Thursday, July 13, 2017
FOR THE first time Bahamians have been told the truth. No matter what they have heard over the years —particularly in the past five years under a PLP government— their Emperor is bare. Yes, dear reader, like the foolish Emperor in the delightful Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, our Emperor is stark naked. And it took the FNM –like the little boy in the fairy tale – to awaken the people to the fact that they had been lied to. Indeed their emperor was not decked out in fancy clothes, but was parading in his vanity with not a stitch of clothing on - like our Public Treasury, he was naked.
And now the FNM are being berated by members of the PLP for telling the truth. If only they had kept their mouths shut, Moody’s rating agency might not have been alerted to the fact that the defeated PLP government had left the Bahamas in a dire financial crisis, so bad in fact that the FNM will have to borrow $722 million, mainly to pay inherited bills.
As late as August last year former PLP Minister of State Michael Halkitis said his government anticipated that Baha Mar would be open this year in time for Moody’s August visit and reassessment.
“If all goes well,” he said, “and it’s open and people are contributing to the economy. I’m sure Moody’s would be able to look at that. So hopefully we have seen an end of these sorts of downgrades. That is our hope.”
Since the arrival of the FNM government, Bahamians have a more transparent view of the facts, and Mr Halkitis’ hope seems just that – a vain hope.
Unfortunately, with the recent announcement by Baha Mar that it is failing to meet another opening deadline - for the want of deck chairs —there will be nothing with which to blind-side Moody’s this time. Although, a section of Baha Mar is meant to be open —“open” as interpreted by the PLP — everyone who goes to Baha Mar to have “a look around” can find no guests. However, on its next visit Moody’s might be so impressed that for once they are being told the whole truth, and if the FNM can present them with a solid plan to pull the country back from the dangerous precipice, then Moody’s might be willing to give us a reprieve to enable government to start an upward movement towards fiscal recovery – after all the FNM only inherited this confusion about two months ago.
Even PLP chairman Bradley Roberts is unable to grasp the problem. With the typical PLP approach that entertainment for the people comes before serious business, Mr Roberts is berating the FNM for taking an official delegation to the CARICOM meeting in Grenada, where they will be introduced to their Caribbean counterparts with whom they will be engaged over the next five years, rather than spending more money on Independence celebrations. The PLP could never get their priorities right — big parties always seem to move into first place over serious business.
However, after this delegation to CARICOM, we expect such delegations to be reduced to a minimum in the future. Bahamians are no longer going to tolerate another globe-trotting Fred Mitchell.
Mr Mitchell has taken issue with the Minnis administration for publicly blaming the Christie government for handing over a Treasury so financially troubled that it would attract Moody’s attention for early review of the country’s Baa3 credit rating for a downgrade. After all Standard & Poor’s Christmas gift to the Bahamas in December was a downgrade to “junk” status. This reflected the country’s worsening economic and fiscal condition. Moody’s on the other hand — obviously convinced that the opening of the much heralded Baha Mar would turn the economy around — was obviously satisfied to take a wait-and-see position.
However, once the FNM won the government on May 10, saw government’s financials — which are still being examined —and decided to tell the Bahamian people the truth, politicians like Fred Mitchell took fright.
“In our parliamentary debates, the leader of the opposition, our MPs and senators tried to warn the FNM, stop talking down this economy,” said Mr Mitchell. “We thought it reckless to borrow nearly a billion in their first week in office. We said the only reason for the less than promised fiscal performance was Hurricane Matthew. Moody’s affirms that fact.”
If Moody’s affirmed that fact alone, they were certainly gullible, there were too many missed calls and failures by the PLP government before the devastation of Matthew. Matthew was just the last straw and even the aftermath of that was ineptly managed by the former government.
During the budget debate, Exuma MP and opposition finance spokesman Chester Cooper attacked Mr Turnquest’s budget presentation for sending the wrong message to investors and the rating agencies with talk of $722 million in new borrowing — most of it to pay off unpaid bills.
“Mismanagement and corruption by the PLP figured nowhere in what Moody’s had to say. Those were FNM propaganda lines. Now look what you've done,” complained Mr Mitchell as he tried to lay the missteps of his government at the feet of the FNM.
But the Bahamian people have advanced from the days of Pindling when they were lulled into a comfortable sleep of “don’t worry, be happy” leave it all to “Papa.”
