Davis says budget is mere “wishful thinking and election-time math” but DPM says every “loyal, patriotic citizen” will lend their support
“The prime minister is underestimating the Bahamian people”
NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Opposition Leader Philip Brave Davis said yesterday that while the government continues to boast that its upcoming budget will accelerate The Bahamas’ recovery, the budget is “disconnected from reality” and does nothing to move the nation forward.
“But the prime minister can neither produce nor execute such a plan,” he said.
“He has never shown the capacity or inclination to think past his own short-term political interests.
“So, instead of confronting the country’s problems, he has presented a disconnected-from-reality one that does nothing to move us forward as a nation.
“What a waste of time — one that will cost us more money and leave us deeper in the hole.”
Davis said while the government has “routinely missed its own budget projections”, its latest projections are based on “wishful thinking and election-time math”.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Works Desmond Bannister last Thursday charged that the government’s budget will bring about economic stability for the country amidst the ongoing pandemic.
“Despite the rhetoric of the debate, it is a budget that every loyal, patriotic citizen will support,” Bannister said.
“If you vote against the national budget without having presented an alternative…you have zero credibility.”
But the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) leader yesterday asserted that the prime minister has been misleading about the depth of the crisis The Bahamas faces and suggested he does not respect Bahamians enough to tell them the truth.
“He is hoping that election-time giveaways, purchased with money we will have to borrow at staggeringly high interest rates, will be enough to make Bahamians forget that he has already borrowed billions with nothing to show for it,” Davis said.
“The prime minister’s favorite word is ‘unprecedented’. He is desperate to use [Hurricane] Dorian and COVID as an excuse, but faces significant problems.
“First, Bahamians actually remember how this government behaved before Dorian hit.
“We don’t have to imagine how the FNM would govern in the absence of a hurricane or virus.
“We saw for ourselves what that was like — they presided over the fraudulent and scandalous Oban deal; they raised VAT (value-added tax) while cutting taxes for the wealthy; and they granted a lucrative contract to a member of their own Cabinet.
“No Bahamian is asking for more of that.”
According to Davis, the government offered neglect and confusion instead of steadiness and compassion.
However, the prime minister has continuously said his administration is a caring government, pointing to the millions of dollars spent on social assistance, unemployment benefits and tax concessions amid the pandemic.
But Davis said the government’s handling of the pandemic has been “abysmal”, pointing to what he called business-killing lockdowns.
He said the level of incompetence is unprecedented.
“It is really something to listen to the prime minister brag about tax cuts given to various interests when it was his friends and wealthy supporters who received their support,” the opposition leader said.
“Thousands of Bahamians are still going to bed hungry; people are sleeping in their cars; joblessness is widespread; and the prime minister continues to throw money away on useless projects like sidewalks and handouts to his friends.
“Only a prime minister with contempt for the people would continue to shovel secret deals to his wealthy backers, even as we faced a massive debt crisis.”
According to Davis, hundreds of millions of dollars in COVID spending remain a secret but will be revealed.
“The prime minister is underestimating the Bahamian people. His disrespect for them blinds him to this undeniable truth,” he said.
