Prime Minister Philip Davis indicated yesterday that the government has paid off the majority of the $1 billion in liabilities he claimed a year ago were left unpaid by the previous administration.
Shortly after taking office, Davis revealed that it had engaged accounting firm Deloitte to check government accounts, claiming that the Minnis administration did not account for $1 billion in liabilities in its pre-election report and fiscal update report. However, at the time he did not provide specifics.
During his mid-year budget communication in the House of Assembly yesterday, Davis said up to the halfway point of this fiscal year, the government's unpaid bills totaled a mere $90.7 million.
"Members will recall that in the mid-year review of the previous year, I revealed to the public that my administration inherited almost $1.48 billion in unpaid bills, claims and unfunded obligations. Not only did we have debt levels of near 100 percent of GDP, but we also had a drawer filled with bills of almost $1 billion, waiting to be paid," he said.
"Again, I am happy to report that our plans and strategies are working, and that the era of fiscal mismanagement has come to an end. I am pleased to report that at the halfway point in the fiscal year, the government's unpaid bills total a mere $90.7 million or 2.7 percent of budgeted expenditure, compared to the 31.3 percent reported in the previous year."
In March 2022, Davis told Parliament the $1 billion in arrears the Minnis administration had left behind was due to debt and interest payments related to the government taking over the legacy debt of Bahamas Power and Light; unpaid bills and other obligations for state-owned enterprises; outstanding payments for insurance services in the public service; outstanding legal claims; VAT refunds; and outstanding payments for COVID-19 patient support at Doctors Hospital.
Yesterday in Parliament, Davis gave a breakdown of the remaining obligations of government.
"These bills include $44.3 million in unpaid bills and other obligations for state-owned enterprises, of which $30.7 million in unpaid bills were to the Water and Sewerage Corporation for water purchased; $13.8 million in unpaid bills to the Ministry of Tourism, Investments, and Aviation, mainly for consultancy services, quality assurance, and global communications; and $9.9 million in unpaid bills for catastrophic healthcare services and the upkeep of community clinics via the Ministry of Health and Wellness," he said.
He continued, "Eight million dollars in unpaid bills to Department of Transformation and Digitization in respect of various unfunded contractual obligations; $5.9 million to the Ministry of National Security for various security enhancement projects; and $5.5 million to Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation, mainly for insurance services and utility services."
According to the mid-year budget presented yesterday, total revenue for the first six months of the year were estimated at $1.2 billion, which represents a $111.5 million increase over the same period last fiscal year Total expenditure is estimated to be $1.5 billion, which represents an increase of $119.3 million over the same period compared to the previous year.
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