Category Archives: Bahamas

By: LINDSAY THOMPSON

Bahamas Information Services

#The Bahamas, October 13, 2022 In his first year in office National Address the Hon. Philip Davis, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, announced a minimum wage increase to $260, crime fighting initiatives, and other wide-sweeping measures to tackle challenges facing the country.

The National Address was delivered Tuesday, October 11, 2022 in a live broadcast heard around the country. In the 36-page document, the prime minister shared the progress of his administration so far and plans for education, food security, job readiness, health care, national security and more measures for the way forward.

Tackling head-on the burden of inflation and other issues that have driven up the cost of living for Bahamians, and globally, the prime minister underscored the importance of making adjustments for the economic benefit of families.

In this vein, he announced that the minimum wage would increase from $210 per week to $260 per week. The last time the minimum wage was raised in the country was the year 2015.

During an inflation emergency, its important to take the steps we can to improve affordability. Of course, nothing is more important to helping families make ends meet than higher wages, the prime minister said.

He added, A new increase has been long overdue. For minimum wage earners in the Public Service, the change will be retroactive going back to July of this year. For minimum wage earners in the private sector, the increase will begin in a little less than three months, in January of the coming year, allowing employers time to prepare for the increased expense.

According to the prime minister, the higher minimum wage will benefit thousands of Bahamians. The increase will help, it was long awaited, long overdue, and the extra money every week will make a difference.

However, we are aware that this will not eliminate the hardship of trying to make ends meet in todays economy. Instead, it represents progress on the way to a livable wage, the prime minister said.

He explained that the raise was negotiated by the National Tripartite Council, which includes the government, representatives from the private sector and unions.

Our shared goal was to raise the minimum wage without having a negative impact on employment or job growth, and we believe that has been achieved, the prime minister said.

Another measure announced was the addition of 38 new items to the Price Control List, a move to further eliminate the economic burden on families.

We are limiting the wholesale and retail mark-up of everyday items like diapers, and food like chicken, eggs, bread, bananas, apples, oranges, broccoli, onions, and potatoes. These items are being added for at least a six-month period, at which point we will review and evaluate the impact on businesses and consumers. We are also reducing the profit margin on price-controlled drugs, providing additional relief to Bahamians, the prime minister said.

In the area of crime-fighting initiatives, he revealed that The Bahamas has entered into a formal working arrangement with the American Law Enforcement Agency, ATF the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives towards this end.

And we are working with American intelligence to share information to stop this flow of arms across our borders. We didnt get here overnight, and so major progress will take time but we are pushing hard for immediate advances, because we need to make people safer, now, the prime minister said.

Additional crime-fighting measures he mentioned include the recent appointment of a Commissioner of Police, with new resources, and new initiatives targeting gangs and guns possession.

We have created a collaborative multi-agency approach to interrupting the cycles of violence that are tearing up our streets and communities. We are recruiting hundreds of new police. Were also focused on intervening early, identifying those at risk and steering them to a better path, which is why were expanding and improving programmes like Urban Renewal and Second Chance, the prime minister said.

He admitted being aware that gangs have started reaching into the schools to recruit. Hence, the Royal Bahamas Police Force has added a security presence to the school campuses.

The primary responsibility for making progress on crime lies with the government, of course, said the prime minister. But there are limits to what any government can do we can invest in new police cars, or technology, or programmes that rehabilitate and offer opportunity but we still need parents to create loving, safe homes.

(Photos/OPM)

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Government agencies collaborating to restore East Grand Bahama - Magnetic Media

(Vax Before Travel)

After escaping the wrath of Hurricane Ian,The Bahamas remains focused on itsnumber one priority, the health of all who visit the sixteen islandsin the Caribbean during the winter season of 2022.

Neither the U.S. CDC nor the U.K. has issued active travel notices as of October 12, 2022.

And with the reduction of SARS-CoV-2 virus confirmations,The Bahamas eliminated the COVID-19 testing requirement on September 20, 2022.

