The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas has a “dire need” for improved productivity given that its industrial output growth rate is half that of Barbados, a government “white paper” is arguing.

The document, produced for the National Tripartite Council to underpin the rationale for establishing a National Productivity Council and associated standards in The Bahamas, argued that a legal framework “to promote the development of a highly-skilled workforce” was essential to sparking higher GDP growth rates.

The paper, authored by J Malvese Capron, a committee member on the Bahamas National Productivity Council, said increased worker output was needed to help reduce business costs and improve this nation’s regional and international competitiveness.

Pointing to the four-year period of zero to low growth to 2017, the “white paper” stated bluntly: “The Bahamas has experienced zero economic growth, which is attributed to poor productivity of the workforce. Besides, the country underperformed its Caribbean counterparts in a report released by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) earlier this year.

“Furthermore, the economic attractiveness of the country has declined over the years, and this decline is as a result of woes in the private sector concerning an inadequately trained workforce. Hence, there is a dire need to establish strategies to improve the quality of the workforce in the country. The surest way to do this is to ensure that the legal framework in The Bahamas promotes the development of a highly skilled workforce.”