Hi DDK, yes I'm being cynical but what am I supposed to do? I have a large generator with auto start with a 220 gallon diesel tank that's serviced on a monthly basis and annual preventative maintenance done to avoid breakdowns.

So I suggest everyone in Nassau go and buy a $30,000 generator or just do without power during the next Dorian or Walkine. I mean it was really really bad in Abaco, Freeport and Long Island (Walkine - 2015).

Dawes I feel its the correct decision to postpone the $15m BEC maintenance program and prioritize the appointment of additional government staff, ambassadors, consultants and increase the level of travel around the world to various conferences, conventions and meetings.

The Government is well funded after the IDB loan guarantee of $385 million which will allow the government to borrow more money at a much lower rate which can then be disbursed in salaries.

I don't think there will be any hurricanes this year or similar floods from Dorian and Walkine like weather systems. I mean we had a little flooding recently but it wasn't that bad and the lights didn't go off.

So steady as she goes!

No helpful. If we don't have to pay market rates on borrowings where is the incentive to limit the deficit.

Then ppl wonder why inflation is so high...everyone is just printing money.

Lashing out against private businesses is futile.

In a market driven economy businesses will charge as much as the market can bear without pushing their costumers to a competitor.

The problem is the Bahamas is actually a an economy of monopolies with very large players like Supervalue having near monopoly powers because of the barriers to entry by better capitalized foreign competition and a highly beaurocartic, inefficient and politicized business environment.

The Bahamian government through VAT, duty, stamp, business license are taxing activity (individual goods and services) which harms the consumer. They should be taxing profits...all profits including capital gains taxes on rich foreigners on their global wealth. Thats where the money is.

Secondly allow anyone to compete in the shipping business (Arawak Ports is a monopoly for 20 years - all goods coming into the Bahamas must use them at crazy prices, Power generation BEC/Focol are a monopoly, Water and Sewerage / monopoly on water, fuel importation Focol monopoly, Post Office / barely functional for the efficient deliver of goods and services through out the Bahamas, Potter Cay / what a disgrace, lack of banking / Canadian bank monopoly, exchange control/government control of the free movement of funds into different currencies, blocking Bahamians from investing abroad and making enough on their money to buy food.

No matter how much foreign investment comes in, it will not trickle down to the poor because its being consumed by the monopolies first.

That's why so many ppl can't afford to buy groceries anymore.

Cayman Government fiscal surplus larger than expected
Higher revenue and costs savings

https://www.caymancompass.com/2021/08/2…

I am not a Doctor but it seems to me that the General Election on September 16 will be the Mother of all Super Spreader Events.

Everything has aligned against voting being done safely starting with delta, political rallies and motorcades laying the unfortunate ground work for the final event.

On September 16 all 200,000 Bahamian adults will wait in long lines in the hot sun, file into small rooms filled with ppl, touch multiple documents touched by others then go home to our respective families.

Wow, fixing the grid? All the half way dropping down light polls, thousands of rusted transformers on electric polls, antiquated grid engineering, old substations, dozens of islands to deal with?

Ok, ok, we need to borrow another $500 million for that and pray a Dorian class hurricane don’t hit Nassau between now and the next 20.

Excellent points John.

By moving focus from the Pandemic, securing vaccines, continuous evaluation of protocols including the need to reimplement negative antigen tests for all persons entering the Country may not end well.

Did you see the video on social media of the partying last night outside a major resort? No one wearing mask in close proximity to each other, only 15% of population vaccinated.

Reward says we will reach heard immunity in August! Let’s pray he is right.

Good points baclarke.

Everyone arriving into the country should have at least a negative antigen test until 70% of our population are vaccinated.

The Delta variant is being carried by asymptotic vacinnated ppl and spreads quickly through the 85% of our population which are not vaccinated at all.

...sadly in our rush to independence and our hastily drafted constitution, local government, substantive checks and balances leaving parliament severely subservient to the executive and the executive subservient to the PM, we have the mess we have today.