NASSAU, Bahamas — There is no “immediate concern” that The Bahamas will end up in a similar situation as Haiti where riots broke out over a 50 percent increase in fuel prices mandated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest indicated yesterday, the Nassau Guardian reported on July 20.
While speaking to residents in Inagua on Saturday (July 14) on the 2018/2019 budget, Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis pointed to the Haiti situation and said the government’s decision to raise value-added tax (VAT) from 7.5 percent to 12 percent was to prevent such an occurrence in The Bahamas.
Asked if there is a real possibility that something similar could happen in The Bahamas, Turnquest said, “Our reserves are strong, our fundamentals are strong, so there is no immediate need for concern. However, again if we did nothing there was a certain result because we can’t keep building debt year after year and not believe that it’s going to at some point collapse on ourselves…” https://thenassauguardian.com/2018/07/20/turnquest-no-immediate-concern-bahamas-on-same-fiscal-path-as-haiti/
