Senators Go Head- To- Head Over Budget Surplus

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – As speculation looms over the Davis Administration’s reporting that the end of the 2024/2025 budget year will reflect a balanced budget, PLP Senator Darren Pickstock is stepping forward to clarify the government’s position.

While delivering the 2025/2026 Budget Communication in Parliament on Wednesday, Prime Minister Philip Davis hailed the achievement as a first for The Bahamas since gaining independence.

Senator Pickstock explained that the concept is straightforward, government revenue has exceeded government expenditure.

Darren Pickstock – Senator, Progressive Liberal Party
“A balanced budget is simply a concept where expenditure does not exceed revenue. That is a simple concept, and what the government is saying is our expenditure did not exceed our revenue, and therefore we have balanced the budget, and we have a surplus, and that is as simple as it.”

But the Free National Movement isn’t buying it.

Appearing as a guest on Our TV’s On The Record with host Jerome Sawyer, FNM Senator Michela Barnett-Ellis pushed back against the idea of a surplus, calling the claim misleading.

She says the government previously achieved a surplus under the Minnis administration’s 2020/2021 budget, and questions whether this year’s figures are being presented with full transparency.

Michela Barnett-Ellis – Senator, Free National Movement
“The question is, is there really a surplus? Because we know that during the mid-year budget, there was a deficit of almost $381 million and that there were $122 million in unpaid invoices. So the question is, have they continued to defer the payment of that just so they can appear to have a balanced budget with a surplus?
And then there’s also reference to money that they are borrowing, so have we borrowed so much money that we have a little left over? It doesn’t make sense. This is PLP math.”

On the other hand, Pickstock insists the balanced budget is a result of the government being a good steward of the public purse.

Still, many have raised questions about the announcement, given that a little over a month remains in the fiscal year, and the government continues to face deficits and outstanding debts.

Pickstock, however, says the numbers speak for themselves, and sought to address the growing concern: how could the budget be balanced with unpaid bills still on the table?

Darren Pickstock – Senator, Progressive Liberal Party
“You ask whether there is a payment outstanding for contractors, the nurses. There are indeed concerns about payment for contractors, but that is what the budget is addressing.”