2019/20 Budget Communication Final Budget Communication | Page 45

our broader policy objectives are in line with the reforms that are outlined as necessary to secure a
positive impact in both the near and long term, which we will continue to advance.
iv.
Addressing Critical Public Infrastructure Needs
Investment in public infrastructure acts not only as a vehicle for job creation, but also
as a catalyst for economic growth. In this vein, we have made capital spending a key priority.
Essential to the future for infrastructure projects in The Bahamas is the use of Public Private
Partnerships (or PPPs), for which a policy was drafted in the latter part of last year to set the
framework in which these ventures should be set. These investments are likely to include airports,
particularly in the Family Islands, schools, Government buildings, among other projects, that
underpin increased productivity and stronger growth.
The only way that we will effectively address the infrastructure deficit in the country
will be to mobilize private sector resources and expertise in the provision of public infrastructure,
as many other jurisdictions are now doing with great success.
This embrace of the PPP approach will require us to think about old challenges in new
ways, and to foster a different kind of thinking about how public goods should be delivered. We
must obviously ensure that we create scenarios where the private partner and the Bahamian public
both benefit, but at the same time we cannot have a knee jerk negative reaction to anything that
represents a departure from the old ways of doing things. We must ask: How can we create PPPs
for constructing new roads and highways? Can there be a PPP for a school or hospital? Can private
operators do car licensing or vehicle inspections? Can we use Bahamian entrepreneurs to deliver
social services? Until we challenge our conventional thinking, we will not be able to unleash our
full communal energies and talents to overcome our most daunting administrative and
infrastructural challenges.
v.
Reviewing and Assessing the Adequacy of Current Tax Concessionary Regime
In assessing revenue compliance and strengthening tax administration, it is particularly
pertinent to evaluate the role that concessions play, and their impact on the tax gap. Under its
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