Andvisitors, regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status, are no longer required to submit to pre-travel COVID-19 testing to enterThe Bahamas.

And testing is no longer required for persons traveling within The Bahamas islands.

The CDC does suggest ensuringyou are up-to-date on all routine vaccines before every trip.

In addition, U.K. health authorities have confirmed. Dengue fever is endemic in the Caribbean, and outbreaks can occur throughout the year.

Dengue and other travel vaccine services are offered by certified travel clinics and pharmacies in the U.S.

However, from a safety perspective, the U.S. Department of State reissued a Level 2 Advisory on October 5, 2022.

The State Department says that most crime occurs on New Providence (Nassau) and Grand Bahama (Freeport) islands.

In Nassau, visitors should practiceincreased vigilance in the Over the Hill area (south of Shirley Street).

And activities involving commercial watercraft, including water tours, are not consistently regulated.

Due to these concerns, U.S. government personnel cannot use independently operated jet-ski rentals on New Providence and Paradise Islands.

Moreover, never swim alone in the Caribbean, regardless of your age or level of swimming skills.

Read the State Department country information webpagefor additional information on travel to The Bahamas.

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The Bahamas Welcomes Everyone This Winter - Vax-Before-Travel

Call for Entries : Development of a Private Island in The Bahamas

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The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has launched a competition for the design of a new luxury resort on a Private Island in the Bahamas.

The client is looking to create a highly sustainable destination that will attract diverse groups of travellers, the yachting community and residents, whilst preserving the surrounding natural beauty of the island.

The island, that once was home to a pineapple plantation, currently has no formal residential infrastructure, no roads, no power and no water supply. It features a shallow inland lagoon in the centre of the island and a thin peninsula which juts out 11 km (7 miles) east. The site for the planned development is a total of 107 acres.

The project revolves around three key areas to be developed on the island: a Beach Club, a Marina, and fully equipped bookable accommodation. Entrants will have the opportunity to submit designs for one or more of these categories.

The design competition is a two-stage process. The first stage will include the anonymous assessment of concept design ideas and selection of a longlist of up to 10 concepts for each category. The second stage will include a shortlisting process, whereby those selected will be asked to refine their ideas following feedback and the shortlisted designers will be invited to present their refined concepts to the Evaluation Panel. A prize of 25,000 will be awarded to the overall winner with another 25,000 prize fund distributed amongst other prize winners as agreed by the Panel.

Call for Entries : Development of a Private Island in The Bahamas

Competition Announcement (Ideas)

Royal Institute of British Architects

October 25, 2022 12:00 AM

October 27, 2022 12:00 PM

Bahamas

28 per category and entry

This competition was submitted by an ArchDaily user. If you'd like to submit a competition, call for submissions or other architectural 'opportunity' please use our "Submit a Competition" form. The views expressed in announcements submitted by ArchDaily users do not necessarily reflect the views of ArchDaily.

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Call for Entries : Development of a Private Island in The Bahamas - ArchDaily

NASSAU, BAHAMAS A ceremony to officially open an exhibition of artwork and artifacts showcasing the history of the first inhabitants of The Bahamas was held 12 October, 2022 in Pompey Square.

Presented by the Antiquities, Monuments & Museums Corporation (AMMC), the exhibition is titled Lucayans: the Valor of the Vanquished.

It features miniature replicas, life-sized statues and artifacts to tell the story of the vitality and unfortunate demise of the Lucayan people.

The Lucayans deserve to be celebrated and recognized for their accomplishments and we do so today with the opening of this display, said Prime Minister Philip Davis, who gave remarks at the official opening ceremony.

According to a press release from Bahamas Information Services (BIS), The exhibition was presented to offer the public the chance to become more knowledgeable about the Lucayans, as well as the cultural legacy and history of The Bahamas.

According to Prime Minister Philip Davis, the onus is on the Bahamian people to respect and preserve the tremendous legacy left behind by the now-extinct Lucayans.

