Foundation “perplexed” over new National Investment Funds bill

Foundation “perplexed” over new National Investment Funds bill
The Bahamas Natural Resources Foundation logo.

NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Bahamas Natural Resources Foundation (BNRF) has expressed “great concern” over the recent National Investment Funds Bill tabled in the House of Assembly last month. 

In a statement, the BNRF underscored it has advocated for the establishment of a natural resource-based Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) for the last four years. 

The foundation says its goals are in keeping with the principles set by the United Nations on “The Principle of Permanent Sovereignty of Natural Resources”.

The BNRF statement read: “We are perplexed that our leaders find it necessary to repeal the SWF legislation and replace it with a National Investment Funds Bill.  There are more than one hundred countries in the world that have established Sovereign Wealth Funds, including China, Norway, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, and the United States. 

“We note that reference was made to targeting this capital for economic development, which is said to include a focus on Family Island infrastructure, maximizing the value of the public assets for the taxpayer, and better management of the country’s natural resources. 

The statement continued: “BNRF seeks clarity on how our leaders can proceed with this vision, without  the discussion and legislation of ownership of the country’s natural resources, (which has not surfaced in any enacted legislation or voiced by leaders of our country); a proper inventory of our country’s natural resources; knowledge of designated areas identified specifically for natural resource projects & developments; the Freedom of Information Act, which provides the framework to ensure transparency and accountability; knowledge of the much-needed revisions of fiscal regimes: royalties, bonus payments, annual rentals, income taxes, value-added or goods and services taxes, and import and export duties on extraction of natural resources; prior knowledge of the guardrails to ensure protection for Bahamian ownership of these underutilized assets; or knowing the rationale for not having natural resource-based legislation.”

The statement described the new bill as flinging the gates open for capital investment, distracting from the focus on economic empowerment.

“Citizens are more aware of the value of their country, and its natural resources and are reimagining their sovereign rights to access through participation and ownership,” the statement read.

“They are also more conscious of the level of exploitation of these resources that has taken place for decades with little benefit to the public purse.”

The group is calling upon the Natural Resource Committee, which was appointed by the previous government in the House of Assembly, to publish its findings by way of an official report.