to consult and partner with the private sector, and that we will introduce some meaningful changes and initiatives that will make a difference."

The Deputy Prime Minister told Tribune Business that improving the 'ease of doing business' was "critical" if the Bahamian economy and private sector were generate the GDP growth necessary to slash unemployment and reverse the over-reliance on government and the public sector.

"One of the issues we have as a country is that we have primarily public sector-driven growth, and that can't be the way we address joblessness and the expansion of growth," Mr Turnquest argued.

"We need the private sector to kick-in and grow independently of government. To the extent we can provide the facilitative environment so businesses can trade more with each other, more so than government, we will strengthen the economy and absorb more of the capacity and have the employment funnel turned upside down in the opposite way, with most of the employment being generated by the private sector than the public sector."

One of the major criticisms of the former Christie administration is that it sought to solve the Bahamas' unemployment woes by expanding the civil service and public sector hiring, which resulted in a bloated size of government that became too big for the private sector and its workforce to support through taxes.

"I don't know if that was the intent, but that's what happened," Mr Turnquest said of the previous government.

Meanwhile, Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday came to the defence of his government's Commercial Enterprises Bill, arguing it would provide Bahamians with good-paying jobs that were secure for the long-term.

He added that companies accessing the Bill's 'fast-track' work permit process and other incentives will be required to establish training programmes for Bahamians, and set timelines for when they would replace expatriate workers.

This is not clear in the original Bill, as Dr Minnis sought to address concerns the legislation holds no benefits for Bahamian workers.

"Industries taking advantages of this Bill will be required to establish training programmes for Bahamians, and agree to strict timelines for the upward mobility of Bahamians within the enterprise," the Prime Minister said in a statement.

"Limits will also be placed on Immigration permits, which are issued under the provisions of this Bill. The long-term objective is to ensure that all positions within these companies become available to Bahamians as and when they are trained."

Explaining the Bill's rationale, Dr Minnis said: "We must grow the economy and expand employment opportunities so that our students will find higher paying jobs with long-term job security. It is therefore time for the nay-sayers to stop saying 'no' and start working on behalf of the Bahamian people.

"Creating better paying jobs that provide long-term job security in new industries will motivate our young people to stay at home, which in turn will help our country grow and prosper. I am proud of this Bill and I am happier with the fact that it is going to help grow our economy, expand employment opportunities, and provide Bahamian families with higher paying jobs which will lead to a better quality of life."