The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Prime Minister's decision to permit all New Providence retailers to open on the two Sundays before Christmas was last night hailed as "fantastic news" following the sector's COVID-inflicted beating.

Andrew Wilson, the Quality Business Centre (QBC) and Fashion on Broadway principal, told Tribune Business both his formats will "take advantage" after Dr Hubert Minnis sought to bring some modest holiday cheer to the industry by permitting it to open on both December 13 and December 20.

"That's fantastic. I think it's great news," Mr Wilson replied, when informed by Tribune Business of the Prime Minister's move. "Percentage wise I can't give you a number on the impact but the fact Bahamians are not travelling in droves this Christmas holiday is an added factor.

"The retail sector needs this; it definitely needs it. It has been a substantial beating. The overall situation of the economy has been depressing, it has been depressing, but despite that I'm still inclined to defer to the Government's decisions and I honestly think they've done the best they could with a bad situation.

"In hindsight there are probably things they could have done differently, but when you are facing a once in a lifetime, once in 100 hundred years pandemic, there is little hindsight. We appreciate it and will be open. We will take advantage of that and think it will be a hit actually. I'm sure the staff will appreciate the extra hours as well."

Mr Wilson spoke out after Dr Minnis, in his national address, said last night: "For Sunday, December 13, and Sunday, December 20, retail operators will be able to provide services between the hours of 6am and 9pm. This provision applies for the islands of New Providence and Abaco.

"To be clear, the special provisions for the Christmas season that I have just outlined apply only to islands where the daily 10pm and 5am curfew and certain other public health protection measures are still in place."

The move, which is designed to enable merchants to maximise their sales hours in the run-up to Christmas, will also help with social distancing amid the holiday rush. It signals that the Government, following the decline in COVID-19 case numbers, is anxious to give retailers a chance to make up some of their 2020 losses in a season that can account for up to 40-50 percent of annual sales.

And, in a bid to spread a little bit of seasonal goodwill, the Prime Minister also announced with effect from today the third re-opening of gyms following the outbreak of COVID-19 in mid-March 2020. The move comes just days after one gym owner, Dr Kent Bazard, of Empire Fitness, questioned why the sector remained closed while industries where customers are in even closer proximity have been allowed to open.

He said then that communication between the gym owners and the Competent Authority (Prime Minister’s Office) was abysmal, adding: “It’s just wild situation, and there just doesn’t seem to be any plan. If there is a plan, nobody’s letting us in on it.

“So all this uncertainty is just..... it’s very unsettling. The lack of concern is very unsettling. This is not the way you treat a tax paying business owner. This is not the way you treat a Bahamian tax paying business. There’s just no excuse for it.”

While Mr Bazard and his fellow gym owners will be happier today, Dr Minnis gave no indication as to when entertainment destinations will be allowed to re-open. This includes the likes of Mario's Bowling and Entertainment Centre; the Fusion Superplex and Galleria; and the likes of bars and nightclubs - all of whom have been closed since mid-March.

The Prime Minister, though, reiterated that the pace of The Bahamas' economic rebound and job restoration was directly linked to keeping the number of COVID-19 infections at a manageable level.

"The discipline and collective sacrifices we are seeing from the majority of Bahamians is translating into fewer COVID cases. If we maintain this discipline, and if we are able to avoid future major restrictions, it will bode well for an uplift in our economic conditions," he said.

"Indeed, we have seen that the modest reopening of the economy has already translated into improved revenues for the Treasury in the past month. We have shown that containing the spread of the pandemic lessens the need for the restrictive containment measures that negatively impact economic activity.

"As we enter the holiday season, there is reason for growing optimism that the economic recovery is broadening." The latter was a reference to the imminent re-opening of resorts such as Atlantis, Baha Mar and the British Colonial Hilton, and the return of several thousand previously furloughed hotel workers to work, although no figures were provided for the pick-up in government tax revenues.

The Prime Minister also confirmed that the Government-funded unemployment benefit, which is administered by the National Insurance Board (NIB), will be extended by one month beyond year-end to end-January 2021.

"This extended unemployment benefit programme, which is funded by the Government but administered by NIB, has benefited 36,959 Bahamians whose employment benefits ended after the customary 13 weeks, or who otherwise would not qualify for unemployment," Dr Minnis said.

"The payouts for this programme at the end of November totaled just over $70m. The extension of the programme through the end of January will mean that tens of thousands of Bahamians will continue to get some measure of assistance until they are called back to work.

"Similarly, the Government will extend its food distribution programme for the first quarter of 2021 with an allocation of another $10m to provide food assistance to the most vulnerable in our society. This programme has to date provided assistance to over 100,000 Bahamians."

Elsewhere, Dr Minnis confirmed he will retain the minister of finance post following the resignation of K Peter Turnquest. Senator Kwasi Thompson, formerly minister of state for Grand Bahama, was named minister of state for finance in a move that raised eyebrows since he comes from a legal - not a financial - background.

Nathaniel Beneby, the former Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Bahamas managing director, was named as special advisor in the Prime Minister's Office with responsibility for implementing the Economic Recovery Committee's (ERC) reforms and improvements to the ease of doing business.

Other members of the Prime Minister's "economic team" include ERC co-chairs, Kenwood Kerr and Marlon Johnson; Wendy Craigg, ex-Central Bank governor who is now a Ministry of Finance consultant; former attorney general, John Delaney; Securities Commission chief, Christina Rolle; Bahamas First chief executive, Patrick Ward; and Cable Bahamas president, Franklyn Butler.