For Immediate Release
By Senator Jerome Kennedy Fitzgerald
January 6, 2010.

Many Bahamians continue to be surprised by the angry and hysterical responses by the Minister of State for Finance in response to reasonable and constructive comments concerning our economy and The Financial Services Industry over the past 2 ½ years.

I will comment first on an outright misstatement of fact by Minister Laing when he stated that the Progressive Liberal Party borrowed 866 million between 2002 and 2007. I thought I had put this untruth to rest during my contribution in the Senate during the Budget Debate in June 2008 where I responded to the Prime Minister who during the 2008 Budget debate he stated that the PLP had borrowed 828 million between 2002 and 2007.  It appears that those responsible for the public purse are unable to even agree on the level of debt accumulated between 2002-2007.

The facts can be found by a simple review of the Central Bank reports which disclose that at the end of June 2002 the national debt stood at 2.224 billion dollars and at the end of June 2007 the national debt stood at 2.889 billion dollars which clearly shows an increase of 665 million dollars, but this fails to take into account that in June 2002 when the PLP came to office, the financial state of the treasury was so poor that the PLP was immediately forced to borrow 125 million dollars to pay off the 100 million dollar overdraft at the Royal Bank of Canada and 25 million dollars of other payables. When the 125 million dollars is subtracted from the 665 million, the PLP can only be held responsible for 540 million dollars of debt between 2002 and 2007. Those are the indisputable facts.

I would invite Minister Laing to read carefully the reasons why the sovereign  rating of the Bahamas was downgraded by Standard and Poor’s and their admonition of the Government to get it’s act together. They said:

“It’s debt and deficits have increased and the composition of its debt has weakened somewhat… against a drop in The Bahamas’ already narrow revenue base.”

The report concluded by saying that:

“The ratings could come under downward pressure if The Bahamas’ fiscal deterioration persists and the economic base erodes more severely,…
Conversely the ratings could improve following a more proactive government policy response to reduce debt levels …..”

The facts are that the foreign currency portion of our national debt has almost tripled from 430 million dollars in 2007 to 1.1 billion dollars at the end of 2009.

It was against the recent poignant observations made by Standard and Poor’s and my comments made in June 2008 during my contribution in the Senate, that I am again pleading with the FNM Government on behalf of the Bahamian people to take what I say seriously and listen carefully to the warning given by Standard and Poor’s. We are on a slippery slope indeed. I again invite the Minister and the FNM Government to consider the contents of my initial release and respond in a mature and reasoned manner, which is what the Bahamian people expect of them. I stated:

“To stabilize and secure our country’s future financial standing, the Government must not engage in any further foreign currency borrowing.  It must also move with a sense of urgency to develop a plan to reduce our national debt, diversify our economy and reduce our dependence on imported goods.  This is not the time for talk of “proven leadership” or “tested leadership”; this is the time for sound, strategic economic policies void of political rhetoric and smoke and mirrors.

As we start the New Year, I implore the government not to drop the ball again. It is time for the FNM government to prove to the Bahamian people in a tangible manner that they are navigating this financial crisis with “clarity of purpose”.

If they do not or cannot, then God help us all.”

It is now obvious, that Minister Laing and the Government have missed the message and point of Standard and Poor’s downgrading of our sovereign rating.  This has therefore forced many Bahamians to question whether Minister Laing is a fit and proper person to occupy the position he holds.