NASSAU, BAHAMAS-The Davis administration’s touted budget surplus is under fire, with Opposition Shadow Finance Minister J. Kwasi Thompson warning it could vanish entirely once the government follows through on its $300 million sovereign bond injection into the National Investment Fund (NIF)—a commitment not reflected in the current fiscal plan.
Despite government claims of fiscal discipline and a projected $75 million surplus, Thompson argues that new borrowing and spending commitments tied to the sovereign bond—finalized just weeks ago—fundamentally alter the fiscal picture.
“That public expense to fund the NIF with the $300 million injection will reverse the planned $75 million surplus into a significant budget deficit,” Thompson said.
While legal authority to borrow the $300 million was granted in March, Thompson notes that the government has not secured parliamentary approval to spend it—something required under both the Constitution and the Public Finance Management Act.
“The Government must tell the public where the line item is in the budget that authorizes them to spend or seed the $300 million in the National Investment Fund,” he asserted.
Thompson stressed that the borrowed funds must, by law, first be deposited into the Consolidated Fund. Without specific appropriation in the 2025/2026 Budget, any disbursement to the NIF would be unconstitutional.
“Whatever sum is used to seed the NIF must appear on the books, and when it does, the projected surplus disappears.”
He accused the PLP administration of attempting to obscure the true fiscal outlook by celebrating a surplus while omitting a major pending expenditure.
“This PLP government cannot have it both ways. It cannot trumpet fiscal restraint while trying to fund public capital expenditure outside of the legally required budgetary framework. We see through the charade, and we will not stand for it.”
Thompson closed by calling for greater transparency and accountability in public financial management.
“The Bahamian people deserve transparency and honest accounting, not clever optics. What surplus? The reality is that once the full fiscal picture is revealed, the surplus turns out to be an illusion.”
