The Tribune

By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) chairman yesterday urged the Government to use next week’s Budget to deliver reforms that strengthen productivity, improve transparency and create a more business-friendly economy.

Speaking to Tribune Business, Don Williams said the private sector is looking for action in several critical areas that businesses believe are necessary to improve economic growth and competitiveness while easing operational burdens. 

Among the BCCEC’s priorities, he identified “improvement of fiscal monitoring and reporting”, stronger investment in education and workforce development, support for entrepreneurs and business expansion, and revenue reforms that do not place additional pressure on the private sector.

Mr Williams said businesses also want to see increased infrastructure spending, the establishment of a properly-funded Productivity Council and movement on the National Development Plan

The issue of productivity also featured prominently in the Government’s Speech from the Throne earlier this week, where the Davis administration pledged to establish a National Productivity Council “with clear public benchmarks, to improve public sector performance and national efficiency”.

Mr Williams specifically called for a “funded and enabled Productivity Council”, signalling that the business community wants to see the initiative backed by meaningful resources and implementation rather than existing only as a policy proposal.

The Government similarly promised to continue work on a National Development Plan designed to guide long-term economic growth and infrastructure planning, and pledged to introduce a National Development Framework to improve co-ordination between ministries and agencies, modernise investment incentives,= and create mandatory timelines for development approvals to improve efficiency and transparency. 

Mr Williams also called for reforms to simplify the ease of doing business, noting that one specific concern remains the difficulty associated with opening bank accounts and navigating increasingly complex compliance requirements.

He highlighted a long-standing frustration among Bahamian businesses and entrepreneurs who argue that increasingly strict compliance and due diligence requirements have complicated access to financial services.

Mr Williams also stressed the need for “equitability in service contracts, PPPs and governmental support”, reflecting ongoing concerns among some Bahamian businesses that smaller local firms often struggle to access major contracts and partnership opportunities.

The Chamber chief also called for “diversification of revenue measures that do not burden businesses”, a recommendation likely aimed at encouraging the Government to broaden its revenue base without increasing taxes or fees on the private sector.

The Government, meanwhile, has signalled that expanding economic opportunities for Bahamians and improving the ease of doing business will remain central to its agenda. 

In the Speech from the Throne, the administration said “too many small businesses still face barriers to growth” and pledged reforms aimed at creating “a stronger, more modern, more resilient Bahamian economy”.