By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A US government report has challenged the lack of “visible progress” made by The Bahamas in converting its key investment agency into the long-promised Bahamas Invest.

The US State Department, in its just-released 2025 ‘investment climate statement’ on The Bahamas, said it is “unclear whether it remains a government priority” to transform the existing Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA) into a renamed entity modelled along the lines of its Jamaican counterpart.

Noting that major investment projects in The Bahamas require approval by multiple government agencies, the report, which has been seen by Tribune Business, asserted: “Bureaucratic impediments are not limited to the National Economic Council (NEC) approvals process.

“The country lags on international metrics related to starting a business, registering property, acquiring construction permits, accessing credit and resolving property disputes. Significant delays in the approvals process have occurred, including cases where the Government failed to respond to investment applications.

“In recent years, the Government announced plans to launch Bahamas Invest, an independent agency intended to fast-track foreign direct investment (FDI), streamline approvals and increase transparency. However, there has been no visible progress on this initiative, and it remains unclear whether it remains a government priority. Currently, the BIA continues its oversight of all FDI-related activities.”

Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, has frequently touted the Government’s intentions to transform the BIA into Bahamas Invest during annual and mid-year Budget presentations. However, there has been less talk about this proposal in recent years.

The Government had been eager to revamp the BIA along the lines of its Jamaican counterpart, JAMPRO, converting it into a proactive agency that goes out and targets the investors and industries desired by The Bahamas for economic growth and job creation as opposed to simply letting all manner of projects come to.

Elsewhere, the US ‘investment climate statement’ identified many of the supposed deficiencies in The Bahamas’ anti-corruption and governance regimes that have been cited in previous versions of this annual report. This is despite The Bahamas being ranked equally with the US in Transparency International’s 2024 Corruption Perception Index, meaning the latter may be in no position to preach to this nation.

“To improve the investment environment, the Government has introduced reforms, such as the Public Procurement Act and e-procurement platform. However, a lack of transparent investment procedures and legislation continues to create challenges for investors,” the US State Department added.

“Despite government efforts to improve transparency and efficiency, investors face challenges such as a lack of clearly-defined investment procedures, delays in resolving legal disputes and incomplete implementation of anti-corruption reforms.... The Bahamas ranked 28th out of 180 countries – tied with the US – in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index in 2024.

“However, the country’s ranking has fallen nine points since 2011, indicating growing concerns over governance and anti-corruption enforcement. While the Government has proposed amendments to good governance laws, several key reforms remain stalled,” the US report added.

“The 2017 Freedom of Information Act is not fully implemented, legislation to establish an Integrity Commission and support campaign finance reform is also delayed. The Office of the Information Commissioner, despite the appointment of a commissioner in mid-2021, still lacks full technical and administrative staff....

“In January 2024, the Ombudsman Bill, 2023 passed in the House of Assembly and it later passed in the Senate in February 2024. The Bill establishes the Office of Ombudsman to investigate the administrative actions of any public authority and determine whether there is evidence of maladministration.

“The Ombudsman is responsible for making recommendations to improve administrative practices and procedures of the authorities under review. However, more than a year later, it remains unclear why implementation of the Bill is delayed.”

While the US report gave The Bahamas credit for the House of Assembly’s passage of the Independent Commission of Investigations Bill earlier this year, creating a body to probe misconduct and crimes by public officials, it appeared to lament the fact this will take several years to become fully operational.

“While anti-corruption laws exist in The Bahamas, enforcement against public officials has been inconsistent, and full implementation of key accountability measures has faced delays. In February 2025, the House of Assembly passed the Independent Commission of Investigations Bill, establishing a permanent and autonomous oversight body with unprecedented authority,” the report said.

“The Commission will have the power to investigate complaints of misconduct and alleged crimes involving state officials and public officers. The Commission’s authority extends to a wide range of public officials and entities, including MPs, senior officers, government corporation leaders, magistrates, local administrator, and others designated by the governor general.

“It will also oversee key enforcement agencies such as the police, Defence Force, Customs, corrections, and Immigration departments. Comprised of three commissioners, supported by investigators and a full operational team, the Commission marks a significant step toward improving governance and accountability. However, it is expected to take one to several years before the Commission becomes fully operational.”

Pushing for further Bahamian reforms, the US State Department said: “There continues to be a pressing need for stronger enforcement mechanisms to prevent conflicts of interest, especially in the awarding of government contracts, which are often alleged to favour political supporters.

“There have been isolated reports of officials accepting small-scale ‘bribes of convenience’ and extending preferential treatment to wealthy or politically connected individuals.” Pointing to other alleged flaws, it added: “The Public Disclosure Act mandates that senators, MPs and senior public officials file annual declarations of assets, income and liabilities to the Public Disclosure Commission.

“However, compliance has been sporadic, and the Commission has failed to publish these disclosures as required by law. The most recent gazetted report dates back to December 2011, covering declarations only up to 2008. Efforts are reportedly underway to modernise the filing and publication system.”

Other issues were cited with the Public Procurement Act and political campaign finance reforms. “In 2023, the Government repealed and replaced the Public Procurement Act of 2021, citing unintended policy consequences.

“The new Public Procurement Act of 2023 aims to overhaul the administration of government contracts, and improve transparency and accountability in procurement processes. Nonetheless, stakeholders continue to express concerns over gaps in the enforcement of procurement rules and the risk of favoritism in contract awards.

“Additional reforms have progressed incrementally... Legislation to establish an Integrity Commission and implement campaign finance reform remains pending. Campaign financing in The Bahamas continues to be largely unregulated, lacking sufficient safeguards against quid pro quo donations and foreign influence. NGOs investigating corruption have no specific legal protections, further inhibiting civic oversight,” the US State Department added.

“US firms have identified corruption as an obstacle to FDI and have reported perceived corruption in government procurement and in the FDI approvals process.”