NASSAU, Bahamas — Former Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis’ claim that he never saw an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report that recommended an increase in value-added tax (VAT) to 15 percent because the election was ongoing is the “height of political mischief and ineptitude” and proves why Dr. Minnis was not fit for the job, Attorney General Ryan Pinder said on Monday, December 6, The Nassau Guardian reported.
“Not only is this shocking, but the political mischief…of the member for Killarney when he says he had no sight of the IMF report — this is the sitting prime minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas who commissioned the very same report and says he did not receive the report, he did not see the report because he was too busy campaigning,” Senator Pinder said in the Senate during debate on the supplementary budget and an amendment to the VAT Act.
At this point in Pinder’s contribution, Senator Viana Gardiner rose on a point of order and said Pinder was seeking to impune the character of Minnis.
But Pinder pressed on.
“Not seeing the report that he commissioned is worse than the bad decisions he made as prime minister,” he said. “As such, it is more and more clear that he was not fit for the job.”
He added, “It can’t be good governance to say that the prime minister of a country can no longer govern and turn his attention to matters of such important national interest as its tax regime because he was campaigning for an election in which he and his woeful administration got rolled out.
“This is the height of political mischief…and/or ineptitude — you choose. Or, even worse, it’s an insatiable appetite for power no matter what the consequences are to the country.”
Last week, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said that the IMF recommended to the previous government that if it did not change its VAT structure, the tax would need to be raised to 15 percent.
The Prime Minister suggested that this recommendation was why Minnis decided to call an early election. See full Nassau Guardian article at https://thenassauguardian.com/pinder-accuses-minnis-of-ineptitude/
