During his Statement on the First Year Anniversary of hisGovernment, in the House of Assembly, on September 28, 2022, Prime Ministerand Minister of Finance the Hon. Philip Davis said that the accomplishments ofthe past 12 months had only been possible because the Bahamian people“stepped up and stepped forward, and worked with us.”

“We are grateful for their trust and confidence, and the partnership we haveforged bodes well for the positive national development of The Bahamas,” PrimeMinister Davis said.

He added that, although his Government had accomplished a lot in the first year,but there was still “so much to do”.

“We are making good progress on many of the commitments which we made inour ‘Blueprint For Change’,” Prime Minister Davis noted.

“But the war in Ukraine which started back in February, and COVID-relatedmanufacturing and supply chain issues in some of the major markets, havecombined to create a new and very serious emergency: a global inflation crisis,which has driven up prices across the world,” he added.

Prime Minister Davis pointed out that, for a long time now, the cost of living inThe Bahamas had been too high. Also, with global inflationary pressures drivingprices up across the board, life had become unaffordable for so many Bahamianfamilies.

“The Government is working hard to help the country recover and to providerelief from these multiple crises,” he said. “At the same time, we are also workingto bring about the big, transformative changes which will make us stronger, lessvulnerable to future crises, and bring us closer to fulfilling our national potential.”

Prime Minister Davis then reviewed some of the highlights of what had beenaccomplished during the past year, as having been so absorbed in the day-to-day,he pointed out, it was “instructive to step back and look at the big picture”.

In the area of Health, Prime Minister Davis noted that, even before coming intooffice, they made the point that the economic crisis the country faced could notbe fully tackled until the COVID-19 health crisis was being well-managed.At the time, he said, The Bahamas was performing “very poorly” on regionalcomparisons regarding the management of COVID.

“We knew our country could do much better,” Prime Minister Davis said.“We introduced free testing – something the previous government said couldn’tbe done – distributed almost one million free medical-grade masks, hired moredoctors and nurses, and began to upgrade local clinics,” he added.

“Our commitment continues, with new industrial agreements with the BahamasNurses Union, which include salary increases and retention bonuses,” PrimeMinister Davis pointed out. “This is simply the right thing to do for those whohave done so much to save lives during the pandemic, often at great personal riskto themselves.”

In the Public Service, Prime Minister Davis said, his Government had also settledand was continuing to settle outstanding promotions and regularizations forpublic sector workers.

“We negotiated union agreements, with The Bahamas Educators, Counsellors,and Allied

Workers Union; The Bahamas Customs, Immigration and Allied Workers Union;The Bahamas Union of Teachers, The Bahamas Nurses Union, The BahamasEducators Managers Union: we have completed those agreements,” he pointedout.

“It is important to note that these negotiations resulted in the largest-everremuneration for Bahamian workers in the Public Service,” he added.“And we approved the return of annual increments for public servants along withan increase in public service pensions.”

Prime Minister Davis stated that, as he indicated earlier, higher prices weresqueezing Bahamian households. Therefore, his Government was implementingmultiple policies to address the issues which contribute to the high Cost of Living.He pointed out that the most direct tool his Government had to affect the costwas by reducing import duties and monitoring price controls.

“In the past year, we have therefore reduced import duties on dozens of fooditems, including healthy options like fruits and vegetables,” Prime Minister Davissaid.

He added: “We have lifted the import ban on Canadian beef, which will lowercost of meat to consumers. We have expanded the list of food items on the pricecontrol list and have also hired new Price Control Inspectors to ensure compliancewith price regulation requirements.

“These are measures which bring some immediate relief, but we know we alsomust take big steps to reduce reliance on expensive foreign imports.”Prime Minister Davis pointed out that, in Agriculture, his Government hadcommitted millions of dollars in new investments for food security initiatives,which meant the nation would grow “a lot more of what we eat right here athome”, and create opportunities in Bahamian ownership and employment. Headded that his Government had also introduced duty-free concessions for parts torepair fishing and farming equipment.