We are not the original people of this land. We inherited this land and as people who now claim this earth as our own, we have a duty to honor and remember its original inhabitants, he said.

Author Tellis Bethel also presented remarks expressing the weight of keeping the story of the Lucayansa people known for their peaceful way of lifealive.

Within their story are profound implications that speak to the Bahamas destiny and identity for the greater good of humanity. Their demise also uncovers an inherent responsibility left to us as inheritors of these islands, said Bethel.

The untold stories of the way of life of the first inhabitants of these islands are also important and need to be preserved, according to Nameiko Miller, curator at AMMC.

History does not start in 1492 with Columbus simply because this is the first time a European wrote about these islands. Histories exist without being written, she said.

Various cabinet ministers, AMMC officials and dignitaries were in attendance at the historic occasion.

Lucayans: the Valor of the Vanquished exhibition is open for viewing at Pompey Museum until 4 March, 2023.

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VALOR OF THE VANQUISHED: PM tours Lucayans exhibit - EyeWitness News

By LETRE SWEETING

lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Foreign Affairs Minister Darren Henfield says the Davis administration should focus on a more sustained and deliberate effort to crack down on the proliferation of shanty towns in the country.

Senator Henfield, who is on the ground in Abaco and has been there for the past three weeks observing the recently launched Department of Immigration Operation Expedition, said efforts should be ongoing.

He was contacted for comment the day after officials revealed that the Royal Bahamas Police Force and the Royal Bahamas Defense Force were on the island conducting multiple shanty town raids from October 7 to 10.

The effort was in response to the growth of unregulated communities in Abaco, one of them - The Farm - mushrooming to 200 acres from 50 acres since 2019.

It cannot be just the here and there effort to address the human cries of the public, Senator Henfield said. It has to be a sustained, deliberate effort to arrest and repatriate all those who do not have the proper documents to be in The Bahamas. Abaco is a place where we need a sustained presence by Immigration.

Not only eliminate the irregular communities, which are dangerous, which we saw in the fire in The Mudd (shanty town in Abaco set on fire in 2018), it must be much more than the platitudinous effort to satisfy public inquiry, it has to be ongoing.

Mr Henfield questioned Immigration Minister Keith Bells statements on Wednesday, during a press conference, where he echoed statements he made earlier this month that immigration is not at crisis level in The Bahamas, but is instead a complex problem.

Minister Keith Bell, I dont know if hes visited Abaco since hes been in office. But hed be wise to come and visit Abaco. Come and have a look for yourself, Mr Henfield said.

Its concerning to me as a former member of Parliament, as a Senator of the Free National Movement and its concerning for the current MPs that sit for Abaco. Both North and South MPs for Abaco have also indicated their concern about these growing communities. So, (he should) come and have a look for himself and then make comments on it.

Mr Henfield said his former ministry had started to tackle the immigration issue in 2019 but were stopped by the courts.

We had begun in the last administration to address these communities in Abaco. We were stopped by the courts and then we were kicked out of office. And so, the communities continued to grow.

Right now, its extraordinary, when you pass, and you see the size of these developments. It speaks to another problem that is brewing, not only in Abaco, but all across the country, where people can just go and set up on Crown land and build unfettered by officials, he said.

In 2019, Mr Henfield agreed with former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis assertions that illegal immigration was a threat to The Bahamas, saying the country must not sit idly by and allow it to be overtaken by another country.

Weve been grappling with this problem for the last 50 years, he said in 2019. Bahamians have been, in my estimation, quite tolerant.

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Henfield: Immigration's shanty town efforts should be sustained - Bahamas Tribune

By LETRE SWEETING

lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

HOUSING and Transport Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis on Friday officially announced the launch of her ministrys rent-to-own housing initiative which will open early next month.

The programme will provide some 50 homes across The Bahamas in its pilot phase.

