The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Government and private sector now need each other’s support more than at any time in the Bahamas’s 42-year post-Independence history, a top executive believes.

Robert Myers, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) immediate past chairman, said the country’s growing economic and social challenges could only be overcome if the two sides forged stronger links.

In a recent position paper that he authored, Mr Myers said it was clear the “status quo is not working”, as the Bahamas has failed to advance as far as it should post-Independence.

The paper, which has been seen by Tribune Business and remains highly relevant, said the Bahamian economy had suffered “due to strained relationships” between the private sector and the Government.

Mr Myers argued that neither side would achieve their objectives without the other’s “strong support”, calling for a unified effort to develop pro-economic growth policies underpinned by the rule of law and accountability/transparency.

Noting how slowly the Bahamian economy has recovered since the 2008-2009 financial crisis, Mr Myers wrote: “There has not been any time in the last 40 years where both the Government and the private sector need each other’s support more than now.”

Besides the stubbornly high unemployment numbers, Mr Myers said private sector concerns included low workforce productivity resulting from workers who left school ill-equipped, many lacking basic numeracy and literacy skills.

Other issues centred on high business operating costs; the fact it is getting harder to open and operate a business in the Bahamas; high interest rates and energy costs; and an increasing tax burden due to the Government’s fiscal profligacy.

Mr Myers said all this had contributed to “low confidence” in the private sector, and added: “As the Government introduces new taxes and fees, Immigration policies, agricultural policies, VAT legislation, labour reform legislation, National Health legislation and EPA and WTO legislation, to name but a few, there is a serious need for communication and cooperation between the public and private sector if we expect to remain competitive and relevant in the region..........

“The economy has suffered due to strained relationships between the business community and the Government, and clearly there is a need for change if the country expects to solve any of the social issues challenging it.”

Calling for “better synergies” between the Government and the private sector, Mr Myers said the Coalition for Responsible Taxation’s work - in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance and its VAT Unit - provided a model for how the Bahamas benefited when the two sides co-operated.

“Good Government must be outwardly supportive of the private sector in order to reap the benefits generated by them,” Mr Myers wrote.

“It is clear from multiple international reports that for the last 35 years the Bahamas has not seen the kind of progress that would lead one to believe we are a leading nation, and on that basis alone we must make bolder steps to change; the status quo is not working.

“Differences must be set aside, and Government and business leaders must make tough decisions that will shape the future, even if they are not immediately popular.”

While the private sector generated the bulk of annual Bahamian gross domestic product (GDP), Mr Myers said the BCCEC received virtually no government funding support despite being its main representative body.

Given that the Government funded, or provided investment incentives, to sectors such as tourism/hotels; manufacturing; and agriculture, Mr Myers suggested that similar support be made available to the BCCEC.

“The leadership of this country should be strengthening ties between the Government and the private sector,” he concluded.

“The Government must work with the BCCEC on encouraging and incentivising growth and innovation, promoting work force development and training, improving our global competitiveness, removing barriers to entry, improving ease of doing business, lowering cost of capital, enforcing the rule of law, eliminating the informal economy and developing a culture of accountability and transparency.

“Neither side can be successful without the strong support of the other. The sooner we recognise this failure, the sooner we can take corrective action to effect positive change...... We look to progressive Government leadership to help make that change and forge the ties required to provide unified objectives that will propel our country forward.”