Gov’t seeking to borrow nearly $700M
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Prime Minister Philip Davis during his 2022/2023 budget communication outlined a number of relief measures aimed at helping Bahamians cope with the increased cost of living “crisis”.
Davis said his administration is taking proactive and targeted steps to ensure more “durable and broad-based economic growth momentum” in the upcoming fiscal period.
Davis noted that ‘Budget 2022:The Way Forward’, provides support for the “here and now” and also “charts the course for a brighter tomorrow”.
Among the relief measures outlined in the budget, the prime minister noted that the government has submitted a minimum wage increase proposal to the BPSU.
“We also believe that the rate of minimum wage needs to increase because of the general erosion of spending power of ordinary Bahamians — an imperative which has been made more urgent by the current level of inflation,” he said.
“To this end, we have submitted the proposal to BPSU to increase minimum wage in the public sector with incremental increases starting in July 2022.”
Davis also noted that the government will reduce the duty on a number of food items; increase social services assistance by 50 percent in comparison to pre-pandemic levels that will be disbursed through the re-introduction of a conditional cash transfer program known as the RISE program.
Davis also announced that the budget makes provision for pay increases for most public officers and noted that it will also provide for the full reinstatement and payment of all outstanding increments.
“We recognize that public officers have not had a general salary increase since we were last in office, and we have therefore engaged the leadership of the various public service unions to reach an agreement,” he said.
The prime minister also revealed that teachers’ salaries will be increased in the upcoming budget, noting that a retention bonus will also be paid to teachers and nurses.
He also announced that funding will increase for NGOs by 10 percent, inclusive of allocations to two feeding programs headed by Bishop Walter Hanchell and Bishop Lawrence Rolle, who provided meals throughout the pandemic and continue to do so with “little to no public sector support”.
Davis also noted that $10 million has been allocated for catastrophic health care in the 2022/2023 budget.
The prime minister said his administration has conducted an extensive exercise to pay down the $1 billion in unsettled claims it met in place.
He announced that his government will seek parliamentary approval for a supplementary budget for additional expenditure of $216.9 million and capital expenditure of $34.4 million, for a total of over $251 million.
He pointed out that in the first nine months of the 2021/2022 fiscal period, total revenue increased by over $617 million, or 50.2 percent to $1.84 billion, compared to the previous year. This, he said, was attributed to increased tax revenue of over $526 million and non-tax revenue increased by nearly $91 million.
The prime minister said that total revenue is projected at some $2.8 billion, a 19.9 percent increase over the prior fiscal year when the economy was in the early stages of an economic rebound from the COVID19 pandemic.
He added the government has also announced measures to lower the cost of acquiring property and homes and encourage investment in key sectors.
Following his communication, Davis also read two borrowing resolutions in the House of Assembly seeking parliamentary approval to borrow a total of $690,702,027.
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