The Tribune

PRIME Minister Perry Christie said the government's Charter for Governance delineates the way forward to a brighter future for the Bahamian people, and also represents the government's covenant with all citizens.

During his contribution to the Budget Debate, the Prime Minister said: "The charter offers Bahamians a clear vision and action plan that are tailored to bring about the necessary changes in our economy and society that will bring immediate and medium term relief to our citizens.

"We will steadfastly be guided by the vision that was pledged in the charter as we work long and hard to execute the mandate which we have been entrusted."

He said to ensure that the government honours its commitment to hit the ground running, and deliver immediate relief to counteract the pain that is felt by many citizens, it set out a specific 14 point action plan for the first 100 days in office.

"We have been up-front and honest with the people that we will not pursue change by simply spending more money. Meaningful and sustainable change requires a multi-faceted response taking into consideration all aspects of the economy. The 2012/13 Budget Communication is clear on this point," Prime Minister Christie said.

"My government is firmly committed to fiscal prudence and the return of the fiscal accounts to more sustainable levels."

He explained that the government's main objective in this area is at minimum to balance the current accounts of expenditure and revenue.

"We acknowledge that we will need to seek flexible, innovative and fiscally responsible approaches as we implement our visionary agenda," he said.

The Prime Minister also noted that the government faced an extreme time constraint in preparing the 2012/13 Budget, which had to be presented some three weeks after the election.

"We discovered that the previous administration had left us with a fiscal situation or near term prospects that were far worse than we reasonably could have expected."

"In finalising the 2012/13 Budget, my government had very little discretionary room to manoeuvre," he said.

"I believe that the 2012/13 Budget Communication nevertheless, represents a solid start on our programme and clearly sets out our immediate areas of priority."