thebahamasweekly.com - Dr. Minnis: S & P downgrading The Bahamas credit rating to junk status

From:TheBahamasWeekly.com

Bahamian Politics
Dr. Minnis: S & P downgrading The Bahamas credit rating to junk status
By The Free National Movement
Dec 21, 2016 - 11:37:18 AM

Nassau, Bahamas - Dr. Minnis, Leader of the Free National Movement (FNM), issued the following statement titled, "S & P downgrading The Bahamas credit rating to junk status":

“Standard & Poor’s downgrade of our country’s credit rating to ‘junk status’ is a disastrous consequence of nearly five years of an inept PLP Government and their policies. By allowing The Bahamas’ credit rating to be downgraded again it makes it significantly harder for our country to borrow money and when we do it will ultimately cost us more because we will be forced to pay higher interest rates. This is what happens when this Government ignores a problem, acting as if it will go away if they don’t address it. Well, it does not. And this downgrade is as a direct result of the Christie-led PLP Government's continuing failure to reduce unemployment, grow the economy or rein in its reckless spending year after year.”

“The PLP continues to drag The Bahamas through the fiscal mire day in and day out. It is inexcusable that they refused to listen to the repeated dire warnings that they needed to address their out of control spending. The embattled Prime Minister will have all of us believe that they have in fact acted, but as we can see by the downgrade to junk status – Christie’s words are just as worthless as our sagging credit. The Credit Rating agencies have continued to ask the Government to cut expenditures but typical of this PLP Government they refused to heed any practical economic advice. The Prime Minister and his Government can only hide behind their smoke and mirrors for so long, the Bahamian people will hold them accountable in the next election.”

“They forced through a 7.5% VAT saying it would be put towards debt reduction. More empty rhetoric and broken promises. The results? The debt continues to rise, they have never been held to account for where the VAT money went, yet they continue to spend millions of the taxpayer dollars on ill-conceived and mismanaged programs that fail to deliver significant economic impact. And as our economy spirals downward they hand out contracts to their allies like the wasteful Christmas decorations in Nassau that cost taxpayers $350,000.”
“Our country’s future won’t improve until we have real leadership that will put an end to this madness and start to fight for the Bahamian people every day. We will empower Bahamians to start their own businesses and hire their fellow Bahamians while revamping our ‘Over-the-Hill Communities’. The FNM will provide this real economic leadership for the Bahamian people that they desperately need and deserve for their future.”