NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The government is moving ahead with legislation that, according to Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis, will improve the country’s fiscal governance and bring it in line with international best practices by fostering much-enhanced transparency and accountability.
Minnis yesterday tabled a suite of new legislation in the House of Assembly, including the Public Debt Management Bill, 2021; the Public Finance Management Bill, 2021; and the Statistics Bill, 2021. Also included was the Public Procurement Bill, 2020, which was first read in the Chamber last year.
“In keeping with the standard set by the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2018, which ushered in new levels of transparency and accountability, these draft pieces of legislation will remake and modernize the very foundation of public finance management in The Bahamas,” said Minnis.
He also said the bills will continue to deliver on his administration’s promise of accountability and transparency.
“These bills will continue to deliver on that promise. They will further upgrade and bring our fiscal governance in line with international best practices by fostering much-enhanced transparency and accountability in the way we manage the public purse,” said Minnis.
He noted: “The Public Finance Management (PFM) Bill is designed to address the weaknesses that have been chronicled in the existing public finance law, namely the Financial Administration and Audit Act, 2010, or the ‘FAA Act’.
“The PFM Bill transitions to a principles-based approach to public financial management, thereby focusing on results, rather than taking an administrative approach, as was the case with the FAA. This bill requires outcomes-based budgeting and reporting to support a comprehensive management of the budget.
“The Public Debt Management (PDM) Bill seeks to create a modern and comprehensive legal framework that permits a clearly articulated and transparent framework for public debt management.”
Minnis added: “The overriding objective of the PDM Bill is to consolidate and modernize existing debt management provisions.
“The legislation will create necessary linkages with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which provides parameters for debt ceilings that correspond to the trajectory of the country’s economic growth. This legislation will set the framework for the country’s debt management strategy going forward.”
Commenting on the legislation, Minister of State for Finance Kwasi Thompson said: “Legislative reform doesn’t often seem revolutionary, but we don’t want Bahamians to miss the monumental changes these bills will bring about.
“For the Public Finance Management Bill, there will be criminal penalties imposed for the first time for financial malfeasance in the public sector. Everyone will be held to a higher standard. New financial reporting requirements, like monthly budget reports, will be introduced to government for the first time.”
He added: “Bahamians may have assumed these things were in place, but the truth is, the Financial Administration and Audit Act, 2010 (FAA Act), which we are now replacing, had many weaknesses and was terribly outdated.”
Pointing to the PFM Bill, Thompson said: “Again, this is very significant as it will require cultural changes within our ministries and agencies.
“Ministries are not only responsible for spending and accounting for budgeted resources, they will now be responsible for tracking and reporting the impact of their spending, the impact of their programs. Are they using public funds in a way that deliver the desired and intended results?
“These are monumental shifts we are ushering in with our legislative forms.”
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