The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

The Bahamian people should determine whether ventures such as oil exploration/drilling should be explored in this nation’s water, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) chairman saying the issues at stake were much wider than those presently being discussed.

Speaking after the Bahamas Petroleum Company’s (BPC) share price declined by 26.83 per cent on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) on Friday, falling from £10.25 to £7.50, in the wake of Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham’s comments that he would not permit oil exploration and drilling in the Bahamas if re-elected to office, Winston Rolle said this was “definitely a death sentence” for the company’s plans if this happened.

Noting that the episode showed just how badly publicly-listed companies could be hurt by negative comments from key Bahamian decision-makers, Mr Rolle said issuess as important as oil exploration should not be left to politicians alone to determine.

“Something as significant as this is something that needs to be taken to the people for comment,” he told Tribune Business. “Any initiative as significant as oil or LNG, or anything of that nature, from my perspective should not just be a political decision made by the political element. It should be the expressed view of the Bahamian people on this sort of thing.”

Mr Rolle said the issues involved with oil exploration and drilling went much wider than the environmental and healthy and safety concerns expressed to date.

“The only things being discussed right now are the possible negative ramifications,” he added. “No one is taking a look at it from the significance of the economic impact, jobs, revenues, paid duties. There are a whole range of things that need to be looked at before we say ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

“The decision-making process needs to be more than that. I think we need to take our interests in, and managing our country, to another level.”

Acknowledging that environmental concerns were valid, Mr Rolle said the rising national debt and fiscal deficit were just as important.