The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

The Minister of Finance yesterday said the Government was “not happy” at having to borrow $323 million to cover the deficit for the 2017-2018 fiscal year, and urged Bahamians to “be patient a little longer” as it seeks to “get the fiscal house in order”.

Speaking with reporters after delivering the 2017-2018 Budget Communication, K P Turnquest said: “To cover the fiscal overhang for 2016-2017 we need to borrow $400 million. What that means is we have bills outstanding today that we need to borrow in order to meet, because of the fact that there was no provision made for those expenditures in the previous Budget.

“In order to ensure that we can pay salaries and all of the existing commitments that we know about, as well as those still coming in, we need to provide the Treasurer with the funding in order to do that.”

He added: “In the last couple weeks there have been numerous complaints from various institutions that they have not been getting their salary deductions forwarded [from the Government], for instance. All of this is a part of the reason why we need this borrowing to make sure that we meet our commitments to our vendors, as well as our employees throughout the civil service who are due these payments.”

Mr Turnquest said the Government is also projecting it will have borrow $323 million to cover the deficit for 2017-2018. “The $400 million is to cover the expenditure for the past year, expenditure we inherited, and then there is $323 million in order to cover the expenditure that we see going forward for the next year,” he added.

“Obviously we are not happy about that, but included in that $323 millions are a lot of commitments that you can’t sever just like that.”

Mr Turnquest said that within the next few months the Government intends to undertake a detailed project to identify those expenditures, and ensure the costs are legitimate and necessary.

“The fact of the matter is that the cost of running government and providing services is outstripping our revenue, and that is unacceptable,” he said. We cannot continue on that path. Our national debt is going to grow by these two borrowings by almost $700 million. That is unacceptable, and personally I am not happy about having to borrow $323 million to fullfill this upcoming year’s requirements.

“We are going to be doing our best to cut back in all sectors without harming the economy, or any diminution in quality or level of service we provide to the public. I am asking the Bahamian people to the patient with us, certainly for the next year, as we try to get our fiscal house in order.”