The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Bahamians were last night told they must shed “the culture of non-compliance” as “the best way” to minimise COVID-19’s projected $1bn blow to the national economy.

Jeffrey Beckles, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive, told Tribune Business that fully abiding by the stipulations set out in yesterday’s Emergency Powers (COVID-19) No.1 Order would shorten the private sector’s recovery timeline by reducing the spread of the virus locally.

Pointing out that the economy was already poised to suffer “a huge hit” due to the global travel and tourism shutdown, Mr Beckles said the measures unveiled by the prime minister did “nothing to change” that outlook or make it any worse.

Dr Hubert Minnis yesterday ordered all Bahamas-based business entities, apart from those on the exempted list, to close to customers and effectively send all non-essential staff home. Those that remain are to practice “social distancing” to keep themselves three to six feet apart in a bid to prevent further spread of the coronavirus.

Those sectors that can remain open to the general public, as long as the number of customers inside is restricted in accordance with “social distancing”, include wholesale and grocery retail stores, together with farmer’s markets, to ensure the food supply chain is not disrupted.

These stores, though, can only open from 6am to 5pm. Two other sectors that can still serve customers, pharmacies and gas stations, must also adhere to the same opening hours. Meanwhile, doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, medical facilities and suppliers are also allowed to cater to customers, along with banks that can open from 9am to 5pm.

Commercial shipping ports and associated businesses can also open from 6am to 5pm, while hotels and airports, too, will remain open to guests and travellers, respectively. Laundromats and wash houses can open their doors from 6am to 5pm, although the enforcement of “social distancing” could prove challenging.

Drive-through or take-away food vendors can open from 6am to 7.30pm, while construction companies will be able to operate from 6am to 7pm under the measures unveiled by the Prime Minister. However, the public bus (jitney) sector has been ordered into a total shutdown, while the inter-island transport of passengers by mail boat must also cease.

The Order, which enables the Government to include “other businesses or undertakings” on the exempted list, has already come under challenge. CBS Bahamas (Commonwealth Building Supplies), in a message sent to clients that was seen by Tribune Business, said it and five other retailers had already written to the Prime Minister’s Office asking to be deemed “essential retail operations”.

“In line with the Government’s Emergency Order, we will be closing most of our operations (retail, consultations and deliveries) effective tomorrow, March 20,” CBS Bahamas said. “Many of you in our local Carmichael Road community have already reached out in concern.

“We, along with five other industry leading retailers, have already sent a letter to the Office of the Prime Minister urging the Bahamian government to deem home improvement retailers as ‘essential’ retail operations.”

CBS Bahamas did not identify the other five retailers, although hardware and home furnishings form a significant element in the Bahamian retail sector. Major players include the likes of Kelly’s Home Centre, Tops, the Quality Home Centre, Multi-Discount Furniture and numerous others.

Setting out the rationale for why they should still be allowed to open their stores to customers, CBS Bahamas said: “While we have no interest in operating at our normal size and full staff complement, we would like to remain semi-open for a limited period - and under the strictest of conditions - so that we can continue to serve our local community while ensuring our staff remain safe).

Electrical emergencies will not disappear. Plumbing issues will not cease to exist. Home security measures will still be required. Things around the house will continue to break. Often times, the local hardware store represents the only outlet where consumers have access to essential supplies for cleaning, disinfecting, maintaining, securing or repairing their residences.”

It is also unclear why seemingly critical industries, such as bottled water manufacturers, have not been included in the Government’s list of exempted sectors.

Among those sectors hardest hit by the Government’s COVID-19 measures will be non-food retailers, especially those in the footwear/apparel, hardware and home furniture sectors. Locations such as the Mall at Marathon and SouthWest Plaza will likely be empty. Building supply stores, such as Pinder Enterprises and JBR, will also have to close to walk-in customers, while auto parts suppliers such as AID and WHIM will have to do likewise.

Auto repair shops, web shops, liquor stores, electrical goods retailers, nightclubs, bars and restaurants that rely on persons dining in, law firms and multiple other segments of the Bahamian economy will also have to cease face-to-face dealings with customers. Restaurants such as Checkers, and fast food franchises, will likely have to rely on their drive-through and home delivery services.

