Posted by Eleuthera Economic Development Board on April 04, 2002 at 18:30:43:
The Bahamian economy
Released Thursday, April 4, 2002 by Charles Huggins
The Independent candidate for St. Margarets, Pierre Dupuch stated that "the only way to strengthen the Bahamian economy is to stop the hemorrhage of dollars out of the country." Mr. Dupuch who left the Free National Movement (FNM) because of disagreements between him and the party, has been campaigning for the seat he has held for the FNM.
Light manufacturing
The statement which was issued from his Jerome Avenue constituency office reiterated the oft gotten fact that The Bahamas is "just a stopping point". He explained that the reason for this is the fact that "of every tourist dollar that is spent in The Bahamas, at least 80 cents of that leaves the country immediately to buy food, souvenirs and other items for the tourist industry. It means we're just a stopping point and that we're creating employment in other countries," said the veteran politician and former cabinet minister.
He said that if each of the 4-million tourists who visit the country each year spent $100 on locally produced goods and souvenirs, an additional $400 million would be generated for the Bahamian economy.
"We have to broaden the base of our economy. That is just one of the areas we could investigate that would bring millions of additional money into the country without having to advertise for one more tourist," says the longtime MP who has a degree in business and economics.
As a start Mr. Dupuch wants to see a change in the ratio of Bahamian to foreign straw sold in the market. "Next year, the ratio of Bahamian to foreign straw sold in the market must be 70 percent local to20percent foreign. That is something I have advocated for a long time," says Mr. Dupuch. "It is a good start, but there are other things we can do to boost local industry and employment. For example, we have the Chickcharnie. It is uniquely Bahamian and should be produced as a souvenir. We have conch jewelry - cameos made in Italy from Bahamian conch shells. They in fact support an entire town in Italy selling cameos. These are just a few of the things that could be done here," says Mr. Dupuch. Mr. Dupuch did not, however, give any idea how the changes he suggested would be made.
Agriculture
A former Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Dupuch bemoaned the country's dependence upon food imports, which he said "also take a huge bite out of every tourist dollar The Bahamas earns."
He said that heavy dependence on outside food also makes The Bahamas vulnerable to the ebbs and flows of foreign economies and political crises, as September 11 demonstrated. "On that day, all supply lines were cut between the US and The
Bahamas with one command from the president. It underscored the importance of Bahamian farmers and local produce to the economy," says Mr. Dupuch. And while local fruits and vegetables may not look the same as imported food, he says that is actually a uniquely Bahamian selling point.
He also noted that during his time as minister with responsibility for agriculture, he attempted to create interest in Bahamian cuisine through chefs' competitions. The idea was that these competitions would serve not only to create uniquely Bahamian dishes but would also serve as an additional attraction for visitors.
Mr. Dupuch sees these initiatives in light manufacturing and agriculture creating new employment, and developing areas outside of Nassau. "The other important thing is that you are creating employment in The Bahamas and not just Nassau and Freeport. You are spreading your population out, because various islands are advantageous to certain industries." This type of development has other benefits, not least of which is the decline in the crime rate. He said spreading out the population would in turn ease the crime and congestion that plagues Nassau. "One of the things that causes crime in any country," he said, "is the city life, where people have nothing to do and they are crowded on one another like sardines." "You want to create things in the islands that encourage people to stay there," says Mr. Dupuch.
His fundamental development strategy is to focus on each island's assets and capitalise on them. Using Inagua as an example he said that island with its unique attractions was ripe for Bahamian entrepreneurs who wanted to go into eco tourism and by so doing create the conditions that would not only create jobs for Bahamians but also deal with the albatross that is Bahamasair and at least begin to make it less of a burden on Bahamians.
"In order to build a nation, we need to think big", said Dupuch. "If we could capitalise on all of these ideas, and each tourist spent just $100 of what he now spends on foreign trinkets and foreign foods on Bahamian goods instead, that would translate into an extra $400 million a year for The Bahamas."