The Government has failed to execute key initiatives to kick-start the economy that were launched more than two years ago, according to the Opposition.

Douglas De Couto, the One Bermuda Alliance spokesman on finance, made the claim after the Government tabled a report on the planned expansion of North East Hamilton’s Economic Empowerment Zone.

The proposal is one of 31 initiatives contained in the Government’s Economic Recovery Plan, which was unveiled in March 2021 to power the island out of recession after the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the time, the Government declared that it was making “bold decisions” and that the plan responded to “the urgent need to safeguard and secure our economic future”.

A year later, in March 2022, Jason Hayward, the Minister of Economy and Labour, said the Government was to focus on four of the 31 initiatives contained in the plan.

At the time, he said: “The actions we must now take require boldness, determination, courage and rigorous execution.

But two of those four key planks of the ERP — the establishment of casino and vertical farming industries — have now been shelved, and according to the Government’s Economic Recovery Plan update page, many of the other 27 initiatives are still in the development stage. The page was last updated on June 16.

Dr De Couto said: “We can’t pretend to understand the Government’s lack of ability to execute important projects in a timely and effective manner, or its continued pursuit of projects that don’t make sense.

“Instead, we in the OBA focus on the results, or more typically, the lack of results from government. We ask the Bermudian public to evaluate the Government on what they have actually done, not what they say.

“Regarding the expansion of the EEZ in Hamilton, we support this concept. The important question to ask though is what will motivate investors to invest their money in Bermuda anywhere, given how the population is shrinking under the PLP government and economic growth has stalled relative to the rest of the world?

“A major driver of this growth will be increasing Bermuda’s working population, exactly as the Government’s own reports have told us. So where are the policies and laws that will facilitate this? Instead, we get legislation on classic cars.”

However, a government spokesman did issue a general statement in which he acknowledged that some initiatives had “complications to work through”.

The spokesman said: "The Government is committed to the ERP initiatives and continues to progress all initiatives and keep the public informed.

“Given the broad agenda of the ERP and additional essential initiatives achieved, such as improving protection for workers and financial assistance reform, it is not unreasonable that resources have to be allocated according to the stage of various initiatives.

“Everything cannot progress at the same pace and some initiatives have complications to work through beyond what is within the Government's immediate control.

"The Government is focused on delivering on the five strategic goals of the economic development strategy, of which the ERP is one. The ministry is considering all priorities in the context of current day and future needs and will continue to re-evaluate initiatives and keep the public informed.

"Minister Hayward will provide a full update on the ERP this quarter."