They are no longer prepared to continue blindly, leaving it all in the hands of “Papa.”
Obviously by their own admission, the PLP have for years been painting a rosy economic picture in the House of Assembly — now it would seem it was mainly to keep the credit rating agencies at bay. The new government has arrived and decided to tell Bahamians the whole truth. The future will be no grand party. To return this country to economic stability, there will have to be much belt tightening, hard work and— above all— a unified people with a common goal.
It was a question of continuing the lies to the Bahamian people to keep the credit agencies at bay – or face the truth and prepare for the fall-out. To continue the lies, leading Bahamians to believe that there would be a comfortable future with nothing to worry about would have spelt doom for our country.
We shall be far better off for a Moody’s representative to come, reassess the situation, be told the full truth, be shown a sensible plan for rebuilding and ask for a grace period to stabilise our country – to achieve this the full understanding and cooperation of the Bahamian people will be necessary.
Comments
Alex_Charles says...
The emperor was a colossal jackass.
He's looking older and older with each passing day. Sad really, considering how good those campaign posters made him look.
Posted 13 July 2017, 8:13 p.m. Suggest removal
ThisIsOurs says...
I believe it was a mistake to borrow so much money so soon, whether or not the emperor is naked. My fear is they will squander the money too, as they clearly have no plan for it. They will produce uncoordinated "nice" things to do and the important things will be overlooked. They will then need to borrow more money for the important things they overlooked. That is the danger of having a bunch of money with no plan
Posted 14 July 2017, 6:09 a.m. Suggest removal
ThisIsOurs says...
I'm also very concerned that many FNM supporters are drunk with punish them syndrome and not looking at the situation in a holistic fashion. If Dr Minnis jailed all the previous PLP sitting MPs and nothing else gets done it appears as if they would be extraordinarily happy. The most unsettling part of that is I believe that's actually the strategy, not to "not get anything done", but to use the bloodletting to distract attention from the lack of actual plans
Posted 14 July 2017, 6:13 a.m. Suggest removal
ThisIsOurs says...
That said the signal of charging a former minister is a good one. Hopefully the evidence stands up
Posted 14 July 2017, 6:36 a.m. Suggest removal
OldFort2012 says...
@ Thisisours,
there is no plan because there can be no plan. Because nothing can be done. We are a tiny number of people on rocks in the middle of the sea. We have absolutely zero marketable labor skills. We have the most expensive energy on the planet. We have no ability to produce anything at a cost which is even comparable to any world price.
With that as the background, there can be no PLAN. There can only be tinkering with the current situation and firefighting various emergencies as they arise.
For hundreds of years we have specialised not in wealth creation but in theft of other people's wealth, which they created. From piracy to bootlegging to drug running via tax evasion: the only time it was "good" in the Bahamas was when we were sticking our noses in the trough of wealth other people created. Well, that business model has come to an end. And our lack of education has not prepared us for a new one. So, no. There is no PLAN.
Posted 14 July 2017, 7:15 a.m. Suggest removal
sheeprunner12 says...
OldFort??????? ......... Like in the gated community????? ....... You cannot speak for 99% of Bahamians ........ Go sit down!!!!!!!
The PLP organization needs to be disbanded ....... Is there any class-action lawsuit that can be brought to remove this corrupt, classless organization from our society??????
Posted 14 July 2017, 8:20 a.m. Suggest removal
OldFort2012 says...
Shooting the messenger as opposed to hearing and understanding the bitter truth shows that you indeed can speak for 99% of Bahamians.
Posted 14 July 2017, 9:04 a.m. Suggest removal
baldbeardedbahamian says...
BRILLIANT. LOVELY RESPONSE AND SADLY TRUE.
Posted 14 July 2017, 11:51 a.m. Suggest removal
sheeprunner12 says...
Old Fort ............ like the other old forts on the island of New Providence, there are always two choices ......... turn the antiquities into income-generating sites or let them become public eyesores ........ There are always choices ........ I prefer to see the half-full point of view ....... The Bahamas will rise from the PLP ashes
Posted 14 July 2017, 11:11 a.m. Suggest removal
ThisIsOurs says...
