2019/20 Budget Communication Final Budget Communication | Page 49

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Concluding Remarks
Mr. Speaker,
Our Government’s approach to managing the economic and fiscal affairs of the nation is
governance in the truest sense of the word. We know what needs to be done during the course of
our mandate. We have a sensible plan to do it; and we remain steadfast in our resolve to implement
that plan. Throughout our initiatives, we are mindful of, and firmly committed to, the need to be
fully transparent, accountable and responsible to the people. For it is the hard-earned dollars of
the people that we collect, and it is those very same dollars that we then spend on programmes,
services and infrastructure to serve their critical needs. As such, we must never lose sight of the
fact that this is indeed the People’s Budget.
Last year we introduced and enacted fiscal legislation that will shape the fiscal
boundaries of this nation for this year and years to come. We have put an end to fiscal
mismanagement, and we have placed a legally binding sense of accountability on the Government
of The Bahamas. We have set rules, Mr. Speaker; rules that are prudent, responsible, and forward-
looking.
The Budget exercise is no longer a guessing game of how much we “think” we need
to raise in revenue, and how much we “think” we will need to spend. Now, our revenue intake and
aggregate expenditure are set within the confines of what has been legally mandated as well as
against the three-year fiscal plan that we introduced last year to bring our fiscal house in order and
put our debt level on a sustainable trajectory for the betterment of our people
In doing this, we have set a new precedent for proper budgeting, in that we have now
implemented monthly meetings with each government agency to go over their expenditure plans,
and ensure that they remain in line with the ceilings set forth for the budget year, and that funds
are utilized appropriately to advance the key policy initiatives and priorities of this Government.
Our in-year reporting also ensures that we remain transparent in the way in which we both acquire
and use public funds, making us accountable to our citizens, as we should be.
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