Members of the PLP held a press conference outside the House of Assembly after the Budget presentation. PLP Deputy Leader Chester Cooper is pictured giving remarks. Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune staff
By LEANDRA ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
lrolle@tribunemedia.net
THE Official Opposition yesterday slammed the measures outlined in the Minnis administration’s 2020/2021 budget to aid the country’s economic recovery amid the COVID-19 crisis, branding it as “the worse budget communication in living memory.”
Progressive Liberal Party Deputy Leader Chester Cooper said the government’s failure to implement “common sense fiscal measures” has led to the country’s current “precarious financial” situation.
“The precarious financial situation we find ourselves into today has less to do with the hurricane and COVID-19. However, it represents the cumulative impact of a series of bad fiscal decisions over the past three budget cycles,” he said.
“Had this administration not exacted such misery on the Bahamian people, under the guise of fiscal responsibility and instead focused on job creation and economic growth, we would be better prepared to deal with the COVID-19 crisis and its aftermath,” he said.
“The Minnis administration has squandered the past ten weeks by failing to implement the common-sense fiscal measures that the party and myself outlined months ago.”
His comments came after Finance Minister Peter Turnquest delivered the government’s 2020/21 Budget Communication in the House of Assembly yesterday, outlining a number of measures to provide economic support amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
These measures include a ‘back-to-school’ VAT holiday on school supplies, a $48 million-dollar allocation for continued unemployment assistance and a temporary incremental monthly increase of $50 in the old age pension.
However, calling yesterday’s budget communication “unimaginative”, “unimpressive” and “unbelievable”, Mr Cooper said the government’s economic handling of the pandemic has made matters worse in the country “than they ought to have been.”
He added: “Businesses that did not need to close remained closed, hampering revenue generation for a cash strapped government. Islands that don’t need to be closed continue to be closed, continuing to deepen the crisis in these islands.
“Services that could’ve been an economic boon like the real estate sector were not allowed to conduct business. In the communication given, we see this administration has decided to take some advice from the PLP and has started to focus more on people.”
He continued: “Now, the FNM wants to beef up NHI after railing against it and treating it like an unwanted child. The new monies allocated to social services budget increase are not robust enough and quite frankly is a slap in the face of Bahamians after cancelling RISE and reducing other programmes like uniform assistance.”
The shadow finance minister was also critical of the Minnis administration’s decision to borrow more funds from international agencies, saying their lack of planning and “reckless” borrowing has led to the “biggest deficit and debt level” in the country’s history.
Earlier this week, Mr Turnquest announced that the government had applied to take advantage of a low-cost emergency loan facility available to member countries of the International Monetary Fund.
Mr Turnquest said the loan would come with no strings attached, referring to IMF structural adjustment requirements.
However, to this, Mr Cooper said: “We are hard in hand, having to accept its no strings attached offer, and this is usually where it begins. We fear that the Bahamas will have to enter into a structured lending programme which will happen before this administration is voted out of office in 2022.”
He continued: “So, now when you hear IMF, I want you to remember that IMF stands for - ‘It’s Minnis’ Fault’. We told this administration to borrow wisely, borrow to invest in Bahamians and in less than three years, they borrowed more than $3 billion gross and close to $1.5 billion net with nothing to show.
“…Instead of borrowing to pay bills that could’ve amortised, they could’ve borrowed to invest in agriculture and fisheries. We warned the government to leave some borrowing headroom on a rainy-day fund for days like this, but they did not, hence another downgrade of our sovereign credit rating. And now we find ourselves in the embrace of the IMF.
During his address, Mr Cooper also called for more planning by the government as it relates to restoration of Grand Bahama and Abaco, which were devastated by Hurricane Dorian last year.
The Exuma and Ragged Island MP said: “The budget communication (yesterday) was uninspiring, unimaginative, unimpressive and quite frankly unbelievable. This was not a communication worthy of a minister of finance.
“The minister of finance must simply be truthful about the realities. We did not need a political rallying speech, but a simple factual statement on the economy without embellishments.”
Comments
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 11 months ago
Just look at them! Dying to get their sticky little fingers back in our cookie jar....
Hoda 3 years, 11 months ago
Didn't he suggest the government should borrow money a few weeks ago, is his issue its application - does he believe in the stimulus check approach? Anyway, after the rile yall up and get y'all started with dumbness, in another 5 years y'all will realize they said a whole lot of nothing and be right back here in the comments talking ****. Then the DNA all they could talk about is pay cuts, yes cut the pay, a few hundred thousand in savings is great, thank you for the political gesture, now tell me how you gonna address the rest of the billion dollar deficit and employ the masses of the population right now, this year, next year, who have no employable skills outside of tourism.
moncurcool 3 years, 11 months ago
I get fed up when educated people suddenly act ignorant and uneducated. Chester Cooper has to be totally insane to allow succumb to party politics and allow the PLP to use him to make a totally uneducated and ignorant speech. Just to try and make the implication that like other world government, we are not in this position because of Hurricane Dorian and even more covid19 is just plain fool. Carrels they are no where near competent and compassionate and no where near providing leadership.
