2019/20 Budget Communication Final Budget Communication | Page 6

The poor governance practiced prior to 2017 exposed a complete lack of a strategic
plan for the way in which public funds should or would be used. This resulted in improper
budgeting, unrecorded expenses, reckless spending and the inability of the country to achieve
sustained economic growth and fiscal stability. Year after year, our country was faced with a rising
level of public debt and a number of credit downgrades, thereby reinforcing the negative impacts
on borrowing and economic growth. We were trapped in a vicious, self-reinforcing cycle of rising
deficits and debt and depressed economic conditions.
In giving us a mandate to govern, the Bahamian people were clear in their choice of a
government that is committed to safeguarding the fiscal health of our nation and this is not
something to be treated carelessly, nor to be taken for granted or to disregard when inconvenient.
No government should have the luxury to choose to abandon its obligations and responsibilities
for the social and economic welfare and development of its people OR to abandon its obligations
to care for the fiscal health of the nation. There is no either or. We have to do both, and more. We
must never lose sight of this fact.
For the first time in a long time, we have a Government that can actually handle the
full weight of this responsibility and we are steadfast in our resolve. We have a properly structured
economic and fiscal policy agenda and we will be unwavering in executing our mandate.
II. Overview of Key Themes in This Budget
Mr. Speaker,
Having said this, I am pleased to assert, at the very outset of this Budget
Communication, that our Government is indeed staying true to our overarching economic and
fiscal policy agenda outlined in the November 2018 Fiscal Strategy Report. To that end, I can also
assert that we are continuing to adhere to the principles established in the three-year fiscal reform
plan that we set out in last year’s Budget Communication, contrary to the misconceptions and fear-
mongering that was laid out by the leader of the Opposition last week.
In line with that policy, I am also pleased to announce that in the 2019/20 Budget:
there are NO new tax categories, and
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