The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

It is clear that the trio in charge of the Ministry of Finance has been forced to come up with a corned beef and grits 2021-2022 budget. If this is the best that they are able to come up with, God help us. It is conceded that taxes have been held at bay but that there is no real wiggle room for critical infrastructure and people development.

Some will argue that this is the best that Minnis and his crew could come up with in the midst of the pandemic and the lingering effects of Dorian. Besides being a corned beef and grits budget this is also a lazy man’s stitch job. In my opinion it was directly the result of Minnis’ abrupt and disjointed closing and chaotic reopening that the economy contracted by almost 85% The flinging of hard earned taxpayers dollars and the band aid approach to societal assistance and so- called unemployment benefits has further made a bad situation even worse.

This is not a job creation budget. Minnis projects that a minimum of seventy-five new jobs will be carved out within the bloated civil service. We have no available data but the last time that the Director of Labour dared to suggest unemployment figures he opined that some 40% of the labour force was unemployed. This did not factor in the over 700 Atlantis employees who have now been sent home permanently.

There is loose talk about employers receiving tax credits and breaks of up to B$400 per week per employee. How will this play out and how will it be administered? We also heard the PM say that some 34 millions of dollars will be pumped into Bahamasair, NAD and LPIA for the upcoming fiscal year. Why are we still throwing good money away to prop up an airline that has NEVER made a real profit in more than twenty years? Few international travellers are coming in yet there is a fully paid staff complement?

The cruise port is coming along quite nicely and I am looking forward to it getting up and running. Thank God that it is being redeveloped and will be managed by the private sector. By the way, whatever happened to the proposed sky bridge that Minnis said would traverse from Fish Fry over West Bay Street and into Fort Charlotte? What about Junkanoo Beach and the broad walk downtown? Not a single word.

85% of our national income derives from tourism. With the gradual reopening of the international tourism markets and travellers taking short trips, The Bahamas should be repositioning herself to take direct advantage of our proximity to the USA and Canada. Tens of millions of citizens of those countries are chopping at the bit to take safe cruises and short vacations. Yet, what are we proposing to entice these potential visitors? Nothing.

When any one visits a foreign destination they expect to be exposed to cultural and touristic experiences. Down Town Bay Street remains a dangerous eye sore. Old and abandoned buildings permeate over there. In the middle of the day all commercial and other activities cease like clock work after 1:00 pm daily. Why did the trio at Finance not see fit to motivate the owners of those buildings to either raze them or have some creative cosmetics done?

Minnis, obviously, is devoid of vision and is merely pontificating and talking abject stupidity. He was never serious in my view about the redevelopment of downtown. Why would cruise ship passengers venture off the same to walk up and down, in the hot sun, along Bay Street with knock off handbags; illegal drugs and prostitutes? The Straw Market has been shuttered for over a year and more. Yet, nothing was disclosed in the so-called budget to reopen that facility while the vendors are languishing at home?

There is absolutely no word about affordable housing for the masses. I looked dead hard but, again, the corned beef and grits budget failed to make reference to the Carmichael Village Subdivision and the other one being bandied about in the Tropical Gardens area. This regime has failed to construct or have constructed a single house in over four years. By the way where is the Minister of Housing & the Environment? Still AWOL?

The PM with great fanfare announced that he was granting some two million dollars of taxpayers funds to the established junkanoo groups along with choice Crown Land to enable them to set up permanent headquarters! Is this man serious or merely pandering for junkanoo votes? By all means grant them some marketable Crown Land and let the groups approach The Bahamas Development Bank or The Bank of The Bahamas for commercial loans at discounted interest rates. But taxpayers monies should not subsidize pie in the sky dreams.

That two million dollars could better be used to develop and lay out affordable housing subdivisions here in New Providence and other Islands. With millions of acres of Crown land why is Minnis and those not making Crown Grants available for commercial and residential, why not sell quarter acre sized lots at B$5,000 a pop? This has the potential to generate 250 millions of dollars at the drop of the hat. What about Savings Bonds in multiples of B$100 and above at attractive fixed rates?

The Ministry of Works recently awarded multiple millions of dollars worth of contract for sidewalks to the chosen few. The Minister, with a straight face said that this was necessary to stimulate the economy and to put bread on the table. No problem but what happens going forward? The Water & Sewerage Corporation owes its major water supplier multiple millions of dollars in long overdue payments yet Minnis allocates less than two millions of dollars to service the same and to institute capital development works? BPL is a work in progress and it cannot get it’s bond reduction plans off the table. Why?

We have been talking about a unified public transportation system from the time the omnibus was still a jitney. Yet, not a single word on this. The permanent granting of franchises have also been relegated to the back burner and the illegal leasing of plates still exist to this very day.

A dangerous precedent is being proposed by Minnis in that he will garnishee commercial rents directly from contractual tenants and apply them to outstanding real property tax arrears. This would be illegal and interference between private contractual parties. Remember the Mortgage Relief Scheme and the Land Lord & Tenant Scheme last year both of which fizzled out dramatically? There is in place mechanism which empowers the regime to seize real estate where the owners are in arrears and to sell them. Why not apply theses provisions to collect on the hundred of millions of dollars from owners? Because to do so would alienate the base of its financial and political supporters.

This is a corned beef and grits budget and it shows. The only good news, if it is such, are the allocations towards the Rand in Freeport and the PMH here in New Providence. Other than these Minnis and his people them are whistling while walking past the graveyard. Nothing to exploit agriculture and fisheries. Nothing to expand on manufacturing and exports.

Did anyone see or hear about the sale of Our Lucaya? Minnis says that he’s allocating another 11.5 millions of dollars to continue operating the whitest of the white elephants. By the way, when will we ever see the audited financial statements? Did anyone hear; see or read about additions to and the expansion of the Criminal Justice System, inclusive of The Bahamas Correctional Centre? Not a single word.

The Minnis regime and its hapless supporters, if there are any left, ask where are the new PLP’s plans? It is not the business of the opposition to gratuitously throw out its ideas. Minnis and crew were elected to govern. They must now do so or go down in flames while trying. The New PLP will, of course, be on standby to pick up the charred remains. To God then in all things be the glory. Please ask Dr Minnis to switch off the lights on his way out.

ORTLAND H BODIE, Jr

Nassau,

May 30, 2021.