May 2020 Budget Communication

Wed, May 27th 2020, 01:29 PM

Mr. Speaker,

I stand before this House to present what is perhaps the most important policy document published by any Government in its fiscal year—The Annual Budget. It represents the values we hold dear as the Government of the day; articulates the Government’s vision for the wellbeing of its people, during ordinary and extraordinary times, and shares how the Government plans to raise and spend public funds for the collective benefit of every man, woman and child in the Islands of The Bahamas.

A Change in Circumstance

Mr. Speaker,

This is not a time for soaring rhetoric or empty partisan crossfire. In the face of these historic, extraordinary times, the Bahamian people expect a plan– a strategy that is responsive to their needs and defined by the values we believe in, as a party and as a Government.

My role today is not to lull the Bahamian people into a false sense of comfort. There will be no sugarcoating of the situation we face. I trust that the Bahamian people understand the challenges with which we are confronted because COVID-19 has changed the lives of every Bahamian in one way or another.

Unprecedented times call for an unprecedented Budget; and today, Mr. Speaker, I will lay out the Government’s comprehensive Budget plan for the fiscal year 2020/2021, explaining how we intend to address the pressing fiscal and economic realities we face as a country, as we forge onwards to restore our people, and restore our nation.

This Budget is unlike any The Bahamas has ever seen before. Fittingly so, because the past 12-months have been unlike anything the country has ever experienced.

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