NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The government will provide an ‘honest take’ on the country’s fiscal position when its presents the budget for the 2020/2021 fiscal year today, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance K Peter Turnquest.
The budget has been titled “Resilient Bahamas: A Plan for Restoration”.
In a press statement, Turnquest underscored the government’s plan to ‘protect’ citizens and residents as well as ‘stabilize’ the economy.
“There is no need to sugarcoat the situation because we all understand the dire straits we are in,” he said.
“From the House of Assembly to the homes of Bahamians we are all doing our part to cope with and overcome this global economic crisis. In fact, people and governments around the world are having to reprioritize and adjust their daily lives to navigate the challenges presented COVID-19.”
Turnquest continued: “The reassuring takeaway I want to leave with citizens and residents is that the Government is singularly focused on protecting families, communities, and businesses, and stabilizing our economy.
“We demonstrated these priorities in our immediate response, and if there are two words to define the budget I will present tomorrow, they are ‘protect and stabilize’. The budget will show our commitment to providing relief now by protecting citizens and residents who are suffering hardship and coping with many levels of uncertainty, and to stabilize the economy that is weakened, but resilient.”
He said: “I want Bahamians to remind each other, we are all in this together. As we have proven in our proactive and focused response to our ongoing emergencies, our budget priorities will reflect our values, and lay out a path for transforming this crisis into an opportunity for our future recovery.”
