By FAY SIMMONS

Tribune Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

The Opposition has asserted that the findings of the Fiscal Responsibility Council’s (FRC) annual budget report should serve as a “wake-up call” for the Davis administration.

Kwasi Thompson, the Opposition’s Financial Spokesman, yesterday accused the government of offering “half-truths, incomplete data and vague commitments,” as he highlighted the FRC’s finding that the Davis administration was non-compliant in its oversight of public enterprises and lacked transparency around public-private partnerships.

“At a time when families are being asked to do more with less, they deserve to know how their money is being spent. Instead, they are left with half-truths, incomplete data, and vague commitments. We cannot build a strong economy on secrecy. We cannot fix our public finances without trust,” said Mr Thompson.

“This report should be a wake-up call. The path we are on is unsustainable. It is time for real transparency, real accountability, and a government that treats public money with respect.”

Mr Thompson said the FRC’s findings “confirmed” the FNM’s concerns about April’s $137m deficit swing and accused the Davis administration of being “careless” with the public purse.

“The Fiscal Responsibility Council’s latest report makes it plain: this PLP administration is not just careless with the public’s money, it is non-compliant with the very rules meant to protect it. Time and again, this government has refused to be transparent, ignored its legal obligations, and misled the Bahamian people,” said Mr Thompson.

“The council confirmed what we in the Opposition have been saying for months. Earlier this year, the Prime Minister proudly projected the government achieved a $135m surplus for the month of April. Yet the Ministry of Finance’s own reports later revealed a $2m deficit,”

“When pressed in Parliament, the Prime Minister denied he ever made the claim, despite it being recorded on video and reported in the press. Instead of answers, Bahamians got deflection and confusion.”

The FRC’s annual budget report stated that the Davis administration must generate a $96.6m fiscal surplus in the fourth quarter of the 2024/2025 fiscal year to meet its targeted overall fiscal deficit of $69.8m.

The report also pointed out a significant discrepancy between the $135.4m budget surplus projected by the Prime Minister for April 2025 and the actual fiscal outcome — a $2.1m deficit — and called for improved “administration and reporting of fiscal data” by the government.

Mr Thompson further highlighted that the FRC’s report found the government failed to comply with two critical requirements: oversight of public enterprises and transparency around public-private partnerships.

He said state-owned enterprises such as BPL and the Water & Sewerage Corporation should be closely monitored, as they receive large sums of public money, and again pressed for details surrounding the Government’s $10m loan to the Carmichael Village Project Development Company.

“In the council’s own words: Neither annual plans for the listed 18 public entities nor statements of corporate intent for the 19 Government Business Enterprises were provided. This is a serious failure,” said Mr Thompson.

“The government refused to provide annual plans and corporate intent statements for state-owned enterprises like BPL and Water & Sewerage. These agencies handle core national services and receive large sums of public money. They should be closely monitored, yet this administration has offered no plans, no performance benchmarks, and no explanation for how that money is being used.

“Worse still, the Government secretly funnelled $10m to the Carmichael Village Project Development Company Ltd, which is classified as a Government Business Enterprise. No announcement. No details. No accountability. It was only discovered because it appeared deep in the pages of a Ministry debt bulletin. This is not an isolated case. The government has also failed to provide a credible plan for the Grand Lucayan project, leaving taxpayers in the dark while millions remain at risk.”

He accused the Davis administration of engaging in a “deliberate pattern of hiding information” and called for the government to release more information about the multiple public-private partnerships (PPPs) they have entered into.

“The council also noted that the government has not disclosed the framework it uses to approve public-private partnerships, despite the fact that PPPs can leave taxpayers on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars. These projects are being approved without public vetting, without parliamentary oversight, and without clear rules about how risks are assessed and managed,” said Mr Thompson.

“This is not responsible governance. It is a deliberate pattern of hiding information, avoiding scrutiny, and treating the Bahamian people as an afterthought.”