By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

THE country is facing a new era of conservative fiscal measures, according to Deputy Prime Minister K Peter Turnquest, who yesterday forecast a swift departure from the established culture of government overspending in his remit as the new minister for finance.

Mr Turnquest stressed that while he would be sensitive to the political nature of governance, his primary concern was to balance the country’s books by “cutting back on the excess” and prioritising value for money.

He acknowledged that there would likely be a need for borrowing to meet the government’s financial obligations in the short term.

First on the agenda will be the national budget, at which time efforts will be focused on making adjustments that will reflect the government’s priorities, he said, like Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis’ campaign pledge of tax breaks for the inner-city.

Next will come a review of government initiatives that were hastily launched ahead of the election, like National Health Insurance (NHI).

“I think that we’re going to see that this is not going to be a free for all anymore,” Mr Turnquest said, “there is going to be control. We’re going to have to justify our pennies because for too long we’ve had these fluff things, programmes and contracts that are awarded, special interest contracts, we just can’t afford that right now.

“Our goal is to produce a balanced budget and we want to do that as quickly as possible so that we can start to significantly affect the national debt.”

Noting that the matter was ultimately under the remit of the incoming minister of health, Mr Turnquest confirmed that the NHI programme would come under scrutiny to determine how it will be funded.

“It’s safe to say that we will have to take a very serious look at NHI to ensure that it is sustainable,” he said.

“It has to be looked at so we can determine how we’re going to fund it. I don’t know that it’s acceptable for an additional tax put on the Bahamian people but again we have to look at the programme and see whether that is something the public wants and are prepared to carry the cost of.”

Mr Turnquest said his mandate for the finance portfolio will be to direct realistic fiscal measures, as opposed to the idealism espoused by the former government.

“And very practical,” he said, “and I understand the politics of things but I’m very practical. We have a dollar to spend, we have to figure out how we’re going to divide that dollar.”

“Once we can get past this (budget) period it’s a matter of having a review of what is outstanding in terms of financial obligations to see whether we’re getting value for money and to ensure that the Bahamian people benefit, particularly with respect to those contracts that were issued in the last couple of days before the election.”

Mr Turnquest said: “There were a lot of people that were hired or promoted before the last election, you want to make sure everything was above board and we’re not being saddled with a situation that is untenable or unsustainable.”

Speaking to the party’s platform promises, Mr Turnquest said while he was hopeful the government will be able to implement empowerment initiatives, his primary goal was to maintain the country’s credit rating and stability.

“We cannot afford any further negative reviews and so we’re going to have to do whatever is necessary to ensure that we achieve a positive outlook in the next year,” he said.

“It means that we have to be very fiscally conservative and we have to be prudent. With every action comes a reaction, so we have to be sensitive to all of the factors that go into running a government; however, we have to cut back on the excess. We have to do as much as we can to ensure again that we’re getting value for money, that we are focusing on programmes that will generate a return for the government as well as the Bahamian people.”

“We have a tremendous opportunity,” he added, “we got to seize it.”