The Tribune

The deputy prime minister will be the keynote speaker for the seventh Eleuthera Business Outlook conference scheduled for May 17 at Frigate’s Bar & Grill in Rock Sound.

Besides K. Peter Turnquest, the speaker line-up features Adrian Gibson, Long Island MP and executive chairman, Water & Sewerage Corporation; Elliston ‘Tommy’ Thompson, deputy director-general, Ministry of Tourism; Dave Smith, managing director, Bahamas Development Bank; Davinia Blair, executive director, Small Business Development Centre; Thomas A Sands Jr, president, Eleuthera Chamber of Commerce.

Ben Simmons, owner of The Ocean View Club on Harbour Island and The Other Side, a unique Eleuthera property, will also present at the conference. Mr Sands said: “In recent times, in the last 12-18 months, you’ve seen renewed interest in South Eleuthera. There are a number of projects in discussion or pending approvals.

“Some are further along than others, but I think they are strong indicators that South Eleuthera is moving in a positive direction - positive growth, positive opportunities.”

Turning to the largest investment in the pipeline for south Eleuthera, Mr Sands said there was “a sense that the Disney project could have a positive impact on not only livelihoods, but the economy, as well as cement the long-term potential for the island of Eleuthera and south Eleuthera.

“I think, all in all, from the on-the-ground perspective, the majority of the Eleutherans that I have interacted with were in support of it,” he added.

Joan Albury, TCL Group’s president and chief organiser of the seven-island Business Outlook Series, said: “At this promising time, it is essential for Eleutherans and other Bahamians to have the most accurate information and commentary from experts in order to plan the way forward for the island, and for personal involvement and benefit. This is - and always has been - the primary mission of the Business Outlook Series.

“We are grateful to continue to enjoy a highly productive partnership with the Eleuthera Chamber of Commerce, which has allowed us to host Outlooks from Cape Eleuthera in the deep south to Central Eleuthera to Harbour Island in the north.

“We have strategically chosen presenters who represent economic sectors and entities which must play a key role in the quality realisation of the most significant investments that have come to Eleuthera, especially the south, in many a year,” she continued.

“Once again, the Ministry of Finance has graciously agreed to partner with TCL in continuing the highly beneficial ‘Ease of Doing Business Workshop’. We continue to be dedicated to bringing greater awareness to the challenges and opportunities for developing business and, consequently, for contributing to building The Bahamas as a whole with the accent on quality and sustainability.