The rent-to-own initiative, A Place to Call Home, will open the first week in November with plans to construct the homes at Abaco, New Providence, Grand Bahama, North Andros, North Eleuthera, San Salvador, Exuma and Cat Island.

The first phase of the initiative will see some five homes being built in the Spring City community of Abaco.

Applications for housing will only be received through the ministrys website at mothbahamas.com. The open date for applications will be circulated and communicated with the public at a later date, Mrs Coleby-Davis said at the Office of the Prime Minister during a press briefing.

She said the initiative will allow struggling Bahamians in the capital and on the Family Islands the opportunity to save up for their first dream home while living in that home at the same time.

We were getting a lot of queries from the islands, specifically Abaco and Grand Bahama, where Hurricane Dorian affected mostly and theres been a low rate of persons getting back on the job. This would be a great initiative to help them still become homeowners, she said.

Additionally we have a lot of self-employed persons that live on the Family Islands and its been quite difficult for them to secure financing and to get a mortgage.

And, of course, New Providence has a great demand for housing, so anything that the Department of Housing offers as an initiative would also be offered in New Providence."

The minister echoed statements made earlier this year encouraging Bahamians to save a portion of their monthly income and make wise financial decisions, as the housing initiative is geared toward working individuals who are either employed or self-employed.

A Place to Call Home is a multi-island, sustainable, financially viable housing solution administered by the Department of Housing for working individuals, employed and self-employed Bahamians, she said.

We also wish to encourage Bahamians to avoid excessive consumer loans and to create monthly financial budgets. Having a monthly financial budget could assist in better financial management, such as curbing or eliminating unnecessary spending.

Successful applicants will be required to sign an occupancy agreement, which would form the legal basis of the agreement with the Department of Housing and also deal with delinquency of accounts and payments, according to the minister.

"Over an agreed fixed period, not longer than 36 months, rent will be paid to the Department of Housing and a portion of the rent will go toward a downpayment for the mortgage, property maintenance and insurance costs, she explained.

Successful applicants will also be required to attend a home ownership education course through the Department of Housing and agree to financial coaching.

Mrs Coleby-Davis said that this rent-to-own initiative will be administered in a professional and transparent manner.

This is to ensure full compliance with internal controls and quality assurance.

The programme will be subject to audits and financial reporting. Bahamians are advised to take advantage of this initiative.

Mrs Coleby-Davis said that the cost of this initiative will be revealed at a later date, with specific payments and prices being based on the homes and financing period selected by the applicant.

A number of Housing models will be used in A Place to Call Home. The models will range from two-bedroom, one-bath to three-bedrooms, two bath models.

Employed Bahamians wishing to apply when registration opens in November must upload a valid passport, National Insurance Card, job letter, not older than 45 days and their most recent pay stub.

Self employed applicants should upload a valid passport, National Insurance Card, Business License and most recent bank account statement and any additional information, if required, said Mrs Coleby-Davis.

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Rent-to-own housing initiative to provide 50 homes in pilot phase - Bahamas Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

FIRST Class Promotions return to professional boxing after almost a decade-long hiatus is all set with the staging of the all-female boxing show on Friday, October 28th at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium.

The Fight for the Cure show, which is being held in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month and will feature two title fights between overseas fighters, got the endorsement from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture on Thursday at the press conference in the foyer of the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.

Kerry Baker, a former basketball player, represented Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Mario Bowleg at the press conference that included First Class Promoter Michelle Minus and Quinton Brennen of QB Events Consulting and Marketing.

Baker said the ministry is throwing its support behind the event and is hoping that it will inspire young boys and girls will pick up their gloves and get into some wholesome sporting activities rather than resorting to a life of crime.

We understand that there will be two title fights. That is going to be interesting, Baker said. When you talk about cancer, just about everybody is affected. I know I had a sister who passed away from cancer.

So, Im 100 percent in support of this event and I know the ministry is 100 percent in support of this event as well. This is the first time for an all-female event in the Bahamas and the Caribbean, so lets come out and support the event.

