NASSAU, Bahamas — Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) leader Philip “Brave” Davis declared on Tuesday, May 25, that the government’s mismanagement of COVID has “resulted in devastating impact on the economy.”
Noting that government is not equipped to provide a path out of the crisis, the opposition leader said in a statement released to the media that the “government’s mismanagement of the COVID pandemic has deepened our country’s economic crisis, but the same people who mismanaged COVID are not capable of providing a strategy for economic growth and a way forward, leaving the country mired in a dangerous place.”
“The extraordinary mismanagement of our economy did not begin last year, or the year before,” the statement asserted. “This government was missing its own budget projections in the years before COVID and Dorian as well, and raising taxes on the Bahamian people in ways that stifled economic growth.”
The statement continued: “Their incompetence may not be new to us, but during a year like the last one, the incompetence had an enormous impact, leading to a devastating 25% reduction in nominal GDP or the country’s annual income. The economy was always going to take a hit during COVID – but it didn’t have to be this bad.
“The most important thing for our economy in 2020 was a successful reopening. The government did not have a plan, nor did they have sufficient testing and tracing resources ready, and the failed reopening led to an explosion of cases, a prolonged period of lockdowns, and travel warnings.
“While hotels like Sandals and Club Med were reopening across the Caribbean, they remained shuttered here.
“Local businesses also suffered terribly from both the lockdowns and the chaos, with government orders being announced and reversed within hours or days.
“The 25% reduction in GDP wiped away more than 10 years of economic growth in The Bahamas.
“For all that economic pain, the result was this: on a per capita basis, our COVID cases and COVID-related deaths are among the highest in the region. Despite how clear its become that public health and the state of the economy are inextricably linked, our health care capacity is still under-resourced and incapable of responding adequately to new outbreaks.
“Every day the Ministry of Health releases case numbers and positivity rates that are evidence of insufficient testing. There is still an over-reliance on lockdowns instead of moving quickly to use testing and tracing to stop transmission. There is no free COVID testing for Bahamians who are concerned they’ve been exposed to the virus and no plan to increase access to vaccines or public confidence in vaccines.”
Continuing, the statement added: “Managing the pandemic without a plan was a mistake with enormous negative consequences; likewise, economic recovery will not happen without a plan and a strategy.
“The deficit in the upcoming budget will be close to 10% of GDP, over $900 million. This is a frightening number when one considers the Government’s limited borrowing capacity both in foreign and domestic currency. The Government also has limited scope to increase taxes to fund this deficit as it has clearly demonstrated that it has no appetite to increase taxes on the wealthy and privileged, and a further VAT increase or broad-based increases in Customs or Excise taxes would destroy what is left of the middle class in this country.
“Unfortunately, the public should expect this budget to mirror the Government’s COVID 19 response. That is: fiscal decisions without real consultation, no real focus on the poor and vulnerable in the society, the ignoring of obvious areas of fiscal stress in the economy such as unpaid vendors and businesses without overdue VAT refunds.
“Short-sighted, short-term, self-centered actions are what we have come to expect from the Prime Minister in his role as the Competent Authority. We should expect no different from the Prime Minister in his role of Minister of Finance.
“The PLP has a strong and innovative plan which can serve as a blueprint for economic recovery. We’re ready to bring this nation forward out of this very difficult time, and build a more dynamic and inclusive economy. You can find the plan at https://plpbahamas.org/economicplan/
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