“We are facilitating direct cash subsidies and concessions for poultry farming, toreduce the reliance on foreign imports,” Prime Minister Davis said. “For the samereason, two new slaughterhouses have been commissioned for New Providenceand Eleuthera.

“And the re-opening of packing houses, after four years, will assist farmers withfeed, fertilizers and other tools.”

In terms of Affordable Housing, Prime Minister Davis noted that his Governmenthad “picked up the ideological baton” begun under the Pindling-Hanna era, andonce again, wanted to support Bahamians in owning their own homes.

“In this first year, we made available 47 new affordable homes in NewProvidence, in Pinecrest’s first phase of development,” he pointed out. “Newhousing developments in New Providence and Abaco are also underway, alongwith a new housing initiative at Ocean Hole in Rock Sound, Eleuthera.”

“We have expanded concessions to first-time homeowners, which includes thepurchasing of land, building and purchasing a house, and renovating existingstructures,” Prime Minister Davis added. “We increased the level of exemptionfor VAT on homes from $250,000 to $300,000.

“And we also implemented broad-based reduction of duties on buildingmaterials.”

Prime Minister Davis said that Energy was a significant part of the monthlyexpenditure for households and businesses.

He noted that his Government had launched a programme to implement solarmicro-grids, rooftop panels and other solar devices, which were to be deployedacross multiple Family Islands. That, he said, would benefit up to 17,000Bahamians.

“Alongside this we have reduced customs duties for solar products,” PrimeMinister Davis said. “We have also reduced to 10%, the duty on electric carswhich cost under $70,000. And we are well advanced in negotiations of a 61Megawatt solar facility to decrease the cost of electricity.

“Bahamians deserve cleaner, more reliable, and more affordable energy, and weare working hard to build the solutions that will get us there.”

Prime Minister Davis pointed out that it had been a priority for my administrationto offer both compassion and relief, via both social support and empowerment.“Our administration is providing substantial support to successful, local feedingprogrammes run by churches and NGOs,” he said. “The funding for socialassistance increased by 50% compared to pre-pandemic levels.”

“We have extended tax breaks and concessions in Grand Bahama and AbacoRecovery Zones,” he added. “We made a $500 lump-sum payment just beforeChristmas to the unemployed, to provide a little breathing room.”

He continued: “My Government provided relief grants to vendors in Port Lucaya,Downtown Freeport Farmers’ Market, Eight Mile Rock Fish Fry, and LucayanHarbour and New Bight Fish Fry. We also provided a financial stipend to surreydrivers.”

Prime Minister Davis noted that his Government successfully re-opened schoolsafter two years of online learning.

“And we launched a free WiFi in the parks programme called – Park ConnectBahamas,” he said. “To date, 30 parks across the country have been outfittedwith free Internet access.”

“We successfully relaunched Urban Renewal, including the Urban Renewal Bandand the Urban Renewal Foundation, which will spearhead a list of social supportand empowerment programmes,” Prime Minister Davis added. “The UrbanRenewal Small Home Repairs Programme is well underway in Abaco, Moore’sIsland, Bimini, Exuma, Cat Island and New Providence.

“And the Disaster Reconstruction Authority launched a Home Assistance RepairProgramme in Grand Bahama and Abaco.”

Prime Minister Davis said that, in furthering its commitment to promote BetterGovernment, during the past year, his Government made notable progress on arange of issues.

“We eliminated the travel heath visa which was such a burden to so manyBahamians,” he said. “We enacted legislation concerning the ‘Presumption ofdeath’, in order to allow survivors to more quickly settle the affairs of loved ones,who go missing after circumstances of peril, such as hurricanes.

He added that a Family Island Help Desk was set up in the Department of LocalGovernment to assist local government personnel in navigating red tape, andaddressing relevant issues.

“The Revenue Enhancement Unit was re-established to collect over $1 billion intax arrears through more efficient collection, more effective compliancemeasures, and enforcement of laws,” Prime Minister Davis noted.

“New carbon credits legislation was passed, which will enable The Bahamas to becompensated for the role that our mangroves and seagrasses play in eliminatingcarbon from the atmosphere.”