2019/20 Budget Communication Final Budget Communication | Page 5

provided for the clearing up of the mountain of old bills and unbudgeted
commitments left behind by the previous administration, totaling some $360
million; and,
established a sound multi-year fiscal plan to address known fiscal pressures,
finance our growth agenda in a fiscally responsible way and to meet the
mandated and crucial deficit and debt targets.
It is two years in, and against some extraordinary odds we have delivered stable and
steady governance instead of irresponsible and unplanned fiscal management. We secured positive
economic growth at 1.6 percent last year, following the persistent economic stagnation that had
characterized The Bahamas during the term of the former administration.
We delivered a
framework for good governance—not with superficial platitudes, but with the power of legally
binding mandates.
We made this progress while operating under tight fiscal constraints, and yet, we still
increased direct social assistance last year by over $600,000, and maintained focus on human
development as a key priority during the last two years of tightening our purse strings. This
included millions invested in new initiatives for education, entrepreneurship, economic
empowerment and the development of neglected communities.
Mr. Speaker, our critics often like to ridicule our focus on fiscal reform, on fixing the
fiscal deficit. We find this very odd, because a part of our core responsibility as leaders of state is
to be responsible managers of taxpayers’ money. It is the hard-earned dollars of the people that we
collect, and it is those very same dollars that our citizens expect the Government to spend
judiciously on programmes, services and infrastructure to serve their critical needs.
May I remind our citizens that politically motivated and irresponsible boosts in
Government spending are not sustainable solutions to securing stable economic growth. Excessive
fiscal deficits and unsustainable borrowing compromise our standard of living and undermine the
Government’s ability to perform its basic functions and compete in the global economy. These
quick fixes are inevitably doomed to failure; they erode confidence, worsen the fiscal position of
the nation and compromise the future prosperity of our youth. That is not a gamble we are prepared
to make.
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