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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
 Nassau, The Bahamas -- Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie said, on June 22, 2016, that when his Government began its mandate four years ago, it was poised to implement the “bold and proactive transformative” agenda set out in its Charter for Governance, that was specifically designed to address the “very grave and deep-rooted economic and social problems plaguing” The Bahamas.
“However, we immediately understood that any and all of our efforts would be in vain if we failed to redress the fiscal mess that had been created by our predecessors,” Prime Minister Christie said. “Both the fundamental health of the economy and our fiscal ability to finance our programme of change hinged on our success in bringing order to the public finances.
“That would require a plan to gradually eliminate the GFS Deficit and arrest the corrosive and seemingly self-perpetuating rise in the burden of public debt.”
Prime Minister Christie made his closing statement for the 2016/2017 Budget Debate in the House of Assembly.
He said his Government’s “firm” commitment to fiscal responsibility indeed goes back to its very first days in office.
Prime Minister Christie pointed out that as early as the 2012/13 Budget Communication, he said the following:
“I will note at the outset that our room for manoeuvre is, at least in the short-term, severely constrained by the dire fiscal situation that has been handed to us by the previous Administration. As I will set out in detail below, the Government’s deficit and debt levels at this time are much worse than we had anticipated.
“We have been left with sizeable, ongoing capital expenditure commitments and a legacy of contracts entered into in the final days of the former Administration.
“We also face the carry-over into 2012/13 of certain recurrent expenditure commitments of the previous Administration in respect of the promotions exercise, back pay, salary increases and the payment of insurance benefits.
“We fully appreciate that it will be imperative to rebuild the fiscal buffers over time. The significant structural fiscal reforms that I will propose in this Budget … will be critical in this regard. The stronger, sustainable fiscal position that will result from these measures will facilitate the full implementation of our agenda for change and will underpin enhanced confidence and more buoyant growth and job creation.”
He said his Government appreciated from the very outset the vital role to be played by fiscal responsibility in the attainment of its goals.
“Unquestionably, our record as a fiscally responsible Government I believe, stands in stark contrast to that of our predecessors who, every year at Budget time, spouted the ritualistic lines about the need to redress the public finances but, in our view, failed miserably, year in and year out, even in the face of a resurgent domestic economy in 2010 and 2011,” Prime Minister Christie said.
He added that his Government followed up, in the 2012/13 Mid-Year Budget Statement with a “concrete and explicit” medium term fiscal consolidation plan that has guided its actions to the present day.
“Our steadfast adherence to the tenets of this plan is a further barometer of the depth of my Government’s commitment to fiscal responsibility as a critical prerequisite for building a better future for Bahamians; and our solid track record of fiscally responsible governance has produced the concrete results that were needed.
© Copyright 2016 by thebahamasweekly.com
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