By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas will continue to remain vulnerable to external shocks unless it reduces its over-dependence on foreign direct investment (FDI), the Opposition’s finance spokesman said yesterday.

K P Turnquest said the Bahamas had failed to capitalise on FDI for the development and empowerment of its people, adding: “I think it is sad that, to this day, we are still allowing ourselves to be dictated to rather than using foreign investment as a tool to build our economy.

“We have not made that leap yet and, as a result, we continue to be in this stagnated position where we keep depending on investment to come, because we have not capitalised on that investment for our own empowerment.

“We have to switch the way we look at this whole idea of foreign direct investment, so that we ween ourselves off of that. To the extent that we don’t, we will also be vulnerable to outside influences and to the whims and fancies of the market.”

Mr Turnquest said there ought to be significant concern over what action Standard & Poor’s (S&P) will take, given that the ratings agency has already warned there is a greater than “ one in three “ chance it could slash the Bahamas’ creditworthiness again over the next 18 months.

“The Government has indicated that they are having a discussion with S&P because they believe that there are enough projects on the board to make up for Baha Mar. This is a Government that has always been good at promising but short on delivering,” Mr Turnquest said.

“The fact of the matter is S&P has said that the delay of Baha Mar will have a significant effect on their future ratings. If you listen to the Kerzner group, they are projecting that the earliest this thing can open is winter 2017.

“That is a significant statement and it cannot bode well for the economic recovery that we need in order to grow the economy, sustain what we have and absorb the unemployment rate, and those who will be added again in June,” he added.

“We ought to have some significant concerns and, to the extent the Government is relying on projects not yet signed or committed, I think they may be a bit optimistic and, hopefully, they know something that we don’t.”

S&P downgraded the Bahamas’ sovereign credit rating to just one notch above so-called ‘junk’ status on August 25 last year, citing the then-dispute between Baha Mar’s developer and its Chinese partners as a key factor in the decision.

S&P confirmed that key factors set to weigh heavily on any such move included not just the outcome of the Baha Mar impasse, but also the Christie administration’s handling of the matter.