Featured in the main event will be Jessica Camara from Montreal, Canada, with a 10-3-0 win-loss-draw record, against Halanna Dos Santos from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, who is 14-9-0, in a 10-rounder for the World Boxing Association (WBA) 147 pounds title.

In the American co-main event, Mary McGee from Chicago with a 27-4 record will face Prisca Vicot of California, who is 14-8, in another 147lb class bout. Two other bouts will showcase American OShea Jones from Philadelphia, who is 1-0, against Simone Silva from San Palo, Brazil, who is 17-22, in the 160lb class and American Logan Holler from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with a 9-2-1 record, against Adriana Arnajou, also from San Paulo, Brazil, who is 6-1, in the 140lb class.

Brennen said the event is about more than just boxing.

Boxing has taken a little hiatus over the past couple years, but what a way to come back at this point, he said. And the way that this event is positioned, its strategic in that in the month of October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we now have an all-female boxing match . . . we want to tie it with the beginning of Sports Month, which begins on November 1. But its more than just that a boxing match. What were trying to do with this, is were paying homage basically to all of the abused women, rape victims, murder victims that has happened through and through the years. Weve seen it over a period of time in our country and so its more than just a boxing match. Were kind of saying now that its the fight for the cure, thats what were calling it. So were basically going to pay homage to all of the women that have kind of experienced all of these things and that sort.

Minus, one of two female promoters in The Bahamas, said people want to see a change and that is the reason why they have decided to put on the all-female show, as opposed to having male competitors.

At the same time, she revealed that First Class Promotions is looking forward to staging a few shows that will have a combination of male and female competitors and all male casts as well in the future.

First Class Promotions is back after almost a decade of not promoting any professional boxing shows, she pointed out.

While the show will be held in honour of the Breast Cancer and the Sister Sister Group, Brennen said they will also be recognising the legendary ailing Ray Minus Jr, who was the founder of Champion Amateur Boxing Club, which gave birth to First Class Promotions.

Ray Minus has made a major contribution to the sport of boxing, Brennen said. He has literally put us on the map. Hes that guy, coming up in our era, who was simultaneously with boxing. We hope to honour Ray Minus and a number of boxers, who went on to represent The Bahamas.

We are looking forward to honouring Ray Minus Jr in particular and other individuals like (Jermaine) Choo Choo (Mackey). So, we thank you for coming out and supporting this event.

Minus, the former wife of Minus Jr, said they are looking forward to recognising him for his contribution while putting on the first all-female show in the Bahamas.

Tickets are priced at $35 for general admission and $125 for VIP. All major cards will be accepted for payment. All persons attending are urged to wear something pink in recognition of Breast Cancer.

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'Come out and support' the Fight for the Cure - Bahamas Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

NIGEL Dakin, Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands, has expressed gratitude to the Bahamas government for lending support to assist in their fight against crime, saying the nations officers are already making a difference on the grounds there.

The day after the Bahamian officers arrived, they were operational, he said during his address to TCI on Tuesday.

All I need to say now is theyve already made a difference. Some are directly inducted into our tactical firearms unit, making one large joint team. Some are deployed as response units. Their dogs, able to attack or to search, were active at the airport yesterday, supporting our customs officers search for guns and drugs.

I, the Premier and Commissioner, and the people of the TCI, are extremely grateful for what can only be described as very generous support from our steadfast neighbour. Bahamas, you have been your brothers keeper.

Mr Dakin made the remarks while giving an update on local and international response to tackle the rise in gang related violence on TCI, adding the situation there had been significantly more stable in recent days.

He thanked The Bahamas and the US for assisting with policing operations.

According to police officials, about 20 Bahamian officers were sent to TCI last week as a part of a joint national security operation.

National Security Minister Wayne Munroe has said the government of Turks and Caicos remains a critical partner in ensuring the safety and well being of Bahamians and assured the operation was in the best interests of the country.

