PM: $1B Difference In Pre-Election Report And Truth

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – There is a one-billion-dollar difference in the numbers provided in the Minnis administration’s pre-election economic and fiscal update report and the truth, according to Prime Minister Philip Davis who presented his government’s supplementary budget statement in the House Of Assembly today.

Vaughnique Toote has the details.

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Prime Minister Philip Davis dropped this bombshell during his first supplementary budget statement in the house of assembly today. 

Davis says he requested a full accounting of the government’s fiscal position, adding a renowned accounting firm has been reviewing information provided by the Ministry of Finance as of September 30, which is one month after the release of the Minnis administration’s pre-election report.  

Here’s what officials discovered. 

According to Davis, the pre-election report also omitted a loan assumed by the government for which the only source of payment is the cash-strapped Bahamas power and light.  

But that’s not all the firm found. 

Davis promised to present the final report to parliament, but warned not of all of those financial obligations can be met in the existing framework. 

Then there’s the issue of borrowing. Davis said the former government entered into an IMF loan without a legal opinion to confirm whether the government could comply with the terms. 

As for the financing provided by the 100-million-dollar World Bank loan to expand the hospitals on Grand Bahama and New Providence, Davis said it was poorly planned and managed. 

The Prime Minister also slammed the BPL rate reduction bond which threatens to saddle Bahamians with a 20 percent increase in electricity bills due to delays in the offering.