By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribumedia.net

THE former Christie administration was “fiscally incompetent” and placed the Bahamas in a “financial ditch,” Minister of Finance K Peter Turnquest (pictured) said yesterday while revealing the country’s deficit for the 2016-2017 fiscal year has risen to $695m.

This is nearly $200m more than his initial deficit projection of $500m. It is also $595m more than the former government projected, Mr Turnquest said.

Admitting he underestimated the extent of the debt, Mr Turnquest said the country’s deficit was adjusted because not all of the bills incurred under the former PLP government were presented when he spoke on the matter during the 2016-2017 budget debate.

In addition, the deputy prime minister said, bills were still coming into the government as he gave a snap shot of the hefty bills the Minnis administration is faced with. In June, $381m in taxpayer dollars was spent for commitments dating as far back as January of this year.

“Mr Speaker, I am willing to admit that I was in fact wrong with my projection of $500m,” the East Grand Bahama MP said during the morning sitting of Parliament yesterday.

“I was wrong. I was wrong, Mr Speaker, in the sense that I actually underestimated the extent of the debt.

“Mr Speaker, the problem is not all the bills had been presented. Yes, bills (are) still coming and I’m not talking $2. I wouldn’t mind if it was $2. I talkin’ big bills.

“The member for Garden Hills (Brensil Rolle) trying to throw something on me now and I keep throwing it back because I don’t want to pay it.”

He continued: “The actual deficit projected as of yesterday (Wednesday), Mr Speaker, is not $500m as I projected. I am afraid to say this number, but I committed to the Bahamian people and all those who rely on the numbers that I give to be as truthful as I possibly can. It’s only in being truthful that you can fix the problems that you have.

“But as of yesterday, the budgeted or the projected deficit for 2016-2017 is $695m. That was the deficit as of yesterday.

“That’s $595m more than the previous PLP government projected in 2016-2017 budget, absolutely incredible.

“I want to apologise to them and to the Bahamian people for under estimating the depth of their fiscal incompetence.”

To give an idea of the “unpaid expenditure” run up by the former government, which had to be paid by the Minnis administration, Mr Turnquest outlined several bills that were handled in June totalling $381m.

These included: $6.727m for office rent accommodations; $60m for medical insurance premiums; $14m for the acquisition of the Doppler radar; $2m for a contribution to international games and $16.338m for National Health Insurance/Public Hospitals Authority.

He also revealed expenditure of $1.445m for the balance of the radar payment; $100m for a First Caribbean International Bank loan; $3m for pensions; $2.8m for election expenses; $8m for Bahamas marine arbitration and Ministry of Tourism expenses totalling $20m.

Other June expenditures were: National Insurance, $2.2m; Water and Sewerage, $29.7m; salary arrears for the Ministry of Education, University of the West Indies and University of the Bahamas, $4m; food assistance programme, $4.9m; IAAF World Relays and international sports, $11.2m; Meteorology Office radar, $7.1m; National Health Insurance salaries $53.45m; salary increase for doctors $5.1m; beaches and parks $11.34m; arrears owed to cruise ships $10m; money paid to a famous golfer was $1m and Urban Renewal received $3m.

Mr Turnquest said in addition to this, there were also 1,700 job programme workers who needed to be paid. They are collectively owed $9m.

“Mr Speaker there are numbers that I have not spoken about,” he said.

“These are just some of the unpaid expenditures run up by their PLP government paid by us, which were not reflected in the Central Bank report and they have the nerve to ask why we could not grant free tuition at the University of the Bahamas.

“They have the nerve to ask why we’re not able in this term and in this fiscal year to remove VAT on the items that we promised. They should be ashamed of themselves.

“They ran us into a proverbial financial ditch and then they want to blame us for taking a little bit longer than we anticipated to get ourselves out if it. Talk about hypocrisy,” Mr Turnquest said.

The House of Assembly resumes on Wednesday.