Prime Minister Perry Christie.
By RICARDO WELLS
Tribune Staff Reporter
rwells@tribunemedia.net
THE government is charting a course of correction and fiscal responsibility, Prime Minister Christie insisted earlier this week as he cautioned those who may be alarmed over the recent decision by international credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) to downgrade the country’s credit rating to “junk” status.
In an interview with The Tribune during the Boxing Day Junkanoo Parade, Mr Christie called for calm amidst the concern that has arisen in the wake of S&P’s announcement.
He said his administration “sits comfortable” with the move as it sees it as a “simple misunderstanding with timing”, contending that S&P sees positive economic growth on the horizon for The Bahamas, but not until 2018.
Mr Christie said: “Our detractors will push the doom and gloom message, but when we look closer at this, it comes down to a difference in timing.
“Standard and Poor has, in the recent past, indicated that the Bahamas is moving from a negative to a stable outlook. So I am satisfied with that. The disagreement that exists between Standard and Poor and the government has to do with timing.
“Standard and Poor believes that there will be a positive outcome but they think so in 2018 as opposed to 2017. The government has been incentivised by Standard and Poor to demonstrate to Standard and Poor that their uncertainty about timing and Baha Mar is just that, their uncertainty.
“We are not uncertain, we are confident that Baha Mar will hire 1,500 people in the month of January, going to 3,500 or there abouts in the month of August, opening the hotels by April, being able to have more Bahamians employed and therefore impacting the economy positively.
“We believe that all of that is going to happen, we are working to make that happen,” he said.
According to Mr Christie, proposed investment opportunities in several Family Islands are on the horizon.
Moreover, concern for Grand Bahama has been tempered by recent meetings in Hong Kong between the Christie administration and investment group Hutchinson Whampoa.
Mr Christie indicated that the investment group will play a leading role in the revitalisation of Grand Bahama’s economy; ensuring that major employment bases such as Grand Lucayan Beach Resort, Memories Resort and the Freeport Container Port will all reopen in the coming months.
“That is where the talk of timing comes from. We were put off course by an act of God,” he said, referring to the devastation left behind by Hurricane Matthew in October and Hurricane Joaquin in October 2015.
“We had two years, two major storms, but we are working our way through this together,” said Mr Christie.
“The Bahamas is on a course of correction and fiscal responsibility, myself and the PLP are the best hands; the most safest and prepared hands to chart such a course.
“We are concerned with Grand Bahama, it is our second economy, with Lucayan Beach closed, Memories closed, the (Freeport) Container Port closed; but we have been working. But we have had a delegation go to Hong Kong to meet with Hutchinson Whampoa and we have had meetings and we are working towards putting in place the process towards having those places open and the economy in Grand Bahama restored.
“With that said, we have in the meantime been employing people in the construction, repair and restoration of people’s homes.
“Again, by and large, we want to ensure that with the unemployment numbers having dropped, when we came to office it was 160,000 people employed, there are 192,000 people employed and so we feel confident of the fact that we have been on the move and doing the right thing.
“That is going to be the thing at the end of the day, us being able to cause for the Bahamian people to know that their security and the safety of their economy is in the right hands and we are taking the right steps to bring about normalcy and full restoration.”
Global credit rating agency S&P has justified the downgrade to BB+ (speculative or “junk” grade) from BBB- (investment grade) on the basis that it is now projecting the Bahamian economy will only grow by 0.3 per cent this year, down from its 1.2 per cent estimate in April.
Echoing the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) recent warnings, S&P said government spending was still outpacing revenue despite the introduction of value added tax (VAT), with Hurricane Matthew restoration costs set to inflict “further pressure” on expenditure in 2017.
Lower gross domestic product (GDP)/economic growth would also negatively impact the government’s tax revenues and fiscal consolidation plans, the agency said.
Comments
MonkeeDoo 7 years, 4 months ago
THE government is charting a course of correction and fiscal responsibility, Prime Minister Christie insisted earlier this week as he cautioned those who may be alarmed over the recent decision by international credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) to downgrade the country’s credit rating to “junk” status. Presumably that is an admission of the Government's prior fiscal irresponsibility. We MUST get to a stage in this country where if people in Government or Government Agencies do a poor job that they are personally held liable to repay the losses or do time in the correctional institution. You lose our money we take it back from your personal resources, If you don't have it you go up so for a few years and crack rock.
ohdrap4 7 years, 4 months ago
i want to hear 'austerity'
in the meantime, the lunatics at UB want 100 million dollars worth of dorms. soon to be 200 million bahamian dollars,
ingraham got voted out because of 200 million dollar roads, but at least i use that.
hallmark 7 years, 4 months ago
Better hurry up Mr. P.M. You have less than six months left to start "charting fiscal responsibility." My how time flies, 4 and half years gone already!
Economist 7 years, 4 months ago
He is like a man in the desert desperate for water and seeing one mirage of an oasis, with water, after another.
He really believes it. The only problem is that it isn't true, it is just a mirage.
CMinnis 7 years, 4 months ago
Perry said: He said his administration “sits comfortable” with the move as it sees it as a “simple misunderstanding with timing”, contending that S&P sees positive economic growth on the horizon for The Bahamas, but not until 2018.
