The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

There “isn’t much time to celebrate” for the incoming government, the Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive said yesterday, urging it to “hit the ground immediately” with the Bahamas’ fiscal position requiring urgent attention.

  Edison Sumner, while congratulating Dr Hubert Minnis and the Free National Movement (FNM) over their decisive victory at the polls on Wednesday, said there was not much time to savour the victory.

“We are looking forward to the opportunity to work with this new administration to get the ball rolling,” he said.

“We see information coming out of the Central Bank about the real fiscal challenges that the country is facing. There is not much time to celebrate and get a feel for the victory, but they have to hit the ground immediately. The matters of the country are just that urgent.”

Mr Sumner said the Chamber of Commerce expects to continue to work with the Government to ensure the interests of the private sector are accounted for.

He added that the Chamber expects to have discussions with the new administration on issues such as tax reform, trade facilitation, energy reform, the National Investment Policy and the ease of doing business.

“We are the ones who, along with civil society, will have to be there to assist the Government in realising  the various objectives on the national level, and help to ensure that the Government is held accountable for the plans that they put in place,” Mr Sumner said.

“We want to help build a vibrant and sustainable economy, and foster the growth of new businesses in the country, We want to see how we can build up and strengthen the small and medium-sized businesses, who are still the backbone of the economy.

“A lot of them feel as though they have been ignored and not appreciated. The Chamber’s SME division has been quite active providing administrative and technical support.

We will continue to drive the process towards the enactment of the small business legislation, and push for small business development and the advancement of entrepreneurship.”     

Mr Sumner added that the incoming administration will be tasked with finding ways to reduce unemployment and improve the ease of doing business.

“We have to see what we can do to reduce the level of bureaucracy to cause the ease of doing business to improve. We also have to look at the cost of energy, which has always been prohibitively high,” he said.

Mr Sumner added that the Chamber had made recommendations to the previous administration on the issue, and intended to advance them to the incoming government.

Mr Sumner expressed optimism that with several businessmen, some of whom have been affiliated with the Chamber, such as former chairmen Chester Cooper and Dionisio D’Aguilar, elected to Parliament the business community will receive the level of attention it needs.

The Chamber, in a statement, added: “In recent years, the Bahamas has seen the merit and benefits of the collaboration between the private sector and the public sector in matters including, but not limited to, the introduction and implementation of Value-Added Tax (VAT), the increase in minimum wages and the amendments to the employment legislation.

“Many other matters have been addressed in this manner, although not always attracting the same public attention.”