Branding the 2014/15 budget a "betrayal of every hope and expectation of the Bahamian people", Free National Movement (FNM) Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis yesterday announced that the opposition intends to vote against it.
"We will stand with Bahamians who have been lied to, bamboozled and deceived by this government, and we will vote no," said Minnis, during the budget debate in the House of Assembly.
"We will stand with the poor and vote no to this heartless tax and spend budget.
"We are voting against reckless, secret and wanton spending. We are voting against an unconstitutional budget, which does not provide the details required by the constitution.
"We are voting against a callous betrayal of the scores of thousands of Bahamians who voted no in the [gaming] referendum.
"We are voting against a heartless and regressive tax. We are voting against a government which refuses to cut spending.
"We are voting against secret contracts, which for some reason cannot be disclosed by this government and brought to light. We are voting against waste and abuse of public money and tax dollars.
"We cannot in good conscience support government by subterfuge, secrecy and stealth...We cannot do this. We will not do this. We will take a stand in this House, on this day, by voting no."
In explaining the opposition's decision to vote against the budget, Minnis said the government has made several bad choices, chief among them is the decision to implement value-added tax (VAT).
As he stated previously, Minnis said the new tax would add pain and suffering to the Bahamian people.
The government intends to implement VAT on January 1, 2015 at a rate of 7.5 percent.
Minnis also blasted the government for continuing to borrow large sums of money without providing evidence of how the funds are being used.
The government intends to borrow $343 million in the approaching fiscal year. This would bring total borrowing by the Christie administration to $1.4 billion since its term started in 2012.
Minnis urged the government to legislate a cap on government debt, which he said has grown by "historic" bounds in the last two years.
Government debt at the end of 2013/2014 is projected at $5.1 billion, or 60 percent of GDP.
Minnis also took issues with the missing line items in the budget.
A detailed breakdown of salaries for ministers, parliamentary and other public officers has been left out.
Minnis suggested that it was designed to hide misconduct and violated the constitutional mandate, which states how a budget should be presented to the House of Assembly.
However, Minister of State for Finance Michael Halkitis defended the government's decision to change the budget format.
He said Minnis' assertion that the government was in violation of the constitution is a "stretch" and accused Minnis of seeking to create panic.
"This tiresome argument that someone is doing something crooked is really becoming tiresome," Halkitis said.
He added that the new budget format is in keeping with international standards.
But Minnis said it appears as if the government's failure to separately list salaries is "deceptive" and "unacceptable".
Minnis said the opposition, after discussion with its parliamentary caucus, has "reluctantly reached the conclusion" to vote against the budget.
He said, however, FNM MPs are not against public servants being paid.
However, Deputy Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis suggested their objection means just that.
"Look at yourself and think about what you're saying," Davis said.
"The real issue is when you vote no against the budget, you're saying to some people, 'I don't want you to get paid'."
He added that the opposition members would also be voting against their own salaries.
"When he says no that means [you all won't] get paid," Davis said. "Is it what you want?"
Davis said the opposition's criticism of the budget is unfair.
"The budget is a good first step in the right direction...given the fiscal issues faced by the Bahamas government," he said.
Davis acknowledged there is "much more work to be done".

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