Former   Member of  Parliament  Lester Turnquest  sees division  as the biggest challenge to growing the Bahamas’ stagnant economy.

Mr.  Turnquest, appearing as a guest on the  Radio  Love 97  afternoon show, “On  Point”, said the  template for a successful country and a successful jurisdiction  is the ability to mobilize your entire population to get things done.

He said countries  like China have done it and believes that if the Bahamas has the leadership then it can too.

“When I look at Singapore,  I see a country where Muslim, Buddhist,  Atheist  and Christians are all able to exist peacefully. They had a leader who demanded that they all work as one to make the country better.

“ I don’t  know when,  or if we will ever get to that point. I believe what we need is passion and commitment to tackle these things.  We don’t need pomposity or arrogance,  we just need hard workers,”  Mr.Turnquest said.

An Economist by profession,  he says,  in an economy that’s stagnant,  law firms and accountant firms experience downturns,  an issue that he said colleagues of his  have complained about.

Mr. Turnquest said  that the Bahamian economy  will not  improve based on what is currently happening in the financial services sector.