6 FY2022 / 2023 BUDGET COMMUNICATION
We have committed $ 50 million per annum to small business development , through these various institutions .
We still hold fast to this commitment .
We believe that these institutions will be leading this effort , especially The ‘ Small Business Development Centre ’ ( which has unused loan resources ), and ‘ The Bahamas Development Bank ’ ( which is in discussions with the Caribbean Development Bank to receive substantial funding ).
As part of an overall effort to increase access to capital for small businesses , in this fiscal year we also propose to study the operations of our capital markets .
We recognize that $ 50 million on per annum basis is just a portion of the required funding that small businesses need to grow in this economy .
With commercial bank lending focused primarily on the consumer market , we have to create other avenues for small business financing .
In partnership with The Central Bank of The Bahamas , we also propose to increase efforts to increase the circulation and use of the Sand Dollar . We believe it is a great tool , which will help to reduce the transaction costs many small businesses face when handling cash . The Sand Dollar makes digital financial services available to micro , small and medium-sized businesses , that will also make transactions for those businesses faster and more secure .
Taken together , Madam Speaker , our support for maritime training , and for the development of small businesses , is substantial .
However , it is impossible to fully understand this without referring to several areas of the budget .
Investment and support in these two important areas of national development are reflected across a number of lines in the budget , and so should be interpreted accordingly .
Madam Speaker : For the remainder of this Communication , I will first highlight additional Key Priorities of the government .
I will summarize the Domestic and International macro-economic conditions within which we are operating , many of which will influence , support and / or constrain our policy actions .
Madam Speaker , I will then report on the Fiscal Performance of the government for the first nine months of the fiscal year , from July 2021 to March 2022 .
In order to support investors , lenders and the Bahamian people in their planning , I will finally set out the government ’ s projections for the Fiscal Year 2022 / 2023 , so that we share a common understanding of ‘ The Way Forward ’.
2 . Priorities from The Speech From the Throne
Madam Speaker : In our first Speech from the Throne , my government articulated a list of Key Priorities that we aim to fulfill in our first five-year term .
It was more than a ‘ To-Do ’ list of things that we want to achieve .
It was also a statement of the values and principles upon which we would govern .
We called upon every sector of the community to partner with us in order to achieve national success .
We promised to be fair and inclusive , and to operate at the highest standards of integrity .
We promised to restore competence to governance , to be compassionate in all our dealings , and to govern in the interests of the many , not the few .
We promised to be Transparent , Open and Accountable in our decision-making and actions .
These are the values and principles which we hold dear , Madam Speaker , which remain the guiding lights of our administration .
I believe that one of the most tangible expressions of our commitment in this regard , is to be found in our weekly press conferences , and in our engagements with the media and members of the public .
Because of this new openness and desire for public participation , we hope that this budget exercise prompts many voices and contributions from a wide cross-section of the Bahamian public .
In respect of the specific commitments made in ‘ The Speech from The Throne ’, I am happy to report that we have already fulfilled many of these goals and are making substantial progress on others .
Just to highlight a few :
» We have already begun the process of improving government revenues by reconstituting the Revenue Enhancement Unit . Among other benefits , this will ensure equity in government taxation , and increase the yields on our real property tax .
» We have appointed a private sector Debt Management Committee , assisted by an Independent Financial Advisor , who will devise clear objectives , and a strategy to manage the high levels of debt accumu-