BUSINESS in Derry is being dominated by Brexit and City Deals - one with the potential to take the region backwards and the other with the potential to catapult it into the future.
And in her keynote address to the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce's 61st annual dinner, president Jennifer McKeever launched a scathing attack on the north's politicians, who she claimed are "showing disdain for the people they live with the serve".
Hosted by Sarah Travers, last night's dinner at the Everglades Hotel was attended by more than 300 guests. Guest speakers included Leo Murphy, principal and chief executive of the North West Regional College; Derry City and Strabane District Council chief executive John Kelpie, and Darragh McCarthy, founder of financial services company FinTrU, which recently expanded its presence into the north west.
But it was the president's hard-hitting speech which caused the real stir, with Ms McKeever said the Brexit issue in particular having had the "terrible consequence" of utterly separating the two big political parties in Northern Ireland, who she said have now moved down separate ideological paths towards two very different destinations "and have to a large extent taken their communities with them".
And this, she claimed, has "made Brexit a Green and Orange issue, which has made it difficult for businesses to engage in any practical, technical discussion which has been desperately sought.
"Brussels says we in the business community must make our voice heard. But we have no government – who would hear it?
"Government will not function when politicians show disdain for the people they live with and serve. It’s hard to see where we go to from here, as there seems to be no possible Brexit outcome that will allow the people of Northern Ireland to return to the status quo of three years ago. Whatever comes next, we can’t go back to what we had.
"Brexit has scratched deeply at the idea of identity in Northern Ireland – and the scratch hasn’t been allowed to heal. But here’s the thing that we understand in business that politicians seem to have forgotten: identity doesn’t pay the wage bill, it doesn’t pay the rent and it doesn’t pay for diesel."
She added: "The loss of goodwill has been awful to witness, and it has spread from parties to the communities they represent.
"Words matter terribly here, whether they are used to build or to destroy. Goodwill is a precious resource, it’s a terrible shame to squander it.
"But goodwill isn’t just necessary for citizens, goodwill is the glue that builds businesses, and relationships. It’s not a soft community skill, it’s a critical part of financial arrangements, investment and team building."
However, Ms McKeever said that against the incredibly uncertain and challenging backdrop, it had been humbling to see the resourcefulness, ambition, tenacity, grace and decency with which the north west's business community has conducted itself.
On the City Deal, she said it gives Derry an opportunity to create a whole new generation of skilled graduates who will stay, invest, become entrepreneurs, employers, parents and citizens.
But she cautioned that it is not without challenges – not least of which is that 45 per cent of the monies come from devolved government.
"And given that we don’t currently have a government, that certainly presents a problem. But we would urge and support our politicians to find a way to return to government, to get City Deals for Derry and Belfast, to rebalance the regional economy, and to put innovation, productivity and entrepreneurship at the heart of government policy.
"The bid will require collaboration and imagination on the part of the regional stakeholders and yes, an enormous amount of goodwill. But the prize is too valuable to give up on.
"It represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity for the city to redefine itself, not as a post-Brexit border town, but as a vibrant city ready to meet the global challenges of a future which is coming towards us very fast."
