The Bahamas National Statistical Institute's latest gross domestic product (GDP) report showing 17 percent economic growth in 2021 demonstrates that when the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) was elected in September of that year, the economic recovery was already in full swing, and the Davis administration's repeated claim that it met an economy in "deep recession" is just not true, Free National Movement (FNM) Chairman Dr. Duane Sands said yesterday.
"It suggests that their version of the truth is incorrect, or if you want to put it more bluntly, it's a flat out misrepresentation of the facts, that the economy was very much already in rebound mode when the election of 2021 was held," Sands told The Nassau Guardian.
"Bear in mind, we had had some very, very serious headwinds in the year prior and COVID did The Bahamas no favors, coming after Dorian.
"If you look at the contraction of our economy, it was massive and the dollar cost to our economy of COVID and Dorian is in the many millions of dollars.
"So, when in 2021, as you saw the gradual reopening of the economy, tourism starting to come back, tourists arriving, the 17 percent growth had very little to do with any new initiatives of this administration.
"It is true that they ended some of the COVID closures or restrictions and that added to the growth, but by no means can they claim responsibility for growth that had already started."
When the PLP came to office, the country's borders were already reopened, cruise ships had started returning, and lockdowns were already a thing of the past, but there was still a nightly curfew in place.
As an immediate act, Prime Minister Philip Davis got rid of the curfew.
In November 2021, the Davis administration continued with a plan that had been announced by the Minnis administration to end the state of emergency.
Sands said, "The rest of the world was already getting back to travel and there was pent-up demand.
"What is surprising is that the numbers tell a far greater story that even though we may have arrived where we were in 2019, I think that we should be further along and you have to ask the question of whether or not the missteps of this administration have limited the recovery of our economy.
"I can point to the challenges with the energy sector and the cost of energy and what negative impact it has had on the growth of the economy.
"There were some dumb decisions made by this administration as it relates to additional costs put on the backs of ordinary people with the additional VAT on certain things.
"There was an increase in real property tax that people had to find money for, and I can go on and on and on, so if you look at the numbers, what could have been an even more dramatic recovery just hasn't happened and the level of recovery that we need to deal with the structural challenges facing The Bahamas is greater than what was bragged about by our government."
The numbers show that in 2022, the economy grew by 14.4 percent.
In 2020, the first year The Bahamas grappled with COVID-19, the economy shrank by 23.5 percent.
In 2019, the year Dorian struck a large swath of the northern Bahamas, the economy shrank by seven percent.
Compared to 2018, the economy last year had a marginal increase with the value of goods and services produced estimated at $12.85 billion in real prices in 2022.
This figure stood at $12.5 billion in 2019 and $12.6 billion in 2018.
In a press statement on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments and Aviation Chester Cooper said the latest data "demonstrate that it is indeed a new day in The Bahamas and the thoughtful, carefully planned stewardship of the Davis administration has led to a flourishing economy that is outperforming the expectations of most observers".
Cooper added, "Not only do the recent gross domestic product figures show that we have a robust economy that is growing rapidly overall and in critical metrics, but forward bookings and the past quarter's record arrivals demonstrate that we continue to grow beyond the standard post-pandemic buoyancy predicted.
"The latest numbers from the National Statistical Institute indicate real GDP growth in 2022 that beat the optimistic projections of major international financial bodies," he said.
Cooper said GDP growth of 14.4 percent is "not just some fluke coming off the watershed of pent-up demand in 2021".
"This represents a coordinated and calculated strategy to drive growth throughout the economy," he said.
But Sands insisted that while the economic recovery is positive news, the growth needle has barely moved when one looks at the bigger picture.
He said the average Bahamian is just not feeling an improving economy.
"You ask the question, what level of growth is needed to deal with the high level of unemployment, particularly among the youth? What level of growth would be necessary to make opportunities for teenagers leaving school? What level of growth would be needed to start having surpluses to begin knocking down this deficit and the $400-plus million per year that we have to service debt?" Sands said.
"The level of growth we have, while I think we should celebrate any improvement, it is far less than what it needs to be for our economy to be considered to be thriving, and so, I think this is spin.
"It's not surprising, but they are not prepared to say, 'Look, you really ought to be disappointed that we've only had this level of growth.'
"Grand Bahama certainly asks the question, 'what about us?' because Grand Bahama certainly has not been the beneficiary of significant growth.
"Grand Bahama is still waiting for that breakthrough and a number of the Family Islands similarly find themselves out in the cold."
Sands added, "We also see a throwback to some of the old approaches that threaten Bahamian participation in any growth in the economy."
Cooper said the Davis administration plans to build on its success, "opening up pathways to ownership and wealth for Bahamians and continuing to make The Bahamas an attractive place to live, work and play, while expanding the role of Bahamians in our economy".
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