"I don't doubt that there IS no plan, but I do believe they can produce a plan. "Can" being the operative word. They need to replace Turnquest as Minister of Finance. Make him a public relations person fir the ministry. I have a plan, a plan that could help quite a number of persons, revolutionize the labour force, if little ole me can think it up, I'm sure 34 grown men can. ...well... I hope they can
Posted 14 July 2017, 12:38 p.m. Suggest removal
sheeprunner12 says...
The Bahamas cannot get beyond the Christie fiasco if people like ThisisOurs and OldFort continue to split hairs over whether there is a FNM Plan ........ There is a National Plan and that Plan is on-line ............ That is the overarching endgame my dear fellows (who are so concerned)
Posted 14 July 2017, 12:53 p.m. Suggest removal
ThisIsOurs says...
I'm not sure who you listen to, but I heard Anthony Ferguson, who's doing quite well btw say (approximately), ~"the main problem with the budget was , it had no objective", I could be wrong, but I believe he was saying, "what's the plan Stan?
I will continue to ask for a "plan". The "**sheets of paper**" called the National Plan is nothing if not adopted. If they had adopted it the last two months would not have looked like the last two months. If they had adopted it KP would not have told a room full of manufacturers that he would have to "figure out" how to help them cut their manufacturing costs. No plan. KP had no plan. He would not have read the PLP budget word for word. He would not have kept the NTA that is teaching Business and auto mechanic courses. He would not have said "hold the line on spending". To date, the National Plan is someone else's unadopted vision.
It is so weird, 20 years ago, a friend was very public with consistently asking for a national plan, he was derided by someone similar to yourself, also in the public sphere who told him in a very public arena, ~"I'm sick and tired of people always comparing us to other countries with this "national plan" foolishness". I wonder where we would be today, if someone had taken off the blinders and started working on a national "plan" 20 years ago, a plan that was actually adopted
Posted 14 July 2017, 1:53 p.m. Suggest removal
concernedcitizen says...
The truth be told and there are many long term studies to back it , the last one released on 140,000 kids to adults over 50 years . As long as we keep beating the snot out of kids in anger under the guise of spare the rod spoil the child , we will continue to produce anti social violent teens and young adults that use force and violence for conflict resolution . The other problem that is common w/ young nations ,it is drummed into our heads so much that "just " being Bahamian is enough to makes us special despite achievement and many of us w a sub par education are too arrogant to be taught or learn ,,
Posted 14 July 2017, 1:20 p.m. Suggest removal
birdiestrachan says...
Mr: Hlkitis spoke in August there was Matthew in October No doubt the hurricane affected the
financial situation. It is all in the hands of the FNM Government. We shall all see what they
will do. It will not be hidden or glossed over. Those who can not see will feel
Posted 14 July 2017, 1:26 p.m. Suggest removal
ThisIsOurs says...
Oh please Moody's sent us a warning in August/September, a month before Matthew was even a stiff wind.
Posted 14 July 2017, 2:02 p.m. Suggest removal
Well_mudda_take_sic says...
Minnis and KP didn't have the time needed to prepare a budget after the FNM general election win. All they basically did was foolishly put their stamp of approval on a budget that had already been substantially completed by Halkitis and Christie. The corrupt PLP had planned to borrow and fritter away $722 million and it simply makes no sense that the new FNM government should do likewise, especially considering that many of the last government's unsettled bills and other payables are likely tainted by fraud and therefore should not be paid without careful investigation of their authenticity and validity in terms of value received in goods and/or services.
Posted 14 July 2017, 2:09 p.m. Suggest removal
concernedcitizen says...
it cost us about a billion a year to pay the public service and service our debt ,that's before one nail for infrastructure or maintenance . Considering the cupboard was bare what would you have them do default on the debt and send tens of thousands of civil servants home so we could crash headlong into a major depression and achieve fourth world status .The way you trim the civil service is stop hiring ..
Posted 14 July 2017, 4:05 p.m. Suggest removal
Well_mudda_take_sic says...
Your reply assumes the government will collect no revenues going forward. It also assumes our government can somehow borrower its way out of the financial hole we are in while waiting for our economy to magically get better by doing nothing but wait for the head count of the public service to right size itself over many years. It didn't take Venezuela too many years to get where it is today.
Posted 14 July 2017, 10:32 p.m. Suggest removal
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