35TH ANNUAL BAHAMAS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 'CHAMBER WEEK'
MONDAY 24TH APRIL, 2006
 
GLOBALISATION AND COMPETITION

 There are many definitions of ‘globalisation’ and I will not attempt to formulate another. We all know what we mean by globalisation, namely, the increasing opening up of national economies to flows of goods and services, a process enormously facilitated by the development of information technology.

Straightaway one can see that the ability to provide high quality goods and services is of paramount importance to a nation.

Because if a nation does not provide those high quality goods and services, or if it is incapable of doing so, it will lose markets both domestically and internationally.

One can also see that information technology is equally crucial because otherwise a nation is ‘flying blind’ in terms of essential economic and financial information and therefore cannot compete in the international market or even retain its own market.
 
The benefits of globalisation to any nation depend on its ability and readiness to adapt to the requirements posed by the globalisation process.

   If a nation has a well-educated and ambitious and adaptable labour force, then that nation can look forward to seeing its labour force move up the ladder to increasingly better-paid and rewarding employment.

On the other hand, If a nation has a labour force which is slow to adapt and unwilling to pursue higher education, then that nation is doomed to accepting the employment opportunities which the more successful have abandoned as they moved upwards.

For us in The Bahamas, this is a lesson well learnt.

In an effort to support the growth and expansion of the private sector, the Government of The Bahamas is committed to providing the infrastructure, legal framework and incentives essential to drive and sustain profitable ventures.

We now realise that the natural attributes which we claim as our natural competititive advantages in our race for economic growth is insufficient when stacked against the competition.

Today, the competition is both regional and international.  How well we do depends on many factors; one of the key ingredients being how well prepared we are to run the global race.

 Everyone in society has a major role to play in embracing globalisation.

People are the center of every economy.

It is the ambition and the perseverance of the people which matters in responding to the pressures of globalisation.

The private sector has a crucial role to play in embracing globalisation because the private sector has to be ever vigilant to meeting enhanced competition and to ensuring that it has the capacity to beat the competition.

But probably more than anything else, the public sector and Government have central leading roles. This aspect is one on which I would like to make a few comments.

The public sector must be well organized and efficient in enabling the rest of the economy to meet the globalisation challenge.

The public sector must keep its processes and procedures continually under review so that modernization of these processes and procedures is a continual and seamless response.

The public sector must search vigilantly for the best administrative practices and adapt them to the needs of the nation.

For this purpose the managerial expertise of the public sector must be as good as that of the private sector.

Every highly developed modern economy has a public sector which aims to attain the highest levels of efficiency and competence.

Here in The Bahamas we are devoting a great deal of attention to analysing the weaknesses of the public sector managerial system and putting in place the measures necessary to bring that system up to the highest international levels.

This means placing the greatest emphasis on providing public sector workers and managers with the training needed, and removing any obstacles to their ability to improve their efficiency and effectiveness.
 
To support its endeavours in reaching managerial excellence, the public sector must ensure that it is continually applying the latest developments in information technology.

Computerisation is the most powerful tool imaginable for enhancing communication between the citizen, the business sector and the State, and in channeling vital information between the State and its citizens and their businesses.

It is for this reason that in The Bahamas we are attaching great priority to developing e-government.

E-Government will help us to take maximum advantage of the developments in information technology to improve the efficiency of Government operations and to streamline the delivery of Government services.
 
The educational system generally has a major role to play in ensuring that Bahamians extract the greatest benefits from globalisation.

The United Kingdom, as an example, has set itself the target of having at least 50% of its workforce educated to at least degree level or its technical equivalent within the next few years.

This is because a highly educated workforce is far more likely to be able to meet the challenges of globalisation and adapt than a less well educated workforce.

Here again, the Government of The Bahamas has a major role to play in improving all levels of education so as to ease access to third level education and skills training so that every Bahamian can benefit from globalisation.

My Government is determined that no-one and no community would be left behind.
 
The very scale of the productive capital inflows into development projects throughout our economy, dramatically affecting almost every single Island of our archipelago, clearly demonstrates the success of our approach to globalisation.

Since May 2002, approval has been given to projects with:
? Projected Capital Investment that has been conservatively pegged at $11.5 Billion
? Total Capital Investment to Date - $1.5 Billion (All approved Projects that are under construction and/or operational.
? Value of contracts awarded to Bahamians ($418 million).

This is a clear indication of our relative competitiveness and confirms that we are an attractive centre for investment.  The only thing now is that we need to ensure that we retain our competitive edge.

We will continue with these initiatives and we will not hesitate to implement other initiatives which may be needed in due course to ensure that The Bahamas and all its citizens reap the fullest rewards from the globalisation process.
 
There is no room for complacency on meeting the challenges of globalisation.

Equally there is everything to be gained from meeting the challenges head-on. The Government of The Bahamas is doing so by enhancing the efficiency of the public sector, by implementing e-government and by devoting the highest possible priority to education at all levels.

We are already one of the most successful independent economies in this Hemisphere.

We are determined to retain that position by aggressively pursuing the initiatives already in train which have been so markedly successful to date.