Prime Minister Perry Christie speaking in China.
By AVA TURNQUEST
Tribune Chief Reporter
aturnquest@tribunemedia.net
PRIME Minister Perry Christie has announced plans to request funding from China to support the national budget, refinance and restructure the country’s debt.
The government’s proposal will seek to acquire funds from a US$3 billion dollar investment fund, revealed last month by China, to finance cash-strapped Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries.
Mr Christie made the announcement during the first ministerial meeting of the CELAC-CHINA (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum in Beijing.
The CELAC-China Forum was established to promote political, economic, trade, people-to-people, social and foreign co-operation” between China and the Caribbean and Latin American countries.
Mr Christie said: “Mr Chairman, I return to the themes raised by my predecessor as CARICOM chair, Prime Minister Gaston Browne at the meeting of the Heads of States and government of China and CELAC on July 17, 2014 in Port of Spain, Trinidad, welcoming the $3 billion dollar commitment on China’s part for investment on concessional terms. We will be raising at the conference, the proposal to use this funding for budget support, as well as debt restructuring and refinancing.”
Government borrowing came under scrutiny last year during debate on the 2014/2015 Budget, at which time the Christie administration underscored the need to secure new sources of funding to drive national development.
Last June, Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell announced that he would spend a substantial amount of time in the Middle East and Asia hunting down new funding sources.
He said his ministry had been given a mandate to find new capital for the country as traditional sources were winding down on lending.
According to Mr Mitchell, the Canadian government abstained from supporting the country’s national programme at a Caribbean Development Bank meeting, and concessionary lending to the Bahamas had also been prohibited by the World Bank due to the country’s high GDP per capita.
During ministerial meetings yesterday, Mr Christie pointed out that the criterion for allowing or denying access to concessional financial is based on GDP per capita income, adding that CARICOM is pushing to eliminate this practice because it did not adequately reflect the disparities and differences in development with the various islands.
According to a statement released by Bahamas Information Services (BIS), Mr Christie also gave assurances that the Bahamas government will promote opportunities for investment in the energy sector, gas exploration, mining, forestry, tourism, airline services, financial services, agriculture and fisheries.
He explained that given that energy, water, sanitation, coastal protection, and protection of critical coastal infrastructure are central to the capacity of CARICOM countries, all efforts must be considered to mitigate the effects of climate change.
“The reality is that a five foot rise in sea level would eliminate 80 per cent of the Bahamas. Climate change is real for the Bahamas; it is a threat to our very existence,” he said.
“In this context, we actively encourage the building of the Sino-Latin American and Caribbean Cooperation Fund to provide resources according to the needs and priorities of the recipient countries.”
Comments
Hogfish 9 years, 3 months ago
What? now he gern round beggin! I aint no Begger. Yoll politicians stop yer gaddamn tiefen and spend our taxes WISELY and for the benefit ouf our country and it's children and you wouldn't have to go on a world stage to show us up beggin! It hurts my heart and soul whats going on... :(
GrassRoot 9 years, 3 months ago
makes me sad to see that the PM does not know that The Bahamas is not part of Central and Eastern Europe.
Cobalt 9 years, 3 months ago
You said it correctly! Now we going round beggin for money!!!! These politicians and so called leaders have no insight, foresight, or knowledge on how to develop creative ideas to generate our economy!!! Their only know-how is to teif!!! Then they go around begging other countries for money!! Im so ashamed to be a Bahamian. Seriously!
asiseeit 9 years, 3 months ago
This may work in our favor. The Chinese shoot people in the head for corruption and make them pay for the bullet. How many of our politicians would be up against the wall? That being said, This is a typical Bahamian move. "I had money but I wasted it and now I have none, Gimme dollar!" Once they give him a dollar he will spend it on rims for his car, no matter that his house is rotting and the roof leaks.
GrassRoot 9 years, 3 months ago
no more politicians in the Bahamas. Only a CEO that manages Bahamas, Inc., on behalf of the Chinese shareholders.
Cobalt 9 years, 3 months ago
yup! preach it!!
GrassRoot 9 years, 3 months ago
the P of Venezuela, Mr. Maduro, was cited to fly to China these days to report to his superiors in the Chinese Government. Watch the news, China will take over the Venezuelan oil industry and own the economic future of many generations of Venezuelans. I know, Venezuela is not the Bahamas it wont cost China 200 B USD to buy us, they buy us with their pocket change. Perry, is that what you want to happen to our grandchildren?
GrassRoot 9 years, 3 months ago
having this said, I am not against getting money from the Chinese. The questions are: what do we do with it, what is the ROI, how do we pay it back? What is the exit strategy? If we build the best schools in North America and we will produce Nobel price winners and athletes and inventors and scholars and successful business people, I am all for it. If we use it to continue paying people to do nothing, paving the streets for Miss Universe contests etc., then we will lose out.
Honestman 9 years, 3 months ago
Ha,ha....PGC has a Chinese complexion in this picture. Gotta laugh or you would cry.
Publius 9 years, 3 months ago
What the bloody hell did he implement VAT for if he is asking the Chinese for money to pay off debts?
