The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The Fiscal Responsibility Council (FRC) has yet to give its recommendations and advice on the recently-unveiled Fiscal Strategy Report (FSR), the deputy prime minister confirmed yesterday.

Speaking to Tribune Business outside the House of Assembly, K Peter Turnquest conceded there had been some delays in getting the council fully operational. Asked whether it had provided feedback on the government’s post-Dorian fiscal road map, he replied: “No, not yet. As you know, the Fiscal Council has that document.

“They are doing their work and, from there, they will give their recommendations and their judgment on whether we are in compliance and in alignment with the fiscal principles or not. There is some delay because we want to get some training done on the way a Fiscal Council works, and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) is helping us with that.

“We want to make sure we get it right. So there may be a little bit of a lag, and some delay, but we are addressing it and we hope to be able to have them fully empowered with all of the information and all of the resources they need in order to do their job as soon as possible. The Bill was tabled in theHouse but we won’t debate that in Parliament until January.”

Gowon Bowe, who represents the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) on the Council, confirmed that proposed training under the IMF’s oversight has been discussed but is yet to start.

He said: “There are the plans to actually have orientation training that is being supported by the IMF in that regard. Those details are still being worked out in terms of the actual timing relative to the Christmas holidays and others. That is what they are communicating.

“I think the IMF, which has been a supporting agency for the legislation as well as the practical implementation of the council, is supporting them in a number of ways so they are still trying to work out whether we are travelling to a location where they are doing similar training, or whether or not they will be doing it domestically. So there has not been a finite timeline for it, but over the coming weeks they want to have it done before early January.”

Acknowledging that little remains for the council to assess the Fiscal Strategy Report before it is debated by Parliament, Mr Bowe said: “Bear in mind that the Fiscal Strategy Report is the responsibility of government, and the council has the responsibility to do its own report with its own timelines.

“Given the number of competing priorities that have taken place in terms of Dorian and the like, ultimately they are ensuring we do things in a proper manner. So the government is free to debate it, the actual work and results of the council, once the necessary information and timing as well as the procedures will be followed.”

He added: “We have to put into perspective that this is the infancy of the council, and so the timelines are those that are prudent and done in the proper way. Yes, we have communications in place, but it is like the commencement of a new agency, and so as it relates to physical infrastructure, financial infrastructure, details as well as information - those are all things that come with the learning exercise.

“We are going back and asking for items and getting them. But there wasn’t a checklist embedded in the legislation that says that on day one we will have these 20 things, so there is an element of us working through it and then we ensure that, at the end of the day, we make sure that we have done everything we can do within the legislation.”

The council is an autonomous oversight body established by the Fiscal Responsibility Act, comprising technical experts from key industries who will provide oversight and advice on the government’s financial affairs.

Besides Mr Bowe, the council includes Kevin Burrows, representing The Bahamas’ society of financial analysts, Christel Sands-Feaste for The Bahamas Chamber of Commerce; Khalil Parker, the Bahamas Bar Association’s chairman; and Dale McHardy from the University of The Bahamas.

Mr Turnquest, meanwhile, reaffirmed to Tribune Business that the government has no immediate concerns over the prospect of a credit rating downgrade from either Moody’s or Standard & Poor’s (S&P).

He said: “We have been given no indication of being downgraded. In fact, the indications from the rating agencies so far have been positive. They fully appreciate the challenges that we have and they will continue to monitor us like they always do.

“We are confident that we are in a good position. We have made the sacrifices that we needed to make over the last two years to put ourselves in a position that we can absorb this shock. This is massive, but nonetheless we believe we have the room to handle it and we will work on that commitment to handle it.”