And then to talk about the government borrowing when he was the one running to every talk show and saying the government should borrow. Hey, in these challenging times, the budget presented was very balanced. Maybe the opposition needs to learn to stop this business of opposing just for the sake of opposing.
It is clear that they had a prepared speech to read as soon as the budget communication was given, and clearly did not listen to what was in the budget.
HarryWyckoff 3 years, 11 months ago
Someone on the right doesn't quite understand how a mask works.
can't imagine they'd have much of a clue about how a country works!!
K4C 3 years, 11 months ago
and looks as if he should start a weight loss program as well
banker 3 years, 11 months ago
suffers from physical misogyny as well.
moncurcool 3 years, 11 months ago
Not only that, no physical distancing going on there. Besides, are not people over 65 (couple intuit picture) the most vulnerable to the virus and should be inside?
banker 3 years, 11 months ago
I am still so disappointed in Chester. I really thought that he was smarter than that. He had me totally fooled.
Economist 3 years, 11 months ago
Chester knows better. I think he is hampered by having to placate thePLP old guard that sourounds him in the picture.
A large portion of our problems stem from their extravigance when they were last in power.
The PLP needs a whole new group of young imaginative thinkers. Insted, it held back by Brave and the rest of the PLP "Senior Citizen Parlimentarians".
hj 3 years, 11 months ago
It is sad when supposedly educated persons make fools of themselves just to try to score some cheap political points. If we are in financial trouble now is because for almost 50 years politicians did an excellent job in mismanaging the country's finances. And really the PLP should be the last to give financial advise to anyone,unless of course the advise is how to enrich yourself at the expense of the public.
Honestman 3 years, 11 months ago
Chester Cooper has sold his soul for political ambition. He's not the first and he won't be the last. He is sadly a product of Bahamian politics.
joeblow 3 years, 11 months ago
The PLP should sit small and shut up! If they had not wasted so much borrowing and wasting, we would have a bit more room to figure out how to respond to the current crisis. The PLP leadership are an integral part of why we are in the state we are in! Brave Davis and his minions are an absolute waste of time!
BONEFISH 3 years, 11 months ago
Threatre.Chester is playing to an audience.
They will blast the budget outside the house,debate it in the house and vote to pass it.
He is however partially right.The FNM made some bad fiscal policies choices.However the media here in the Bahamas don't understand or can explain economic policies.
CaptainCoon 3 years, 11 months ago
Chester Cooper is a clown. what can the former garbage Christie administration show? The PLP and FNM are baboons in running this country... but the PLP is a special brand of stupid
bogart 3 years, 11 months ago
Standing behind podium wid sign "Competent Compassionate LEADERSHIP FOR ALL" just shows that they are being truthful they are advertising the current Prime Minister because the current PM should have way by now have this lot, cronies, cohorts all this time under seripus investigations for bad governance, corruption, victimizations, taking taxpayers money and funnelling it into blatant money losing govt agencies, govt majority owned, controlled enterprises, having political cronies in charge of agencies with currupt practices. They should not be talking "Leadership for All" themselves with short memorywhen the nation by democratic facility voted NO to Web shop number houses Gambling and they some 25 persons Members of Parliament voted against democratic nations voters....and the list of " all for me" ..can go on. Indeed their sign on podium just illustrates the uncanny unexpected softness the present PM is dealing with them and the hundreds of millions of taxpayers dollars done gone, unquestioned and mishandled under regime this present Opposition governed previous govt.
SP 3 years, 11 months ago
Wow, I can't beleive how many of you wasted time actually reading what the PLP has to say!
As far as any thinking person should be concerned, the PLP "as a party" lost all revalance with the dancing clown and "we beleive in Bahamians" promise. We will NEVER forget how the PLP never repeated the slogan after being elected, resurrected rejects like Alison Maynard to the highest positions in the country, gave away 100's of acres in Cable beach, conspired with the Chinese to sell out Sarkis, British Colonial, beat and stomped our people on Paradise Island bridge, money disappearing from road traffic, the post office etc, etc,'etc, etc,etc.
It was 5 years of injustice and pilaging the likes we have never seen!
Where the hell was Chester? Why didn't Brave, Alison, Fred, Doc, and Forbes stand up for the people then?
This FNM is far from perfect, but the PLP IS NOT the solution!!!
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