Prime Minister Christie, in the House of Assembly during his Mid-Year Budget Presentation, March 7, 2016. (BIS Photo/Eric Rose)
By Eric Rose, BIS
Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie said in the House of Assembly, on March 7, 2016, that this year’s Budget is but one integral component of his Government’s "overarching and targeted strategy and action plan" to bring better economic and social outcomes for all the nation's citizens.
"Since the very first day of our taking office in 2012, we have been steadfast in both our message and our resolve in respect of this plan," Prime Minister Christie said during his presentation of the 2015/16 Mid-Year Budget Statement.
He noted that it was the fourth such Statement of his Administration, as mandated by the Financial Administration and Audit Act of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
"This Statement and accompanying documents set forth provisional expenditure and revenue estimates for the six-month period ending December 31, 2015," Prime Minister Christie said.
"This is an important occasion indeed during the course of the fiscal year as it is a time for taking stock of where we find ourselves at the mid-point of the year and where we are headed over the balance of the year in respect of the economic and fiscal programme that I set out in the 2015/16 Budget Communication last May."
Prime Minister Christie pointed out that the mandate given to his Government by Bahamian citizens is to implement a programme of comprehensive and fundamental change in order to develop a stronger and more prosperous Bahamas of the future.
"As I stated last May, the overriding theme of the 2015/16 Budget, 'Building a Stronger Bahamas', succinctly encapsulates the Government’s unflinching commitment to that programme of reform and modernization," he stated."Through a modern approach to governance, policy development and communication, we are engaging Bahamians in a national dialogue on the future of our country."
Prime Minister Christie noted that his Government's Stronger Bahamas initiative is designed to strengthen public engagement, transparency and governance.In that spirit, he said, the Government is also developing an "innovative" model for investment and development planning in our country in which the Bahamian public is being fully engaged.
"If we are to be successful in building a safer, more prosperous and modern Bahamas for the benefit of all citizens, it is critical that we do so with a broad, non-partisan consensus on our national priorities and policy approaches going forward," he said.
Prime Minister Christie said that his Government fully appreciates that the challenges are "numerous and complex".
"Our plan of action is commensurate with those challenges," he said."It offers innovative solutions for the wide range of economic and social challenges facing the nation."
Over the past few years, he pointed out, his Government has been assiduous in the pursuit of difficult and demanding reforms in a number of areas.One of these, he added, has been in the area of fiscal redress and sustainability.
"As we have clearly explained since our current mandate began, if our ambitious plan of action is to be sustained and successful, it must without question be underpinned by a solid fiscal foundation," Prime Minister Christie said."To be quite blunt, the Government’s fiscal position was untenable and simply not up to the task of modern governance. We needed to place Government in a position to be able to meet the many and varied demands placed on it in a modern democratic society, doubly so in an archipelagic country such as ours."
Prime Minister Christie noted that, as he highlighted at the 25thAnnual Business Outlook Conference, his Government has also implemented important reforms in other key areas, such as education through a re-focused commitment to “every child counts" by introducing STAR Academy, where students who are deemed vulnerable and difficult to integrate in the formal school system are given special attention to ensure a successful integration.
"In addition, we have introduced higher standards for school graduates," he said. "In the area of training, we have created through legislation the National Training Agency to work with the private sector to ensure that our citizens have the requisite skills to successfully enter the job market.
"In social services, we have introduced debit cards as a form of payment to better tie assistance to improved life style choices for recipients of assistance; energy in the form ofa national energy policy and Bahamas Electricity Corporation under private management with a target mandate to reduce electricity cost and improve reliability; financial services through regulatory reform in line with international standards; gaming through regulation and appropriate taxation;and, of course,the introduction of National Health Insurance."
Prime Minister Christie also highlighted additional areas throughout his presentation. He added that the fiscal update that is set out in his Statement is a "testament" to his Government's resolve in pursuing their agenda of change.
"We remain firmly on course to achieve the further and sustainable improvement in the public finances of the nation that we projected in the 2015/16 Budget Communication," Prime Minister Christie said.
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