He has also hit out at backlash to the announcement with some observers asking why the government would send police officers abroad while The Bahamas is grappling with a rise in murders and other violent crimes.

In a press statement released on Monday, the Free National Movement raised similar concerns and also called on the government to explain its rationale over the move.

We have for national security reasons not been explicit and I see the leader of the opposition doesnt seem to understand and if I tell you all what the officers are there to do, we are also telling the criminals what the officers are there to do, Mr Munroe responded on Tuesday.

So, I dont grasp how they did national security, but how we do national security is we do not arm our enemy with information so the Bahamian people could be assured that it is the Bahamian national security interests that is being addressed by our officers in the Turks and Caicos.

All we need to do is look at Haiti. Haiti is a failed state in terms of their police apparatus collapsing and if anyone thinks that doesnt impact The Bahamas, then they dont have a sufficiently broad view of our national security interests.

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Turks and Caicos thanks for Bahamas police link - Bahamas Tribune

SportsNewsday Reporter10 Hrs AgoTT men's beach soccer team -

TRINIDAD and Tobago will be represented at the 2022 Bahamas Beach Soccer Cup when both the mens and womens teams will travel to Nassau, Bahamas, later this month.

The tournament is being hosted by the Bahamas Beach Soccer Association in collaboration with Beach Soccer Worldwide (BSWW) and will include Colombia, Costa Rica, Bahamas, Turks and Caicos and TT.

The TT women will begin the tournament on October 21 against Turks and Caicos and close off the group stage against Bahamas on October 23 at the Beach Soccer Stadium, Sir Sidney Poitier Bridge, Nassau.

On the mens side, TT will take on hosts Bahamas on October 21 before meeting Colombia on October 22 and Costa Rica a day later in the group stage.

The tournament will serve as the beginning of preparations for the 2023 CONCACAF Beach Soccer World Cup qualifiers.

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Trinidad and Tobago beach soccer teams to play in Bahamas Cup - TT Newsday

But return to pre-COVID levels not good

Nation musttarget 3-3.5% GDP expansion

Inflation projected to peak at 7.2% this year

ByNEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas is being urged to significantly move the needle on medium-term economic expansion even though the International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday raised this nations 2022 growth forecast back to 8 percent.

The Fund, in its latest World Economic Outlook, completely reversed Marchs two percentage point cut by increasing The Bahamas projected GDP growth for this year from 6 percent to 8 percent. That places it among the highest expanders in the Caribbean behind oil-rich Guyana (57.8 percent), Barbados (10.5 percent) and St Kitts and Nevis and St Lucia at 9.8 percent and 9.1 percent, respectively.

The IMF also maintained its 4.1 percent growth forecast for The Bahamas in 2023, as this nations tourism-driven recovery from the COVID-19 pandemics depths continues despite mounting fears of a US and global recession coupled with internal headwinds from rising energy costs.

No explanation was provided for the upward revision to The Bahamas 2022 economic growth, which provides modest respite from last weeks grim developments that included another credit rating downgrade by Moodys. However, Gowon Bowe, Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief executive, told Tribune Business that the change was likely sparked by the availability of more timely and accurate data on how strongly tourism continues to rebound.

Reiterating that The Bahamas continues to suffer from a deficiency in timely and quality statistical collation, with data on hotel occupancies, cruise ship arrivals and tourist spending - and their overall GDP impact - now more readily accessible for the IMF and others.

Of greater concern, Mr Bowe argued is the IMFs continuing prediction that The Bahamas will return to historical low GDP growth in the short to medium-term once it has recovered what was lost in COVID. Economic expansion is projected to be just 1.5 percent in 2027, and the Fidelity chief told this newspaper: Thats what we have to be very careful on.

When you ask questions about whether we have done anything significant to move the needle, the answer is no. We have to have structural changes, a more established mindset change. He added that last weeks Moodys downgrade, which pushed The Bahamas further into so-called junk status, suggested international as well as local observers want to see meaningful evidence of structural change as well as an altered attitude.

