THE mid-year budget review - required by law to be tabled in Parliament by the last Wednesday in February each year — will not be tabled on time due to a “mutually agreed suspension” of the House of Assembly.
According to a statement from the government, this suspension was agreed to in view of the Free National Movement’s convention and internal elections this week.
The document will be tabled when the House meets again on March 9, the statement said.
“In accordance with the Public Financial Management Act, 2021 and the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2018, the Minister of Finance is required to table in Parliament a mid-year review by the last Wednesday in February each year — this year being 23 February 2022,” the government said.
“The report and associated communication provide an update to creditors, investors and the Bahamian public on progress towards the fiscal strategy and annual budget targets at the halfway point in the fiscal year.
“As a result of the pending convention of the Free National Movement, the government and Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition have mutually agreed to the suspension of the House of Assembly until Wednesday, 9 March 2022 to allow for party elections. When the House again meets, the government intends to present its mid-year review for debate.
“Simultaneous with the mid-year debate, the government intends to table its 2021 Fiscal Strategy Report, 2021 Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy and outline its plans for the remainder of the fiscal year.”
For the latest news and updates on the annual budget, follow the Ministry of Finance on social media @FinanceBAH or visit the budget website www.bahamasbudget.gov.bs
Comments
tribanon 2 years, 9 months ago
Can you imagine a political party convention being deemed by our elected officials to be more important than our country's finances???!!! LMAO
Socrates 2 years, 9 months ago
Given the current debt level and budget deficit, i doubt meeting makes any difference. In fact the strategy of former Minister of Finance Turnquest to address the debt level as i recall was to stop having lunch when the House meets.. so there you have it.
tribanon 2 years, 9 months ago
You're so right. It's just more evidence though that non-Bahamian "others" are really the ones running our country today. Our elections and entire parliamentary system are nothing but a farce because our so called parliamentarians have no choice but to do the bidding of those who are truly 'in-charge' of our country's affairs.
DWW 2 years, 9 months ago
gumintdem like to breakup dey own lawdem
moncurcool 2 years, 9 months ago
These guys in the House routinely break the law and nothing happens to them. Only in the jokey Bahamas.
The PLP long knew from last year the date of the FNM convention. They could have tabled the mdi-year budget long before then,
sheeprunner12 2 years, 9 months ago
I agree with the above commenters ................... The Government is proving that it cannot walk and chew gum - even when the gum is not even out of the gum wrapper.
I believe that Gravy, Halkitis, and Chester are still trying to fudge numbers or look for red herrings to make much ado about nothing ........ This will be the third Finance debate in 8 months and nothing much will change, except for the theatrics over foolishness
We know the reality ............ the country is in real debt about $12 billion, little change to the accounts receivables or SOE dependency, no reduction in public hiring/spending or pensions owed, little attempt at diversification, and the economy has not rebounded much beyond last summer.
The PLP Government has not fundamentally changed the fiscal paradigm, just adjusted the deck chairs on the Titanic, so why waste 2 weeks talking hot air in March and again in May????
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