The COVID-19 crisis has further highlighted the importance of technology and the digital economy, as those retailers and other businesses - such as web shops - with a strong online presence that is able to take orders and payment over the Internet will be able to continue conducting transactions although these are likely to be much reduced compared to normal.

Companies in the dominant services side of the Bahamian economy, such as law firms and realtors, will also be able to teleconference and interact with clients via electronic means, thus ensuring disruption is minimised.

The Minnis administration’s measures were unveiled as predictions by Dionisio D’Aguilar, minister of tourism and aviation, that The Bahamas will see “no visitors” for the next two to three months moved a step closer to becoming reality after the US government issued a “Level 4” travel advisory to all Americans.

This essentially tells all Americans outside the US to come home as rapidly as possible - an indication that The Bahamas’ major source market, accounting for 85 percent of all visitors to this nation, is planning to soon close its borders in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

With the existing trickle of stopover visitors likely to come to a complete halt imminently, Atlantis last night denied that the Paradise Island mega resort had been completely shut down. A spokesperson told Tribune Business: “Atlantis still has guests and we are taking each day as it comes.”

An Atlantis insider, speaking on condition of anonymity, also confirmed to this newspaper that the resort had not fully closed. However, they revealed that the Coral Towers and Beach Towers have both been closed due to the lack of guests, and that all remaining visitors are being accommodated in the Royal Towers.

The source was less certain as to the fate of The Cove and The Reef, but added: “They have closed the Coral and Beach Towers, and whatever guests are left are checking into the Royal Towers. So far they’ve not said anything else to the workers in regards to taking time off. But I suspect they’re going to doing more things.

“This is just the beginning. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s temporary lay-offs. It is literally dead here. It’s a ghost town. Many restaurants are closed. The beaches are empty. lt’s going to be bad. It’s already bad now. As every day goes by things are going to get worse. Right now it’s definitely impacting our economy in every sector.”

The Chamber’s Mr Beckles, meanwhile, said the curfew and customer closures mandated by the Government will do little to exacerbate an already-grim economic outlook where the Government is projecting an $832m loss of tourism spending for the four months to end-June 2020.

He called on every Bahamian to abide by the measures announced by the Government, arguing that it was the best way to control COVID-19’s spread locally and “flatten the curve” experienced by multiple other countries in terms of the explosive growth in cases.

In so doing, the Chamber chief argued that The Bahamas would control everything within its power, and both limit the economic fall-out and hasten the recovery once the pandemic had passed.

“I don’t know if it’s going to make any difference. Fact of the matter is, let’s be realistic. We’re already planning to take a hit. I don’t know if this means that it’s going to be much more painstaking,” Mr Beckles added of the economic impact. “The economy is already set up to take a huge hit, and the actions today [yesterday] don’t really change that.”

Asked how long Bahamian businesses can hang on, in terms of being able to pay their staff with no revenue coming in if the pandemic lasted for months, he said much depended on the individual company and its financial situation.

“I know it’s going to be very difficult,” Mr Beckles said. “I don’t know what that timeline looks like, and each company will have their own dynamics and financial footing. It’s the least desirable position anyone wants to be in. No one wants to be here, but here we are.

“But having taken these drastic measures, which are harsh enough, by and large Bahamians are not complying. The greater question is: How do we get Bahamians to partake in these measures? We really need to be turning our attention to the issue of how do we work hard to change the culture we have to one of compliance and respecting what the state may advise us to do from time to time.

“On the one hand we laud Bahamian professionals, but when they do speak we don’t listen to them. If Bahamians really want to do well for our economy, the best way to limit the blow to business is by complying,” Mr Beckles continued.

“Our businesses affect our entire lifestyle, our way of life. The best way to mitigate the impact on our economy is compliance and to work with the authorities to get through this so that, when we do get out of this, the curve is a lot shorter because we complied in the first instance.

“We have a lot to do, and it depends on how well Bahamians comply. We know we’re going to take a hit, and we can do a lot to mitigate that with compliance and co-operation to give business people the best chance to get through this very difficult time.”