PM: Former Govt. Did Not Disclose

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – In his more than hour-long communication, the Prime Minister went far beyond giving an update on the country’s fiscal standing.

Davis says the liabilities and unfunded obligations include:

• $255.3 million in debt and interest payments related to the government taking over the legacy debt of BPL
• $155.5 million in unpaid bills and other obligations for state-owned enterprises
• $25.7 million for the Ministry of the Public Service, largely representing outstanding payments for insurance services
• $17.7 million for the Office of The Attorney General to settle outstanding legal claims
• $14.2 million in vat refunds for the department of Inland Revenue

As he provided a line-by-line breakdown for the $1 billion disparity in the Minnis administration’s Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Update report the PM also accused the former administration of not being forthcoming to the Bahamian people.

Davis also tabled a Deloitte report, which found that the Minnis administration’s report was only partially compliant with the Fiscal Responsibility Act in its revenue and expenditure forecasts, and was non-compliant with the FRA in detailing its new spending and outstanding stock of arrears.

Davis says what is also frustrating is some vendors have been refusing to cooperate with the government.

Now when it comes to the state of the country’s finances, Davis insists The Bahamas is headed in the right direction and moving away from the “fiscal cliff” as figures indicated a year-over-year increase in revenue, as the deficit and debt to GDP ratio both decreased.