THE Minnis administration’s request for additional borrowing is not for idle purposes, Finance Minister Peter Turnquest insisted yesterday. He told Parliament the country’s insufficient resources led government to seek more money following Hurricane Dorian. While national resources remain “significantly” less than what is needed, the deputy prime minister reiterated that there will be no new taxes and no increase of existing levies to cover costs associated with the damage done by Dorian. New and “necessary” financing requirements amount to $540.7m but there is only $32.8m in offsetting income, Mr Turnquest explained. He said finance officials were also looking at the possibility of gross domestic product shrinking by one percentage point as a result of the hurricane. Mr Turnquest made the remarks as Parliament debated the 2019/20 supplementary budget. There is currently a resolution in the House for government to borrow $587.9m.

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