on November 10th, 2026, the Bahamas National Productivity Task Force shared a report including a detailed five-year strategic plan for 2026-2031 to increase national productivity in The Bahamas.

Established in September 2025 by a government mandate through the Ministry of Labor and Public Service, the Bahamas National Productivity Task Force was created to set productivity innovation standards and measures in the country and support economic growth, diversification, job creation, and more.

Bahamas National Productivity Task Chairman, High Commissioner (H.C.) Edison Sumner addressed attendees in a session at the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) annual Accountants’ Week.

Along with a five-year strategic plan, Mr. Sumner shared the need for The Bahamas to achieve a national imperative of productivity growth and the benefits the country can yield as a result — higher wages, better quality jobs, sustained economic resilience and development, improved quality of life, sustainable innovation and competitiveness, and improved business readiness.

He also elaborated on one key productivity challenge that continued to recur in their studies in The Bahamas.

He said that among the challenges in productivity was the skills miss-match: “We hear a lot of employers, even the government, talking about the fact that there are jobs that may be available, but there are not people qualified to fill those jobs.”

Mr. Sumner shared the phases of creating a roadmap on implementing the
National Productivity Council.

In phase one, from September to December 2025, the task force was established, held its initial consultations, and drafted some of its primary documents.

In phase two, completed in March of this year, they continued with public consultations, strategic planning sessions, stakeholder engagements, and surveying.

Phase three comprised the implementation — the presentation of the bill that establishes the National Council.  H.C. Sumner said every cabinet minister received a copy of the final report; the task force has consulted with many of them, including the Prime Minister. He also mentioned that the Attorney General received a copy of the draft bill and will consult with other cabinet ministers on it.

Mr. Sumner also said the task force recommended that the country consider instituting a PRP resource planning tool. The Bahamas would benefit from better integrated data systems, providing better measures and reporting systems, better decision-making processes, improved transparency, and operational efficiencies as a result of this tool.

Although he hopes proposals of the Bahamas National Productivity Task Force would be fully implemented by 2028, H.C. Sumner said it would depend on who is assigned to the National Productivity Council, who runs the secretariat, and the response the task force receives.

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