The Tribune

By ANNELIA NIXON

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

anixon@tribunemedia.net

THE BAHAMAS Chamber of Commerce and Employers’ Confederation’’s (BCCEC) chairman has assumed the role of acting chief executive following the departure of Dr Leo Rolle as it plans to pursue potential trade ties with Ghana this coming November.

Don Williams said Dr Rolle’s departure became official at the beginning of September, although the Chamber’s Board has not yet established a timeline for recruiting a permanent chief executive.

“He has transitioned to some other things,” Mr Williams said. “Obviously, we’re sad to see him go because he’s done some great work for the Chamber so far.”

Mr Williams said he will serve as both chairman and acting chief executive while the Board begins the process of sourcing a replacement, but maintained that the leadership change will not disrupt the Chamber’s operations.

“In the interim, I will be both chairman and acting chief executive until the Board has started the process of sourcing a new chief executive,” he said. “But that does not hinder the Chamber in any way.”

The Chamber plans to continue its core work of providing advice, advocacy and access to businesses, as well as its trade missions, while placing greater emphasis on partnerships within the domestic economy. Mr Williams said the Chamber has already begun shifting some of its focus towards building stronger relationships between larger companies and small and medium-sized entrepreneurs.

“We’ll still be doing our trade missions, but we’re going to shift direction just a little bit, which we started to do, and focus a lot more on local partnerships with a lot more of the larger companies and the smaller, medium-sized entrepreneurs,” Mr Williams said.

He added that the move is intended to ensure the benefits of business collaboration and economic activity are also felt within The Bahamas, particularly as the country seeks to encourage consumers to support local businesses.

“We’ve done a tremendous amount of trade missions,” Mr Williams said. “We’ve understood and gained quite a bit of traction from those trade missions. But we do not want to take away from what happens in-country.

“We want to ensure that there is still a great level of collaboration between local businesses of all sizes to increase the level of customer service. We want to encourage more Bahamians to still continue to shop local, especially during these times, because we need to ensure that we’re driving our economy as best as possible.”

Mr Williams said the Chamber is also continuing discussions with government agencies, including the Department of Inland Revenue and the National Insurance Board (NIB), on initiatives aimed at making it easier for businesses to interact with government.

“You’ll see quite a bit of items rolled out in the next few months in terms of making it as convenient as possible for businesses to be able to communicate, dialogue and have certain key services streamlined, both with a level of customer service as well as digitisation in the use of systems,” he said.

The Chamber’s domestic focus, however, will not rule out international opportunities. Mr Williams said he recently spoke with King Kwasi Kyei Darkwah during the Ghanaian president’s representative’s visit to The Bahamas, with discussions centred on potential trade opportunities between the two countries.

He said King Darkwah told him he plans to return to The Bahamas in November, at which point the Chamber intends to hold an official courtesy call to explore how the discussions can be converted into concrete commercial opportunities.

“At a function yesterday evening, I had the opportunity of briefly talking with His Excellency, and he said that he will be back in country in November,” Mr Williams said. “Now we started to discuss some of the potential opportunities between our two nations, and how we can effectively have proper trade. So in November, when he returns, we’re going to have an official courtesy call, and we’re going to see how we can action some of those steps.”

King Darkwah, who was recently in The Bahamas as part of efforts to strengthen the relationship between Ghana and the Caribbean, said the African Caribbean Trade and Investment Corridor invited Ghanaian officials to help establish a framework for increased trade between Ghana and the Caribbean. He identified agriculture, manufacturing, fashion, design and tourism as areas where Ghana and Caribbean countries could complement each other.

The discussions have also highlighted the potential for Bahamian businesses to gain access to larger African markets, including opportunities associated with the African Continental Free Trade Area.

For the Chamber, Mr Williams said the upcoming November meeting will provide an opportunity to move those broader discussions towards practical business opportunities between Bahamian and Ghanaian companies. “So, the Chamber is progressing,” he said. “But we’re looking forward to continuing the work of the Chamber.”