Although tourism and financial services will continue to dominate the Bahamian economy, the ability of The Bahamas to develop its manufacturing and light industrial base is imperative to on-going efforts to link sectors of The Bahamian economy.
Resulting from the opening of soft loan windows for Bahamian manufacturers at The Bahamas Development Bank and BAIC; the amendments to the Tariff Act to permit the duty-free importation of machinery and raw materials for the manufacture of goods with minimum cost and paper work; the elimination of the bureaucratic delays from the registration process under the Industries Encouragement Act, the light industries sector of the economy experienced significant growth as increased numbers of Bahamian small to medium sized manufacturing concerns of a wide range of products

commenced and/or expanded their business enterprises.

The Free National Movement is committed to supporting and encouraging such development in local manufacturing and light industries and to this end, in its second term, an FNM Government will:

the import of capital equipment and plant, including commer- cial fishing vessels and raw ma- terials, and import duty on building materials for industrial development;

b) grant exemptions, on the part of such concerns, from real property taxes for specified pe- riods of time;

c) limit concessions to a specified time-frame;

d) link concessions to the ability of the registrant to meet projected employment levels and to pro duce quality goods at competi- tive prices.

n Establish a one-stop investment agency specifically to meet the needs of local manufacturers. Such an agency, to be located in a reorganised BAIC, will provide the following services to Bahamian manufacturers:

a) clear, concise information on government business develop-

ment policies and incentives;

b) information on the availability of Crown Land and other Gov- ernment held land for commer- cial development;

c) information and assistance on loan applications for The Baha- mas Development Bank, gov- ernment-guaranteed loans from commercial banks, small busi- ness loans from BAIC, and in- ternational agency assistance;

d) advice on information pertain- ing to applicable customs duties and import/export regulations;

e) assistance with the preparation of project profiles and propos- als;

f) monitoring and counselling for small businesses in their begin- ning stages;

g) identification of possible local and international markets for Bahamian manufactured goods.