Prime Minister Philip Davis gave a New Year’s address on January 8. In it he said very little. For as long as he rambled there was only one major new policy announced. The prime minister said his administration was cutting VAT on food from 10 to 5 percent.
The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) on coming to office made a bad decision. The previous FNM administration had no VAT on breadbasket foods and medicines. It was our belief that people should have relief on these essential items in order to survive.
The PLP thought otherwise. They heartlessly applied the 10 percent VAT to the foods and medicines Bahamians rely upon on a daily basis.
The opposition aggressively opposed this policy ever since. We never stopped speaking up on behalf of working Bahamians and a middle class that is falling further behind.
The PLP’s breadbasket tax made global inflation worse. Bahamians are frustrated with the high price of goods and services. It is hard for families to make ends meet.
The PLP now cutting VAT on food has come because of the consistent pressure put on them by the opposition and the public.
Cutting VAT on food is a move in the right direction. Still, the PLP’s policy is only half way to where we should be.
Given the nature of the global inflation crisis, much of which was spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath, as well as other international events, the governing party should eliminate all taxes on food. This would include VAT and customs duties.
The only duties that should remain would be in the limited cases when there is a viable Bahamian food producer who needs certain domestic considerations and protections.
This no-tax policy on food is urgently needed. It would not pertain to cooked foods.
The prime minister acknowledged the struggles Bahamians face.
“I know that high prices exert a terrible pressure on families,” he said during his national address.
“I know how stressful it is when there is more money going out than coming in, even when you are working hard. When there is no way to pay all the bills that need to be paid.
“The rising cost of food is one of the costs that has hit many families the hardest. Even though inflation is now slowing, prices remain higher than many find reasonable or affordable.”
By fully acknowledging these difficult decisions for our people, the prime minister should be open to the policy of no taxes on food.
Mr. Davis took too long to realize that our people urgently need food relief. I call on him to act swiftly to embrace a no-tax on food policy.
Successive administrations have cut or removed some customs duties on various items. It is time for a comprehensive review of these taxes to ensure as many as possible are taken to zero percent.
Mr. Davis should act quickly. It would significantly help Bahamian families. His New Year’s announcement was only halfway to a better policy.
Not a word on crime
The other major issue we face is a crime crisis the government has repeatedly failed to address in a comprehensive and strategic manner.
There has been an upsurge of murders during the Davis administration. During their first year in office in 2022, there were 128 murders. This was the second most in our history. There were 110 and 119 murders in 2023, and 2024, respectively.
The prime minister and his minister of national security have had no effective policy to address crime. Everything he announced has failed.
A year ago, for example, he announced the clear, hold and build strategy. Near the end of last year, he announced it again. Despite these announcements, which came with great fanfare and plenty of public relations, murders remained high.
Most of the country is still shocked that the prime minister said not a single word about crime in his national address. This was disgraceful.
Most of our crime problem is in New Providence where the majority of the population lives.
Bahamians are fed up with the high number of murders and the high rate of crime. They want their leaders to come up with policies to reduce crime.
By not saying a word about crime in his national address it appears as if the prime minister has given up on the issue. This is unacceptable! It is frightening!
In the 2021 general election campaign, the PLP promised in its Blueprint manifesto, to enhance “crime-fighting methodologies” in an “aggressive war against crime”.
The PLP promised to “ensure that the necessary reforms are executed for a safe Bahamas”. They said they would “introduce research-based analysis and policies on countering anti-social behavior, violence, and crime”.
None of these things have happened. Instead, we have witnessed out-of-control crime and violence. The PLP’s approach to crime has been an utter, complete, and terrible failure.
The killers are not deterred by PLP policies. They kill during the day and night. Those who are charged – and not enough are charged – when they get out on bail either resume their violent ways or become murder victims.
The PLP has not been able to meaningfully reduce the cycles of retaliatory violence that plague our country. And now the prime minister has decided not even to utter a word about our crime crisis in his New Year’s address. It is clear that Mr. Davis is clueless and hopeless as to what to do about crime.
Solutions can be reached. During our administration we had back-to-back years of fewer than 100 murders before the pandemic.
The opposition has called for the prime minister to appoint a new minister of national security. The prime minister also needs to surround himself with better crime consultants and advisors, as his current team has not been able to provide him with the strategies required to reverse the high crime trend we face.
PM is failing
Mr. Davis is struggling with the responsibilities of being prime minister. He lacks the focus and commitment to be an effective leader. His constantly being away on trips means that he is rarely at home addressing a range of critical issues.
With the cost-of-living crisis raging and the crime crisis persisting, the nation is calling on the prime minister to spend more time in the country this year doing the work the people elected him to do.
The Davis administration’s poor record is fomenting an anti-PLP mood. Bahamians are fed up with an administration that imposes high taxes and fees on citizens while it transfers that wealth to PLPs through contracts, consultancies, jobs and other special favors.
The opposition will continue in 2025 to keep the pressure up on the PLP to do better for the Bahamian people.
Written By: Dr. Hubert Minnis, Former Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas