The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The government’s Economic Recovery Committee has called for the creation of “a national digital marketplace” among 163 proposals designed to “spur” economic recovery, the prime minister said yesterday.

Dr Hubert Minnis, pictured, in his national address, provided few specifics or details on the committee’s report, the conclusions of which were presented to his full Cabinet last Tuesday. He did, though, reveal that the government-funded unemployment benefits initiative will be extended “through December” to provide jobless Bahamians and their families with some means of income support.

Confirming Tribune Business revelations last week that the government will allocate a further $45m to COVID-19 related individual and business support initiatives, the prime minister added that another $10m will be provided to finance the second phase of the national food assistance programme through to year-end 2020.

The latter initiative is currently providing food for more than 100,000 persons, or over one-quarter of the Bahamian population, and Dr Minnis yesterday urged persons whose jobs and incomes have at least partially returned to end their reliance on the national food programme so that the government’s “limited resources” and private donations can be focused on those “truly in need”.

Dr Minnis made no reference to last week’s suggestion by Brensil Rolle, minister of the public service and national insurance, that the government was debating whether to further reduce the weekly unemployment benefit from $150 to $100.

However, the date outlined by the prime minister yesterday indicates the government it at least hedging its bets as to the strength and timing of tourism’s comeback if it is going to continue fund unemployment benefits through December. This suggests it is not confident that the tourism and hotel sector will see a rapid return of business in time for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

As for the Economic Recovery Committee’s (ERC) proposals, Dr Minnis gave only broad outlines of their recommendations as the Cabinet was still studying the full report and determining which will be “a priority for execution”. Only when these decisions are taken, he added, will the report be released to the public.

“This past Tuesday, the committee presented to Cabinet their executive summary report that details some 163 recommendations on a range of subject areas to spur our economic recovery and our sustained economic health,” the prime minister said.

“The ERC and its sub-committees consulted with 60 companies and organisations, and had the benefit of 300 submissions sent to it from Bahamians across the entire country.” None of the 60 companies and groups consulted by the committee, co-chaired by Marlon Johnson, the Ministry of Finance’s acting financial secretary, and Kenwood Kerr, Providence Advisers’ chief executive, were named.

Dr Minnis said the committee had followed his instructions to be “bold and innovative”, adding that its recommendations “will guide discussions of policy development in the country for many years to come”.

Setting out some of the areas covered in the report, the prime minister said it called for the creation of an undefined “national digital marketplace” and “small business incubators” to assist entrepreneurs, as well as “independently-managed national funds” for the pooling of public and private sector capital to finance sustainable development throughout The Bahamas.

It was unclear whether this meant a sovereign wealth fund, while other recommendations urged improved food security by increasing the agriculture and fisheries sector’s share of GDP; a “full revamp” of the investment regime to eliminate government bureaucracy to enable projects and business expansion to proceed more rapidly; and “accelerated” renewable energy reforms.

Warning that it cannot be business as usual for The Bahamas post-COVID-19, Dr Minnis said: “The thinking that informed The Bahamas in its pre-COVID days will not be well suited for The Bahamas that emerges from the pandemic. In many respects, the status quo will need to be set aside.

“This will require us all – including myself and my Cabinet colleagues – to understand that as a country we will have to do things differently. These necessary changes, as they always do, will invite resistance as many would like to be able to stay in a comfortable space and era that simply will not exist after COVID-19.

“As I have said before, I did not establish this committee just to write a nice report that will then sit on a shelf to collect dust. We are taking the recommendations seriously. We must be prepared for the dawning of this new economic day by implementing the changes, and by executing the plans that will lead to a Bahamian economy that is more resilient, dynamic, inclusive and sustainable.”