The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

THE creation of a National Productivity Council and accompanying legislation is receiving strong backing from the private sector, the project’s primary consultant revealed yesterday.

Edison Sumner, principal of Sumner Strategic Partners, told Tribune Business: “We have gotten a variety of responses throughout the consultation thus far. I don’t want to preempt my full report, but everyone we have spoken with accepts - and appreciates - the need for productivity legislation and having a structured body in place to promote the idea of productivity in the country. We have to be able to measure that, define it and ensure that the country as a whole can improve. Hopefully the end result is that we will see a more productive society.”

The Bahamian private sector has long voiced concerns over what it sees as relatively low productivity by the Bahamian workforce, and has been especially vexed at the quality - or lack thereof - of potential employees coming out of the public high school system. Mr Sumner, who addressed the Rotary Club of West Nassau yesterday, told Tribune Business this was among the many issues being raised.

Sumner Strategic Partners was retained by the National Tripartite Council, which falls under the Ministry of Labour, to conduct widespread consultations on the proposed creation of a National Productivity Council and a “white paper” dealing with productivity legislation.

“The National Productivity Council is to be established by an Act of Parliament. There are a number of objectives that the council is expected to fulfill. We want to get as much broad -based consultation and feedback from stakeholders, including private sector, academia, government agencies, groups within civil society and even the political groups,” said Mr Sumner.

He added that those consultations will expand to the Family Islands, and said: “It is not only contained to New Providence. The plan is to visit a number of Family Islands, and the first trip will be Grand Bahama next week.

“So far the consultations have been going very well. We have been impressed with the level of engagement. This process is expect to last until the end of July when we expect to have done a good cross-sweep of the country.”