The Ministry of Finance acknowledges the position of S&P Global Rating, which decided to lower The Bahamas’ credit rating from 'BB+' to 'BB', based on the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. There continues to be uncertainty around the duration of the pandemic for The Bahamas and countries around the world, which has significant implications for the impact on the country’s economy and the Government’s finances.
“This is an unfortunate position we find ourselves in, but it is similar to virtually every other country in the world. Our focus is on containing the spread of the virus, mitigating the economic fall-out and planning for a strong recovery. There will be difficult decisions to make on the road ahead, and there are many reform efforts that need to be accelerated to ensure we have a realistic and sustainable response, but this Administration is prepared to take those actions,” said K. Peter Turnquest, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.
“We note the significance placed on the strength of our recovery for future assessments, and we feel confident in our track record. We have significantly strengthened our institutions over the past three years; we have demonstrated steady leadership that knows how to support economic growth, and we have proven our ability to stabilize the country’s finances at sustainable levels,” said Minister Turnquest.
The action taken by S&P comes at a time when the entire world in going through economic turmoil. S&P slashed its own global forecasts this week, predicting that the impact of coronavirus lockdowns would result in the world economy contracting by 2.4%. The United States economy and the eurozone were also expected to slump 5.2% and 7.3% respectively.
“The hallmark of this Administration has always been fiscal propriety and fiscal order. Even though we will see a significant departure from our fiscal consolidation efforts to respond to this unparalleled event in the economic life of The Bahamas, the Government will respond to the current crisis with due regard for the country’s long-term fiscal stability,” said Minister Turnquest.
“We will continue to implement the measures necessary to support the country’s public health needs and to protect the social and economic welfare of the Bahamian people. Further, we are in the thick of the budget planning process for the new fiscal year. We are consulting with a full range of private sector and civil society stakeholders on the proposed fiscal and economic measures; we are being proactive with our planning to ensure we do as much as we can to mitigate the impact of the economic fallout and to set the stage for a strong and sustained recovery,” he said.
