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MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2017
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Low growth linked to cronyism, blasts reform campaigner By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A governance reformer has directly linked the Bahamas’ poor GDP growth and low business confidence to nepotism, cronyism and political favouritism impacting how commerce is conducted. Robert Myers, the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s principal, told Tribune Business that business confidence was undermined, and people reluctant to invest, when they had to compete directly with rivals who enjoyed the right political connections. Disclosing that his own businesses had encountered competitors with such advantages, Mr Myers said the Bahamas needed a complete cultural overhaul, given that such business practices had almost become accepted as “the norm” by many. “If members of the Government are out there wheeling and dealing with foreign investors, or meddling in business, it doesn’t make for a very level playing field or give once confi-
ORG chief: Investor confidence being undermined His, other businesses fight on ‘uneven play field’ Bahamians urged to stop seeing favouritism as ‘norm’
The Bahamas lost an international shipping company’s investment to a rival Caribbean destination because of a “restrictive” work permit policy, an international consultant recommending this be restructured to drive economic See pg b5
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Bahamas goes 4 years without GDP growth By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
The Bahamas has just suffered its fourth consecutive year with no economic growth, prompting the Chamber of Commerce’s chairman to call for “methodical plans to bring the economy back”. Speaking after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected that the Bahamas endured zero GDP growth in 2016, Gowon Bowe told Tribune Business that “meaningful, sustained dents in unemployment” were impossible with such a “lethargic” economic performance. Data contained in the IMF’s recently-published
IMF drops 2016 forecast to zero; Bahamas flat-lined Chamber chair: We need plan to ‘bring economy back’ Need 5% at least to make ‘meaningful jobless dent’ Gowon Bowe World Economic Outlook shows that economic growth in the Bahamas flatlined last year, standing at 0 per cent. While this represented an ‘improvement’ upon the prior two years of recession,
the Bahamian economy having contracted by 0.5 per cent and 1.7 per cent in 2014 and 2015, respectively, the 2016 performance was still below the Government’s own 0.5 per cent growth projection.
And, given that IMF data shows the Bahamas also enjoyed 0 per cent GDP growth in 2013, this nation has gone four years - most of the Christie administration’s term in office - without positive economic growth. The IMF paper provided no explanation for the Bahamas’s failure to meet initial 2016 GDP growth projections, although this is likely to have been caused by Hurricane Matthew’s initial impact. The immediate outlook for the Bahamas, though, is brighter, with the IMF forecasting GDP growth of 1.4 per cent and 2.2 per cent for this year and 2018, respectively. The former is higher See pg b7
Governance study’s multi million diversifying boost Robert Myers dence to invest,” Mr Myers told Tribune Business. His comments came after The Tribune last week disclosed e-mails sent by Jerome Fitzgerald, See pg b7
Work permit ‘restrictions’ cost shipping investment By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
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By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
The Bahamas could enjoy a multi-million dollar jobs and economic diversification boost with policy reforms to facilitate targeted investment in key industries, amid warnings that “major economic assets are at risk”. A report commissioned by the Bahamas-based Or-
ganisation for Responsible Governance (ORG), released yesterday, described the economy as “at a crossroad” and “underperforming”, with real GDP per capita now lower than it was in 2000. The report, produced by the Oxford Economics consultancy, suggested that reforms to facilitate agriculture/manufacturing import substitution, shipping and logistics investment and
boutique hotel/vacation home expansion would generate both much-needed diversification and economic growth for the Bahamas. Noting that visitors to the Bahamas spent $496 million on purchasing food and manufactured goods in 2015, the report for ORG said $103 million of this sum was spent on goods “in which the Bahamas has See pg b4
ORG report calls for logistics, vacation rental focus Warns Bahamas’ ‘key economic assets at risk’ Govt ‘must restore faith’ in our economic future
‘Short-term’ focus drove project to Caribbean rival Bahamas urged to make policy shift on issuance Link permits to Bahamas jobs, not training successors
Bran: Govt opposed Baha Mar Chapter 11 to hide self-dealings By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net The Democratic National Alliance’s (DNA) leader believes the Government so vehemently opposed Baha Mar’s Chapter 11 filing because it feared contracts held by public officials, and their families and associates, might be exposed in the US courts. Branville McCartney told Tribune Business that by helping to secure the dismissal of Sarkis Izmirlian’s bankruptcy protection bid, then instigating windingup proceedings against the former developer in the Supreme Court, the Christie administration had “covered up” any incriminating evidence. “Had the Chapter 11 gone through in Delaware, then all of these contracts would perhaps have come to light with these government officials,” Mr McCartney said. “This is why the Government filed windingSee pg b6
Feared contracts would come out in US courts Jerome actions ‘totally contrary’ to Minister manual DNA leader: Commission call strengthened
Branville McCartney
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