'PLP enriching friends while public suffers'

Wed, May 4th 2016, 02:07 PM

FREE National Movement Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis criticised the government yesterday for “enriching the lives of their friends, families and allies” while the public suffers.

In a statement, Dr. Minnis said the country’s negative gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the second consecutive year is “worrisome” and confirms that The Bahamas “is in trouble”.

“Bahamians don’t need an economist to figure out that the economy is shrinking. They look around to see friends, neighbours, or family members out of work and losing their homes, empty storefronts, the Baha Mar an empty shell with no activity and rising crime. Our people are struggling yet this government is focused on enriching their friends and allies, and not turning around our stagnant economy,” Dr. Minnis said.

“Times are good for them, but bad for the ordinary Bahamian. They are still awarding lucrative government contracts to their friends and allies. They turn a blind eye to rampant corruption that infects every aspect of what they touch as our people continue to suffer.

“Over the course of one year, we saw drastic drops in both our exports and our imports. On top of all this our debt is over 70 per cent of the GDP. Our economic situation is going from bad to worse with no plan from this government to turn things around. In fact their failures are only adding to our problems. Their reckless spending is siphoning money away from public services in order to service the debt.”

According to data from the Department of Statistics published in Tribune Business on Monday, the real or “constant price” GDP contracted by 1.66 per cent last year. That represented a second consecutive year of decline, following a 0.52 per cent fall in 2014, suggesting the Bahamian economy has been in recession for two years, Tribune Business reported.

The data also showed that the value of Bahamian goods and services exports, in current prices, declined by 6.6 per cent year-over-year in 2015. Measured in constant prices, they were down 7.2 per cent.

This was driven by a 35.8 per cent fall in the worth of goods exports, with mineral fuels and oils down $95 million. Chemicals and related product exports decreased by $110.7 million, while local spending by international (offshore) companies dropped 8.3 per cent.

Goods imports, which normally account for 70 per cent of all imports to the Bahamas, fell by 16.6 per cent when measured in current prices – aided chiefly by the drop in global oil prices.

The value of imported mineral products dropped by $333.2 million or 34.8 per cent, while iron/steel articles were down by $43.1 million or 32.3 per cent.

The worth of imported machinery equipment declined by $59.6 million or 12.2 per cent, while optical photographic and measuring apparatus experienced a $40.9 million or 59.5 per cent drop in value.

Services imports slumped in value by 31.8 per cent, with construction leading the way through a 64.9 per cent or $417.3 million decline.

By Sancheska Brown, Tribune Staff Reporter

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