Although the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers' Confederation (BCCEC) will not be participating in the non-partisan march that is planned for today, CEO of BCCEC Edison Sumner said the chamber does support some concepts and ideologies of the march and what it is intended to do.

"The chamber would have no objection to anyone who would want to express themselves through freedom of expression and in this instance that means to gather in a collective group to march and to have their voices heard to address these various issues and concerns," Sumner told Guardian Business yesterday.

The march is intended to grab the attention of the nation's leaders, as supporters call for accountability and transparency from the Christie administration.

"It is important to understand that the BCCEC is a business organization; we are not a civil society group. We are here to represent the interests of private sector businesses and the employers," said Sumner.
However, he noted that the chamber supports civil society organizations (CSOs) and the initiatives put forward by those participating in the march.

He pointed out that the chamber's approach to looking at various issues would be to have the relevant levels of discussion and dialogue with the relevant agencies or authorities.

He asserted that the chamber's role is working towards improving the ease of doing business, improving fiscal responsibility as it relates to the tax infrastructure, streamlining the process for both foreign and domestic people doing business in the country, reducing the cost of energy, managing the cost of labor and continuing to ease the relations in the labor sector through the tripartite council.

In addition, Sumner said the chamber heard that a number of companies might allow some of their staff early leave to participate in the march.

"That is not something the chamber has any privy over whether or not that ought to happen. That is entirely under the privy of those companies that may want to participate in the march," he said.

Sumner added, "We understand the concerns that are being raised. We support many of the concerns that are being raised. Our role is to support what's happening at certain levels in CSOs but its more so to support the views and the interests of the private sector and what they feel is impacting them, areas they feel are affecting them, and then being able to have effective methods and means to address the issues by whichever means we feel are the most effective ways to get it done."

Xian Smith, Guardian Business Reporter

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