What an idiot. He is clueless and cannot "grasp" what is going on. Bahamians need to take "stock" of what's going in Venezuela and Haiti. People literally starving to death. What he need to do is recoup ALL the funds they stole from the Treasury and stop taking kick backs from contracts given to friends. And!!! Where is the $$$$$ from VAT???? He is literally an UGLY, RAGGED FACE DONKEY!
Alex_Charles 7 years, 4 months ago
I don't believe a word out of this man's mouth
Well_mudda_take_sic 7 years, 4 months ago
May be so, but Crooked Christie has crippled our country for all eternity and no matter who the Bahamian people replace him with under our current system of government will be just as corrupt and bad as he is if not much worse. We are truly fooked thanks to Red China dishing out US$50 million to the Christie Family, US$28 million to the Dimwitted Minnis, US$30 million to the grabbadacious LBT, and millions more to others (like the Wicked Witch, the Bag Man and Wannabe Bran) who have played key roles in selling our sovereignty and souls to the Great Yellow Communist Regime. We have been returned to slavery again by our very own...simply unbelievable!
Alex_Charles 7 years, 4 months ago
I can't agree completely without evidence to support those damning accusations. However, I agree that christie has crippled the country for years to come.
JohnDoe 7 years, 4 months ago
Apparently the PM and his cohorts have either failed to read the S&P report or willfully refuse to acknowledge that it is not about Bahamar or any one-off economic growth spurt in 2017 or 2018. At the heart of the report is the premise that successive governments have failed to produce any evidence of a SUSTAINABLE economic growth or development plan and that economic growth to this point have largely been reliant on exogenous factors like FDI which going forward will become a less effective, less efficient and more costly growth mechanism. In other words the government's gross mis-handling of the Bahamar deal have accelerated the demise of the FDI model and as a result future FDI deals will likely have more current and future costs associated with it than any benefits that will be derived from them.
OldFort2012 7 years, 4 months ago
Time is what The Bahamas does not have. If the current external debt coming due over the next 3 years cannot be refinanced, default will be quickly followed by devaluation. It appears almost inevitable now. Whoever wins the next General Election, will have an almost impossible task. Better start farming now. Food will triple in price when the absurd illusion that a B$=US$ is finally ended by market forces.
sealice 7 years, 4 months ago
Hey Dumbass!!! Why do you need a course of correction..... didn't you just say erryting is hunky dory and Bah Mar will save the Bahamas? To bad there ain't much that can save us from you and yer cronies.....
realfreethinker 7 years, 4 months ago
He is one piece of shit
sengli02 7 years, 4 months ago
I think that, The Bahamas should have a two years term for government and officials. Due to the two years term, they will not do a lot of damage. Under British rule, The Bahamas was a thriving country.
Well_mudda_take_sic 7 years, 4 months ago
You seem to be implying that as a black nation we cannot govern ourselves as a democracy under majority rule. If so, the history of our country since becoming independent on July 10th, 1973 has shamefully proven you to be correct. The writing is now clearly on the wall that we will soon be much worse off relatively speaking than we ever were under our period of slavery in the Bahamas. And for that we have only our very own to thank! I never ever thought I would be praying for the return of minority rule, but it certainly seems that we, as a black nation, would be much better off today had we remained a British colony under a majority white government. But Pindling and his cohorts could not resist becoming too uppity and the Brits were only too happy to see us leave their protective fold, even though they probably knew at the time we would sink rather than swim. Only those Bahamians fortunate enough to have a second passport and who have wisely moved most of their assets abroad will survive the train wreck and outright carnage that lies ahead for our Bahamaland!
sealice 7 years, 4 months ago
they took my passport away when i was 4 years old can i get it back and leave??
licks2 7 years, 4 months ago
Layin on the floor. . .vell-mudda-take-sic! I never, never, ever thought that I would see the day that you could be objective! I am black as pot "collie" and Bahamian to boot. . .but you sir/mam have layer out our history with black government in one of the most honest and accurate done by any Bahamian before! Where we differ is that these "yong" people dem will do us proud. . .its just these old "entitled" fools who are creating the problem!
JohnDoe 7 years, 4 months ago
Wow!
MonkeeDoo 7 years, 4 months ago
sengli02 & well_mudda_take_sic: Several years ago the Cayman Islands Government went to Parliament with a budget shortfall, which they (Government) thought would be fine. Well the Crown had oversight of their finances and told them in no uncertain terms that they COULD NOT spend more money than they took in. They immediately imposed a massive increase in Offshore Bank License Fees, to cover the shortfall, but they knew that deficit budgets would never be acceptable under the Crown. We need something in the Constitution to prevent such stuff with harsh penalties for doing it. Zimbabwe cannot use its own currency anymore because it is so worthless. They are using nine currencies from other countries. US Dollars, South African Rand,Botswana Pula,British Pound Sterling,Australian Dollar,Chinese Yuan,Indian Rupees,Japanese Yen. Maybe we can adopt the Haitian Gourde ?
sheeprunner12 7 years, 4 months ago
As long as we hold on to this fictional US dollar exchange policy .......... we cannot expect to rebound from this extended deep recession (2008-present) .......... We need to change our economic focus and fiscal responsibility culture because this PLP-led administration has pulled a SLOP2.0 on us (Nation for Sale) with the Chinese .......... Bahamar and the Chinese cannot save us without basic Bahamian political, legal and socio-economic changes
licks2 7 years, 4 months ago
Runner. . .I am confused about this US dollar exchange ting. . .who benefit from us keeping it. . .I lost. . .
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