NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Organisation for Responsible Governance (ORG) Executive Director Matt Aubury called the government’s plan to amend legislation to allow them to access millions in IMF funding troublesome given the lack of public consultation.
The government announced it will amend the Central Bank Act to permit them to use up to some $232 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Drawing Rights.
Aubry said public consultation should have taken place rather than passing policies above the heads of citizens.
“It’s not like this is something that is brand new, but the practice of it in our current circumstance I think is particularly troublesome,” Aubury said.
As the country emerges out of a global pandemic, in the midst of inflation and a pending economic crisis, the government is seeking to borrow from the Central Bank as an alternative to borrowing from international creditors.
Aubry said public consultation would benefit the nation as the government will likely be challenged this year with higher costs for citizens.
“The governor of the Central Bank and his team have done a tremendous amount to keep us stable through very challenging times, there’s a lot of confidence in the Central Bank,” he said.
“For them to be a lender for government, it really requires as much openness, transparency and education for citizens to understand why this may or may not be the right move so that they can have an opinion.”
Aubury added that although the country has made gains in reducing its debt-to-GDP budget projections, there still remains a necessity to borrow.
“The challenge that we do find ourselves in and why we, ORG and other groups have really been pushing for sustainable and manageable economic growth is that we need to reduce this amount of money that we are paying back, because every subsequent government administration has to contend with this issue how do we cover our bills in the current year but also ensure that we have sufficient monies to pay back, based on past debt so the amount and the need to borrow have those components to them.”
Aubury noted that in previous years, governments would have passed laws that make breeches in the law legal, when they deemed it necessary.
However, he said when issues become open for speculation without the government formally addressing the public, it often becomes political.
“It seems like the breach in the legal capacity of this move to happen is picked up by the opposition and then there is another statement that you know the government will change the law to make this move legal, and what that states and gives to the citizen, it contributes to the lack of trust that we see, it creates a level of skepticism and it creates almost a back and forth.”
Engagement with citizens, consultation, and education for a better understanding of government fiscal matters is what Aubury believes government should incorporate to build public trust and respect for laws.
“So if a law is going to be changed to make this thing legal that’s a pretty big move by parliament, and it seems as if citizens get left out of that circumstance when it happens in this way,” he said.
