Former Chairman of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce Employers’ Confederation , Gowon Bowe is optimistic about the growth of the country’s economy despite there still being a high unemployment rate, saying that he believes that the future of The Bahamas can be built upon past positives.
“We see the slow decline in the unemployment numbers, although it’s very, very high, which means persons are starting to get some employment back. We have to make sure that is not a temporary [thing] and that its sustained.
“I believe that there is this sense of optimism that certainly amongst the population that things can happen. We see positive signs in terms of the touristic development taking place in New Providence, but there are also developments in the islands that are now having attention focused on them.
“I believe that when we look at the future of the Bahamas, I think we should underscore the positives that we can build upon.
“So, whiles there is going to be the ever-changing environment of tourism and financial services, we have to give that sense of optimism that says that there are some of the positive factors that can actually contribute to a resurgence of the Bahamian economy,” Mr. Bowe stated.
He also stated that growing the economy must be stimulated by a belief in the power to create and effect change in the economy.
“Economics is a game of sentiment. It is he who feels it knows it, and when you are talking about growing economies, that is usually spurred by confidence.
“It is very difficult in tough times to convince a population that the way to come out of malaise or sort of lethargic growth is by consumption and by investment and by actually taking a chance on how you grow the economy,” Mr. Bowe said.
He further stated that there must be a willingness to take risks in order to generate a return.
“Whiles there is risk to every capital investment, the only way you will make a return is by taking risk, zero risk, zero return,” Mr. Bowe said.
Mr. Bowe who is the Chief Financial Officer at Fidelity Bank stated that although there may be challenges to the growth of the economy, it’s because of the focus which needs to be redirected.
“When you look at it, we have a number of challenges in front of us and our focus needs to not be on the negatives and those elements that are saying why it is a tough time.
“Our focus needs to be redirected to how to overcome this environment that we are in,” he said.
Mr. Bowe noted that in order for the country to retain status of being the ‘jewels of the Caribbean,’ Bahamians must speak up.
“Ultimately, I believe that there needs to be those brave voices that come forward and say that we as a country should not talk ourselves down, but talk ourselves up.
“If we are to remain the jewel of the Caribbean, then we have to act like the prince and princess of the Caribbean and we have to have that exuberance.
“I would say there are certainly headwinds and challenges, but I would say that if we are collective in our thinking and we are willing to work together, pool resources and actually look at the positive aspects, then we will have an opportunity to actually have a resurgence in the economy,” Mr. Bowe said.
Mr. Bowe’s comments came when he appeared as a guest on a JCN Roundtable discussion on the economic prospects of The Bahamas.
