The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A leading QC says that while he is “not cynical” about the Government’s promise to hold a formal public consultation on Fiscal Responsibility legislation, it must be held accountable if it fails to follow through.

Brian Moree QC, senior partner at McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes, told Tribune Business in a recent interview that he was currently “not being hawkish on the Government” as a result of its pledge to hold public discussions on the issue.

Prime Minister Perry Christie unveiled plans for a formal public consultation on Fiscal Responsibility legislation during his mid-year Budget address, with the process ultimately set to result in the submission of recommendations to the Government by year-end.

Several observers subsequently suggested privately to Tribune Business that the Prime Minister’s comments were motivated mainly by a desire to silence cries from the private sector for Fiscal Responsibility legislation, and that the Government had no real intent to enact such laws.

However, Mr Moree told Tribune Business: “I’m willing to accept the Government’s public statements on this matter as a genuine interest in considering this type of legislation.

“I don’t see why they’d mention it and put it on the public record if they’re not taking a genuine look at it. I’m not cynical about it at this point in time.

“I take it as a genuine expression of the Government’s willingness to look seriously at a Fiscal Responsibility regime, and I think we need to move ahead on that basis.”

The private sector, via the Coalition for Responsible Taxation, views Fiscal Responsibility legislation as something the Government needs to do to ‘fulfill its side of the fiscal bargain’ given that it accepted, and helped to implement, Value-Added Tax (VAT).

Some countries have employed Fiscal Responsibility legislation to make their governments more accountable and transparent on their spending, while others have used it to set targets and thresholds above which certain ratios, such as debt-to-GDP, must not cross.

Such legislation has also been used to curtail excessive government spending, while other nations have employed it to force governments to come back to Parliament should they need more money.

Mr Moree, meanwhile, acknowledged that the Christie administration had to be held accountable, and made to live up to, its consultation promises on Fiscal Responsibility legislation.

“We have to hold the Government accountable for its statements of willingness to look at this process,” he told Tribune Business.

“We have to acknowledge it’s a very positive statement from the Prime Minister, take it in good faith, and the private and public sectors have to put in place a reasonable framework to arrange this consultation properly and see if we can develop the best model for the Bahamas.”

Mr Moree added: “If we do a public consultation, we have to do it properly, but we also have to hold the Government accountable for the process and understand it’s a complicated matter that has to be done right.

“We have to be very reasonable here. It could be a very significant development in the governance model of the Bahamas if we can do it right, which would ultimately enure to the benefit of us all.

“There would be higher levels of accountability and transparency, and that would inspire greater confidence in our fiscal policy. It’s a win-win for all of us if we do it properly.”

The Christie administration has yet to give any public signs of making good on its Fiscal Responsibility consultation pledge, although it has time to move.

The Prime Minister said the Government’s policy paper on the issue would be released by summer, with the discussion intended to focus on two issues: Whether the Bahamas should implement Fiscal Responsibility legislation and, if so, what model it should adopt.