The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) is set to host a conference that will examine the state of the Bahamian economy.

Edison Sumner, its chief executive, said February 16 conference, called ‘The State of the Economy Report 2017’, is the first of its kind to be hosted by the Chamber and will examine the various issues affecting the Bahamian economy.

It will focus on matters such as as economic growth, credit downgrades, tax reform and the private sector’s involvement in improving the economic outlook.

“This is not just a conference where we sit and listen to people speak. At the end of this we are going to be formulating recommendations and policies, and taking it to the Government,” Mr Sumner said.

“We expect that there will be some outcomes, and we will be putting together a position paper with the assistance of some of the speakers. We expect that in a month or two, after it is completed, we will be presenting a ‘position paper’ back to the Government on how we think we can help to move the economy in the right direction.”

Mr Sumner added: “We understand the season that we are in, and that there are going to be general elections held sometime in the next few months. We are not naive to that fact. That is pretty much the principle reason that we don’t want this to be a political platform.

“It has to be where we are talking about the issues. We want to be able to get to the details for what is happening. After the next general electios, we may or may not have a new government. We may or may not have a new Minister for Finance.

“I think it is relatively safe for me to say that the people who will be speaking to us will more than likely be speaking to us after the next general election. It’s important for us to get the technical perspective on the economy.”