NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Shadow Finance Minister and East Grand Bahama MP James Kwasi Thompson is warning that excessive red tape and government delays are stifling economic growth and choking off investment at a critical time for the country.
Referencing the Central Bank of The Bahamas’ latest report, Thompson notes that economic growth during the first half of 2025 was weaker than the same period last year. He says foreign exchange inflows related to tourism and investment have shown little movement, and The Bahamas is now trailing regional peers like the Dominican Republic, which is projected to grow by five percent this year compared to The Bahamas’ estimated 1.8 percent.
Thompson says that while official statements paint a polished picture of the economy, many Bahamians are not feeling those gains in their daily lives. “Let’s stop pretending things are fine,” he says. “Bahamians are feeling the squeeze at the grocery store, at the gas pump, and in their businesses. Our economy isn’t just slowing down; it’s being strangled by red tape and government inaction.”
He argues that delays in processing business, building, and investment applications are having a direct and damaging impact on job creation and entrepreneurial momentum. “Behind those statistics are real people—families scraping to get by, small businesses buried under bureaucracy, and young people losing hope,” Thompson says. “Inflation is sky-high, and wages aren’t moving. And what’s this government doing? Spinning press releases while Bahamians suffer.”
Thompson says the Davis Administration’s inability to streamline regulatory processes and approvals has become one of the greatest obstacles to economic opportunity. “Every delay, every bottleneck, every approval that sits in someone’s inbox is a lost job, a missed investment, a stalled project. We cannot afford this anymore.”
He argues that meaningful reform is urgently needed to restore investor confidence and ensure that development is not derailed by inefficiency. Thompson says the Opposition’s plan includes setting clear processing timelines for applications, digitizing government services to improve accessibility and transparency, simplifying the investment process, and establishing dedicated mechanisms to accelerate key projects—especially those in Grand Bahama and the Family Islands.
Central Bank Governor John Rolle, in his economic update on Monday, noted that The Bahamian’ economy continued to expand in the first half of 2025—though at a slower pace than the previous year. The moderation, largely tied to weaker tourism growth, came despite steady foreign direct investment and increased lending activity in the private sector. Rolle pointed to declining inflation, stronger credit expansion, and reduced loan delinquencies as signs of resilience, even as foreign exchange inflows and external reserves grew at a slower rate.
