The Tribune

IF ELECTED, the Democratic National Alliance claims it will break the country's "chronic addiction" to borrowing money.

The fledgling party noted that the Bahamas was the victim of two major economic downgrades last year, which "raised eyebrows" around the world.

The DNA said: "For nearly a decade, the Progressive Liberal Party and the Free National movement governments have developed and nurtured a chronic addiction to borrowing money.

"This borrowing started with the PLP, which borrowed nearly $1 billion from 2002-2007 and continued with the FNM, which borrowed about $2 billion from 2007-2012.

"Christie and Ingraham are oblivious as to how we should end this trend, but the DNA will aggressively tackle this problem."

The party said its policy is to create a healthy, stable and prosperous economy.

"We believe that the Bahamas' current fiscal course has, for some time, been irresponsible and, in the long term, unsustainable. Deficit spending should be a concern for all governments," the DNA said.

Theo Cochinamogulos, chartered accountant and DNA candidate for Carmichael, said: "The level of deficits that we have reached is already leading to warnings which successive governments have not heeded.

"Deficit spending, strictly speaking, is not a bad thing but continuous deficit spending, year-over-year, is not sustainable."

Despite unprecedented borrowing to stimulate the economy through capital works, the average Bahamian has yet to feel the intended positive effect of the government's policy decisions, he said.

Mr Cochinamogulos said Bahamians should be aware of three "startling truths" about the national debt:

• At the rate the Bahamas is repaying its debt, it will take up to 100 years to fulfil the obligation.

• Paying the interest on the debt is likely to be the single largest line item in the national budget by the next fiscal term.

• In the next year, the Bahamas will spend more money on its debt interest than on education.

He said: "We are placing a serious risk on our way of life. In the case of the new debt we are taking on, it seems to have had very little increase in the quality of life for the average Bahamian.

"We are mortgaging our future for some cosmetic purposes now, but we should be investing in the positive growth of our economic base."