Alex_Charles 9 years, 3 months ago
our economic recipe Borrow money + issue contracts = fck up contracts and cost overruns Borrow more money + Fck up contracts again = funds get "misappropriated" have we forgotten the original plan under Perry's first administration to build that stadium and the money went poof? or the best yet what happened to BAMSI? Rest assured though we have VAT and we are once again increasing our national debt so everything will be fine. if only we had the FREEDOM to view INFORMATION as to where this money is being managed and transparency. If only such an ACT was in place
themessenger 9 years, 3 months ago
Lift up your head to the rising sun of Chinaland......................................
digimagination 9 years, 3 months ago
Might as well sell the country to the Chinese, lock stock and barrel because they already have us by the balls!
TalRussell 9 years, 3 months ago
Comrade PM (Like Biblical Job) Christie only days after his cabinet taxed VAT upon poor, did with beggars hat in hand had fallen to his knees in front this Chinese lenders of last resort,. Knowing tis his cabinet's only hope - that once again the Red Communist Democracy Oppressive government will make their PLP government temporally able pay some many of their government's long outstanding bills and give them twice as much as before.
Amen!
by TalRussell
DEDDIE 9 years, 3 months ago
I guess prostitution is not paying what it use to,so we have to resort to begging.
The_Oracle 9 years, 3 months ago
Hat in hand, begging. Shameful. Looks like the Chinese got an official residence for the chief in the Bahamas before Perry. This will not end well for the Bahamas.
duppyVAT 9 years, 3 months ago
It is shameful what has become of a once proud nation ................ that is what corruption causes you to sink to............. Fifty years of poor political decision making and grandiose plans without proper fiscal management and accountability.
We can learn a lot from the Chinese ................ they have gone up and we have gone down in the past 50 years.
TalRussell 9 years, 3 months ago
Comrade we are still proud of our Bahamaland. Just not some the fu&kups messing it up rest good people.
Stapedius 9 years, 3 months ago
Spare the bull$#it. The Bahamas has been borrowing money for many years. Where do you think IDB/World Bank funds come from? Now we may not agree with who we are borrowing from and thats fair. But let us stop pretending as if we haven't been here before. We cry about borrowing but many of us the same ones who don't want to pay any tax. Now I'm not saying we should drown ourselves in debt, but in case many of you haven't noticed we are already in the shit. When we get defense force vessels, equipment etc from the US you think its free? Hell no. There's a price to be paid. It may not be in currency but there is a price. Countries borrow all the time this is nothing new. We just have to be disciplined enough to settle the debt. The US went all over Europe after the war of Independence to borrow money from then wealthy European nations. John Adams was principally tasked as an ambassador to seek out funding. We have to stop being overly dramatic about everything and try to navigate our way through crisis.
TheMadHatter 9 years, 3 months ago
Well why don't you come back when we "settle the debt" as you say - and then you can run your mouth. See you on Neverary 32nd.
Hogfish 9 years, 3 months ago
big difference from borrowing by issuing sovereign debt in the market and asking for a hand out from a Fund that was set up for other countries and has nothing to do with us!
birdiestrachan 9 years, 3 months ago
Stapeaius Thank you so much.
TalRussell 9 years, 3 months ago
Comrade Stapedius while it seems every country carries a national debt and it is all but impossible to cancel last dollar debt, every effort must be made to reduce it. But for one lender to hold your major notes, sends dangerous signals that a foreign government have become the "taxpayers lender of last resort." No louder a wake-up call that it is paramount our elected government curtail and make cuts to spending. Unlike the World Bank and all the other lenders, the Chinese is a government with a large, powerful and ruthless army, navy and air force. What army do we have to protect the sovereignty of Bahamaland, should they decide repossess the country? Are you suggesting we just go with the borrowing flow and not rock the PLP cabinet's borrowing, all they can get their hands on boat? How long can we take take the taxpayers last dollars to service the billions of dollars done borrowed? We can't even stop half-ass sailing sailing sloops from dumping illegals by the thousands right in front our beautiful sandy beaches.
pablojay 9 years, 3 months ago
I don't know if you noticed the picture ,but Perry has been depending on the Chinese so much that ,check the picture again, he almost looks Chinese. His favourite food has probably changed from peas and rice to shrimp fried rice.
USAhelp 9 years, 3 months ago
Like i said we will have a Chinese PM soon
TheMadHatter 9 years, 3 months ago
Looks like Perry is setting himself up to be a house-nigger in the new Chinese slave system. I guess he'll be better off than us yard-niggers. Wise move on his part.
TheMadHatter
asiseeit 9 years, 3 months ago
"We have to stop being overly dramatic about everything and try to navigate our way through crisis."
A crisis of our own making by doing exactly what the P.M. wants to do, borrowing money. I thought that they just introduced VAT to try and pay BACK some of our MASSIVE debt. and now the P.M. is actively looking to EXPAND that debt? When will the government o what ALL of us have had to do, CUT SPENDING? How about a BALANCED BUDGET? I know these are big words but sooner or later the government of The Bahamas is going to have to learn them and live them!
TalRussell 9 years, 3 months ago
Comrade AsISee It, I know we all get caught up in blogging over the financial doom caused by this PLP cabinet but fortunately, despite PM's Christie's and Papa Hubert's borrowing binges and selling-off Bahamaland's sovereignty to deep pockets foreigners, the finances of Bahamaland remain in fairly good financial shape. Unlike some of the other Caribbean countries we are not experiencing a financial collapse but how imminent away can it be, if we do not reign in and begin to focus on what is actually happening to our nation's finances and the off-loading of our birthright sovereignty. The answer that question can get pretty damn ugly for Bahamalanders.
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