Chiding that the recently expired price control measures were nothing but a public relations gimmick, East Grand Bahama Member of Parliament Kwasi Thompson, who is the opposition shadow minister of finance, said the Free National Movement (FNM) remains distressed that more than a year into historically high inflation, the Davis administration has yet to put in place real meaningful policies to assist Bahamian families most impacted by the spikes in prices.
The final of the price control measures fell away on April 17.
Last week, Minister of Economic Affairs Michael Halkitis revealed that the government was not considering putting in place a permanent expansion of the breadbasket, because consumers are now better protected than they were six months ago when the changes were implemented.
"Just recently, their ill-advised and poorly executed temporary price control initiative came to an end, after doing little to protect the economically vulnerable. We warned this PLP government that the policy would be ineffective and only serve to add additional financial burdens on Bahamian small businesses. And that is why they let it lapse with absolutely nothing to replace it with," Thompson said in a statement yesterday,
"As is their custom, the temporary price control measures were nothing more than a public relations gimmick, that did not provide real relief to Bahamian consumers. The government refused to take our advice to eliminate VAT on breadbasket items and other critical essentials. They didn't seek to cap the VAT on fuel. They did little to expand direct support to the most vulnerable. They also provided no small business support for struggling businesses. These and other measures are what we recommended and what other effective governments around the region and the world have done."
The Bahamas National Statistical Institute (BNSI) reported last month that the consumer price index (CPI), which represents the overall change in prices, rose five percent in February 2023 over the same period in 2022, showing no slowdown in inflation.
In particular, the categories of recreation, alcoholic beverages, and food and non-alcoholic beverages rose 20 percent, 11 percent and nine percent respectively.
Nonetheless, the inflation rate was down 0.1 percent when compared to January 2023.
Earlier this week, Central Bank Governor John Rolle said while the economy is projected to see four percent growth this year, major downside risks, including inflation, remain.
He also said it was hard to determine whether inflation had peaked in The Bahamas, but signs of moderating prices in the United States meant the trend could soon follow locally.
"We are hopeful that the government heeds the admonishments of the Central Bank governor, who recently explained to the press that while inflation growth has moderated, the inflation rates remain high. He also explained that unemployment remains higher than the pre-pandemic level. We have seen that the government has increased its forecasted budget deficit even as it is taking in higher than expected revenue," Thompson continued.
"Thus, the reality remains that despite the rhetoric of the Davis administration, things on the ground are not as rosy as they make them out to be. Inflation and joblessness still are too high. The government is squandering the increased revenue and making the budget deficits worse, not better. They refuse to tell the Bahamian people the game plan for NIB while Minister LaRoda and the prime minister contradict each other in public. The PLP continues to demonstrate that they are not up to the task of governance. They are about PR and the trappings of governance, but not about the actual work of governance. Unfortunately, it will be the Bahamian people who will have to pay the price of the PLP's failure to govern."
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