Deputy  Prime Minister Peter Turnquest says that  economic growth in the country will be felt within a year.  He was  responding to concerns that despite the touted growth in the economy, this is not being felt by everyday Bahamians.

According Mr. Turnquest, this should be the case sometime this year.

“You have the construction sector that will feel it before the ordinary retailer or ordinary worker and so we have gone through two years of planting seeds.” 

“We’re beginning to see the green shoots as a result of that and I suspect that this year we will expect to see some real growth,” the Deputy Prime Minister said. 

There is  the added hope that this will lead to unemployment figures decreasing.

“Our expectation is that that should be the case given that we have had GDP growth this year, given that we have investments that are starting to come out off the ground this year and again we are optimistic about projects that are in the pipeline;  that we will start to see some activity,” he said. 

Las t week Bahamas Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Officer  Jeffrey Beckles said  more must be done to ensure all sectors benefit from the economy’s growth as the small and medium sized businesses are not feeling it.

He added that if not sustained, that 2.6 per cent growth the economy is experiencing will decline, specifically in the tourism industry.

Speaking to Rotarians, Mr. Beckles suggested  that  the country should  start having apolitical conversations in hopes of fostering growth.

Mr. Beckels last week called on the government to work to maintain the economy’s growth.