I dont think theres a lack of intellectual thrust in whats being said, but its what we say in the Bahamian vernacular: Mouth can say anything, Mr Bowe said. We have to demonstrate that what we are saying has tangible actions behind it that support it.

In reality, when we dont have an economic plan, we dont have a debt management plan, we dont have a Budget that has credible forecasts in the medium-term... The reality is because you present numbers it doesnt mean they will be automatically accepted. Theres not been a history of long-term forecasts and accountability measuring which elements we have achieved and which we have not.

There was too little analysis and explanation for why certain fiscal targets were missed, and why projections extending out three years were frequently subject to change at each Budget cycle, he added.

Hubert Edwards, the Organisation for Responsible Governances (ORG) economic development committee head, told Tribune Business that The Bahamas must aim for annual GDP growth rates north of 2 percent with a consistent 3 percent to 3.5 percent the ultimate goal if this nation is to make serious inroads into its economic woes.

I dont know if concerning is the right word, he said of the IMFs 1.5 percent growth forecast for 2027. That is the area of biggest focus and the biggest policy challenge. In order for The Bahamas to fundamentally correct some of the issues its faced with, its going to need to experience above average growth.

We have a circumstance where were going to revert to pre-COVID, pre-crisis levels, which is not good, and suggests we have not made any significant shift, not implemented or executed any type of reform, developed and expanded new industries, diversified and expanded into new revenue streams.

The challenge in The Bahamas is to get us north of 2 percent, and get us up to growth of 3-3.5 percent. Historically, we have been averaging just over 1 percent. In times when we have had our greatest level of growth, we have been just about or north of 2 percent. Two percent is the benchmark we need to get beyond. Two percent to 2.5 percent, three percent to 3.5 percent is the area that we need.

Without such growth, Mr Edwards voiced fears that the Government will be forced to introduce new and/or increased taxation and cut public spending to achieve its fiscal targets via austerity measures. He pointed to Moodys recent assessment, which expressed concerns that the Davis administrations plans to restrain public spending may impose downward pressures on economic growth.

Pointing out that these scenarios are to be avoided, the ORG chief added: We need to get to a place where we see real, robust growth, not 2-2.5 percent nominal growth. He also described the IMFs 8 percent growth forecast for The Bahamas for 2022 as a marginal move given that it was not a major increase upon the 7 percent predicted last week by Moodys in its latest credit assessment.

John Rolle, the Central Banks governor, had in early August trimmed his GDP growth forecast for The Bahamas in 2022 to 5 percent, so the IMFs revision at least represents a reasonable upgrade on that. The revised 8 percent GDP expansion follows 13.7 percent growth in 2021, which came after COVID and associated lockdowns/restrictions caused the Bahamian economy to shrink by 23.8 percent in 2020 - the biggest contraction in the Western Hemisphere bar Venezuela and St Lucia.

Elsewhere, the IMF forecast that inflation will peak at 7.2 percent in The Bahamas this year before declining to a more manageable 3.4 percent in 2023. While the 2022 projection indicates there is a bit more pain to be endured in terms of price increases, Mr Edwards said the drastic drop-off in the inflation rate year-over-year could prove a mixed bag if too much demand is squeezed out of the Bahamian economy and its tourism industry.

A supply side improvement, with product shortages reduced if not eliminated, together with a reduction in food and energy costs will benefit the Bahamian economy, he added. But if the US plunges into recession as a result of interest rate hikes designed to dampen down inflation, that may have implications for local economic activity.

Mr Bowe agreed, adding that the US and other major economies are taking a big gamble that through interest rate hikes they can bring inflation under control quickly while also creating a soft landing for their economies with a minimal, short lived recession. Should this fail, The Bahamas will feel the negative consequences.

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'Move the needle': IMF puts Bahamas growth back to 8% - Bahamas Tribune