By Fay Simmons

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas National Productivity Task Force is rapidly escalating its push to enhance efficiency and productivity across both public and private sectors, it was revealed yesterday.

Edison Sumner, the National Productivity Task Force’s (NPTF) chairman, said improving productivity and efficiency is a nationwide priority that applies across the economy. 

Speaking at the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) Accountant’s Week seminar, he stressed that the Task Force’s work is not limited to government employees but also addresses challenges faced by private businesses. 

Mr Sumner said many companies are struggling with productivity within their own operations and are seeking external expertise because they lack the necessary skills in-house to overcome specific challenges.

“We have to enhance our levels of efficiency and productivity output across private and public sectors. And I keep saying the public and private sectors, because the work that we’re doing is not only conditioned for the public sector. It is not only conditioned for civil servants. It is not only conditioned for the public service workers,” he added. 

“We have found, even in our work being done to this point, that there are many private companies who are having challenges with their productivity in their firms.  And they've already started reaching out, saying, listen, we're having some challenges. We do not have the skill sets in-house to deal with it. We need certain expertise to help us get across certain thresholds.”

Mr Sumner said the Task Force aims to provide guidance and access to specialists from a wide range of professional fields who can help companies improve their processes and reach higher levels of efficiency.

He said this effort goes beyond just improving the work of individual employees but also focuses on enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of systems and processes.

“So we look to engage with experts in various fields, whether it has to do with human resources, whether it has to do with the accounting profession, the legal profession, any other profession that can help us identify where the challenges are in our businesses, so that collectively we are able to improve on our productive outputs. And again, this is not just labour output. This also improves on systems and processes,” said Mr Sumner. 

The Bahamas National Productivity Task Force was established by the Government and officially began its work in September this year. It builds on earlier initiatives by the National Tripartite Council, which brings together the Government, employers represented by the Chamber of Commerce, and workers through trade unions. 

The Task Force is designed to lay the groundwork for a broader national productivity infrastructure, with the ultimate goal of improving efficiency, innovation and competitiveness across both public and private sectors.

The work being done now is meant to prepare for the establishment of the National Productivity, Innovation and Competitiveness Council, which will co-ordinate national strategies and policy reforms to drive productivity improvements across The Bahamas.

The Task Force has already drafted the initial legislation to formally establish the council as a statutory entity, and this has been submitted for government review. Public consultations are planned to follow. 

The work plan is expected to continue through June 2026, by which time the Council should be formally established and ready to begin its operations alongside the new fiscal year.