National

What Is The National Budget And Why Is It Important?

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The nation’s fiscal plan for the next year takes center stage this week and the Prime Minister Philip Davis is set to deliver the 2025/2026 Budget Communication in parliament on Wednesday and with it, he’s expected to outline critical decisions about how the government plans to spend and earn money over the next fiscal year.

Published

7 months ago

May 26, 2025

Italia Hall

The national budget isn’t just an accounting document, it’s a reflection of the government’s priorities and how it plans to tackle the country’s most pressing challenges for the year ahead.

The fiscal year begins on July 1st and the budget will touch nearly every aspect of Bahamian life, from education and healthcare to infrastructure and national security.

Once Prime Minister Philip Davis presents the budget on Wednesday, members of parliament will begin the official debate, dissecting the numbers, programs and long-term plans.

In a recent appearance on “On The Record” with Jerome Sawyer, economist Therese Turner-Jones shared what the public should be looking for in this year’s budget and cleared up some common misconceptions.

Therese Turner-Jones – Economist

“The government only has resources to the extent that they can collect revenue and where do they get revenue? In The Bahamas, VAT, import duties, mass duties, all of those things, fees, all the things you pay to get a government service, all of that goes to the consolidated fund, in other words, the government’s account, and they can only spend to the extent that they have revenues collected.”

As for other things like infrastructure.

Turner-Jones says

“You wanna build a new airport, build a new hospital, thats infrastructure work, capital expenditure, you expect government to borrow to do those things. Its like when you build a house.”

Turner-Jones says to also be on the lookout for debt and capital expenditure.

Therese Turner-Jones – Economist

“Looking at that number and how countries manage the capital expenditure is always a good indicator of where this country is headed. Is it investing in new infrastructure, in new programs, digital transformation, for example, is it doing innovative things that are going to make the country look more competitive to investors on the outside?”

She adds, it’s important to look at which sectors are getting attention, especially those tied to future growth.

Therese Turner-Jones – Economist

“Things that I care about. For example, i care about the environment. I care about parks. I care about good roads. I care about having decent schools for our children.”

The economist shares that taxes, wages, salaries, and interest payments are key other areas to watch in any national budget.

And Turner-Jones says understanding the budget and the broader economy is something every Bahamian should be educated on.

Therese Turner-Jones – Economist

“It’s important nationally, because the more financially literate your citizens are, the more they tend to be engaged in civic activities. So the more I care about whether I throw garbage out of my car as i’m driving along. Do I care about my neighborhood? Am I joining in my neighbors to keep my neighborhood clean? Right? So that’s one level. The other level of course, is being holding our public officials to account.”