Central Bank Governor John Rolle speaks during the Afreximbank’s 31st Annual Meeting at Baha Mar on June 12, 2024. Photo: Dante Carrer/Tribune Staff
By KEILE CAMPBELL
kcampbell@tribunemedia.net
CENTRAL Bank governor John Rolle said wages must grow to counter inflation.
His comment to reporters yesterday came before the Bahamas National Statistical Institute released Consumer Price Index information showing that inflation in March increased by 1.6 per cent compared to February, an uptick compared to the 0.3 per cent increase between January and February. The institute also noted that the CPI rose 2.9 per cent in March compared to the same period in 2023.
Mr Rolle told reporters at Baha Mar yesterday: “What it is important for people to understand is that inflation is really describing how much prices are going up on average every year, so it means that we would’ve seen since 2020 the accumulated increase in prices which would affect the inflation.
“A part of what is important when you move beyond this point is for activities elsewhere in your economy to catch up, people to have the growth in their income and the like so that at least in terms of purchasing power terms, people can recover to levels that their incomes were able to afford before the run-up in prices.”
Mr Rolle also said the rate of inflation has been decreasing, with lower inflation seen in 2023 than 2022, a trend he expects to continue in 2024.
The Bahamas National Statistical Institute has not released information analysing wages recently, though it is a critical marker of an economy’s strength.
Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis warned during a recent budget communication in the House of Assembly that “the worst global inflation crisis in decades is really hitting our families hard”.
He added: “Salaries must keep pace with inflation, and be at a level which is competitive and fair.”
Comments
bahamianson 6 months, 2 weeks ago
Where are the wages going to grow? Where is the money coming from? Ok, we can increase VAT to 20%, increase the gas tax and pass it on to consumers, increase every license in the Bahamas. Increase Business license etc. Let us increase everything. Did the chief financial officer of the Bahamas not say that the Bahamas Government fell down on doing anything with inflation? Yes, he did. So what are you talking about ,Mr. Rolle? We are in trouble in the Bahamas.
moncurcool 6 months, 1 week ago
People can say all sort of dumb sh*t and the media simply prints it and does not even challenge the garbage they say.
As you correctly state, where will the money to increase wages come from when the government admits they have not been able to control inflation?
Why did the reporter not ask Mr. Rolle to say where the increase wages should come from?
Porcupine 6 months, 2 weeks ago
What Mr. Rolle and others will tell us is that there are simple fixes to this increasing problem. There aren't. We are trapped in a system of Capitalism where it is a dog eat dog world.
Where was Mr. Rolle in warning that taking on more and more debt in this country will increase our inflation, and threaten the country with what are called Structural Adjustment Programs. Presently,, we are seeing an outflow from this country of 500-600 million dollars a year, only to pay the interest on the loans that our self-centered politicians have taken out in our name, leaving our children to deal with the inevitable chickens coming home to roost. What could that money have been used for to improve the quality of life for Bahamians? Mr. Rolle must be aware that The Bahamas suffers from very low productivity. This is attested to by any international agency looking at the data, and by anyone who sees that we have a population of lazy people, far too many of which work for this government. This is an uncomfortable fact. Anyone who has worked abroad knows that most Bahamians couldn't cut it with their slack work ethic anywhere else. So, why would Mr. Rolle say that about wages? Well, he is right about not being able to make it on the low wages presently being paid in The Bahamas. However, he must know that many people do not deserve more money because they fail to produce. Look at customer service in this country. In any government office, or Wendy's, or anywhere. Piss poor service. So, do we pay more wages and wait for people's service attitude to catch up? Or, do we encourage people to do a reasonable and acceptable job, which would then justify a higher wage?
Porcupine 6 months, 2 weeks ago
The reason we are in the precarious position we are in, is because we have not had educated, moral leaders in power. We have had opportunistic and ignorant politicians who only look out for themselves. Period. We have failed to encourage our people to do better. We have made our people dependent upon simple-minded politicians, for our jobs, for contracts, for our very existence. We are now suffering the consequences of 50 years of failed leadership. As we do today with this present administration. How can one read the papers and not see this? We have been celebrating ignorance for 2 or 3 generations now. Is it not clear by the results. What works in this country? What works? This isn't from lack of finances. These piss poor results that we see today in this country is from a horrible lack of leadership. As it Myles Munroe didn't speak to this issue over and over. But, we went along with these silver tongued devils and voted them into office. And now, here we are.
DDK 6 months, 2 weeks ago
Absolutely right on, both posts!
hrysippus 6 months, 1 week ago
I understand that Mr. Rolle has always been a State Employed Worker and has never , as far as my memory serves, worked in the Private Sector. The Private sector of an economy is the part that creates wealth, the State Employed Workers just absorb some of that created wealth by taxing businesses, property, sales, and services. The State employed workers solution to raising salaries is always the same; that is increase the level of taxation, which inevitably leads to, yes, you guessed it, increased inflation. Please reference Argentina's fiscal policies over the past 60 years.
Porcupine 6 months, 1 week ago
Absolutely correct, and important to highlight.
trueBahamian 6 months, 1 week ago
Inflation is one thing, price gouging is another. I don't think the cost of items here are solely driven by increased costs on the global market. In the midst of the pandemic the costs of grocery for example went up dramatically and store owners blamed it on supply chain issues and costs of shipping. But, we don't have supply chain issues anymore and until recently there was a huge drop in shipping costs buy no change in the costs of goods in the stores. If we have some sort of fair pricing mechanism this would be of greater value to the average consumer. If you increase wages by 50% and there isn't a check on the price of goods and services and this allowed to increase by 80%, you still have a problem. Store owners bank on yh4 fact that if you need something, ypu will find the money to pay for it no matter how much it costs.
Porcupine 6 months, 1 week ago
You are right, but do you really want the government having any say in the free market? If they want to help the poorest, which I believe is our obligation, fine, but keep these crooks out of everything else.
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