Value-added tax (VAT) is on the way. It is scheduled for January 1, 2015. National Health Insurance (NHI) is also supposed to be coming in January 2016. That will be funded by a tax too. The last version of NHI under Perry Christie's first government was to be paid for by a payroll tax.
The government has engaged a Costa Rican firm to look again at NHI. The last estimate of its cost was $235 million per year. What will it cost now? Well, it seems as if the government doesn't want you to know.
"National Health Insurance right now is being funded by the National Insurance Board," said Minister of Labour Shane Gibson.
"We have no intention of releasing piecemeal what it is costing along the way.
"Once we implement it fully then we will release everything. We don't want to release it piecemeal because we won't know the final costing until it actually happens.
"It would be premature for us to really start releasing figures prior to the implementation of National Health Insurance. We would know of course what it is costing, but that would be introduced in course to the public."
We hope Gibson was not speaking for the Cabinet. If hiding the cost of this initiative from the people is a policy of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) that would amount to an extraordinary abuse of trust. It is unacceptable to inform the people of how their money will be spent after you have started to spend it.
In democracies the people elect governments to conduct their business in an open and transparent manner. When major policy initiatives are announced the people have a right to know how much they are projected to cost. The money to pay for these things comes from the people.
Transparency gives the people the opportunity to express their consent or opposition to proposals from the government. If it is clear that a government does not have the support of its people on a matter of policy, a responsible government would alter or scrap that policy.
Minister of Health Dr. Perry Gomez has acknowledged that the cost of NHI has gone up from that projection years ago.
"The cost goes up every year," he said.
Gibson's remarks give the impression that the government intends to force NHI on the Bahamian people regardless of its cost.
Yes, the PLP is the governing party at this time. But its members must remember that they do not own The Bahamas. They must also remember that we do not always agree with every "altruistic-sounding policy" initiative pushed by the party.
The people must be told how much NHI will cost as soon as the government gets the estimates. We hope the prime minister disagrees with Gibson. The minister's position is untenable.

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