Source: Date: Updated: Author: |
TheBahamasInvestor.com
Thursday, January 21, 2016 Thursday, January 21, 2016 Catherine Morris |
The Prime Minister has called for “a new paradigm in Grand Bahama”, saying that the islands of The Bahamas need to reduce their reliance on subsidies from New Providence.
Delivering the keynote address at the Bahamas Business Outlook this morning, Prime Minister Perry Christie said growing the country’s economy would require “equity in development” and “balanced growth”.
“A new paradigm will have to exist in Grand Bahama,” he continued. “You have to have a government with the will to sit with the developers and the owners and negotiate that new paradigm.”
The Prime Minister said he would like to see the Family Islands support the growth of the country as a whole by becoming centres of economic activity in their own right. By way of example, he pointed to a number of projects set to begin this year in locations such as Abaco, Deep Water Cay and Sandy Cay.
The Bahamas’ GDP is forecast to grow by 1.5 per cent in the coming year, according to the Ministry of Finance.
Christie said the tourism sector was “in high gear” coming into 2016 and that Grand Bahama in particular was performing well with a 25 per cent increase in visitor arrivals compared with the previous year. He attributed this growth to added airlift and the increasing capacity of cruise ships.
The 25th annual Bahamas Business Outlook took place today at the Melia Nassau resort on New Providence. Additional speakers included chairman of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employer’s Confederation Gowon Bowe and chairman of the Bahamas Insurance Association Emmanuel Komolafe.