tsmith-cartwright@tribunemedia.net
PLP DEPUTY Leader Chester Cooper yesterday accused the government of having no strategy for economic growth nor had put forward any plan for restoration in Abaco, Grand Bahama and Ragged Island.
Mr Cooper’s remarks were in response to the Minnis administration’s 2020 Fiscal Strategy Report tabled in Parliament on Wednesday.
Speaking about that report, newly appointed Minister of State for Finance Senator Kwasi Thompson told the Senate the government’s aim is to slash $100m from both its capital and recurrent spending after 2020-2021 first quarter revenues came in $68m below projections while spending soared.
Senator Thompson said some $75.8m in unplanned COVID-19 public assistance and previous lockdowns have forced the government to target $200m in extra spending cuts over the next six months.
Over 40% of Govt principal matures in 5 years Bahamians told: High unemployment prolonged
By NEIL HARTNELL
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
The Ministry of Finance s top official yesterday said he foresees no challenge over the Government meeting almost $1.5bn in debt principal repayments coming due within the next 12 months.
Marlon Johnson, the acting financial secretary, told Tribune Business there would be no issues when it came to The Bahamas meeting its sovereign obligations even though almost 18 percent of the Government s outstanding debt principal is to be redeemed over the next year.
The details were laid out in the 2020 Fiscal Strategy Report, tabled in the House of Assembly, which revealed that a substantial chunk of the Government s borrowings - $3.318bn or some 40.5 percent of the total $8.191bn - is due for repayment over the next five years.
Gov t targets $125m via Aliv, solar SPV offerings tribune242.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tribune242.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
The Bank of The Bahamas (BOB) bail-out vehicle believes it can slash the taxpayer s potential liability by at least 40 percent through recovering a portion of the toxic loans transferred to it.
The Government s Fiscal Strategy Report, tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday, acknowledged the potential further strain that could be imposed on the Public Treasury when the $167.7m promissory note injected into BOB s balance sheet in exchange for that distressed commercial credit becomes due for payment in August 2022.
This means that the note, effectively a bond on which BOB has been receiving interest payments, matures at that date and has to be replaced with cash from the Government. The interest is supposed to have been paid from the proceeds of loan recoveries by Bahamas Resolve, the special purpose vehicle (SPV) to which the BISX-listed institution s toxic loans were transferred to prevent its collapse.
nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
Some $75.8m in unplanned COVID-19 assistance and previous lockdowns have forced the Government to target $200m in extra spending cuts over the next six months, it was revealed yesterday.
Senator Kwasi Thompson, the newly-appointed minister of state for finance, told the Senate that the Minnis administration is aiming to slash $100m apiece from both its capital and recurrent (fixed cost) spending after 2020-2021 first quarter revenues came in $68m below projections while spending soared.
Explaining that the cuts were essential to keep the Government on track for a record $1.327bn deficit, as forecast in the May Budget, Mr Thompson pledged: For the remainder of this fiscal year and over the immediate term, the Government will seek to maintain its current budget deficit target of no more than $1.3bn.