PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
 

Response to the FNM criticism of the Anchor Resort Strategy

The FNM has made senseless criticism of the benefits that have ensued to the Bahamian economy under the PLP’s anchor project economic strategy.

The FNM has shown that they do not understand the strategy being employed by the PLP government and that they place less value on PEOPLE and the opportunities that have been created for the Bahamian people by the expanding of the national economy to centers other than Nassau, Freeport and Marsh Harbour.

It is a fact that there has been no significant sale of land from Bahamians to non-Bahamians under this PLP government as compared to any other period in our national development.

In fact it is the public record that it was the decision of the FNM to repeal the Immovable Properties Act and replace it with the International Persons Landholding Act (IPLA) which allowed the floodgates to open wide.

The passage of the IPLA was central to the FNM’s economic and land use policies, but it failed to empower Bahamians in any meaningful way. Under the International Persons Landholding Act (IPLA), non-Bahamians are able to purchase up to 5 acres of land for residential purposes, without seeking the prior approval of the Government. In addition, the IPLA removed the statutory authority that existed under the Immovable Properties Act for the Government to impose conditions, such as the requirement for non-Bahamians to construct an edifice or develop the land within a specified period of time and to levy penalties for non-compliance.
 
As a result of the passage of the IPLA, many non-Bahamians were able to speculate in Bahamian real estate, which was contrary to the national investment policy under the previous PLP administration. The repeal of the Immovable Property Act opened the floodgates to non-Bahamian acquisition of land throughout the Bahamas, which has significantly impacted the escalation of real estate prices, particularly in the Family Islands.

It is also a fact that the FNM reduced the stamp tax on the purchase of land by non-Bahamians. Under the previous PLP administration a foreigner who acquired property in The Bahamas paid double the stamp duty that a Bahamian would have paid for the same land. This practice which clearly recognized and respected the view that measures should be put in place to protect land for Bahamians was ceremoniously abolished by the FNM when they came to office.

It is also obvious that the FNM does not remember that it was their policy that led to the increase of the eligibility requirement for economic permanent residence from $250,000 to $500,000. They increased the stamp duty on real estate transactions with a value of $250,000 or more to 10%. They wanted to maximize Government revenue due to the Canadian demand for permanent residence in offshore jurisdictions for tax purposes. The liberalization of the regime governing foreign acquisition of real estate under the FNM may have increased revenue for the Treasury; however, it significantly crippled the Bahamian middle-class as prices of affordable middle-class homes increased overnight due to the foreign demand for inventory priced in the $500,000 range.  This also led to the dis-empowerment of young professional Bahamians.

The PLP can tangibly show the progressive and positive effects of the nearly $20 billion worth of projects that have been attracted to The Bahamas since May 2002.  These projects are in various stages of development throughout this archipelago and they have led to the transformation of the Bahamian economy. More than $5.0 billion has already been invested in the ground. The PLP can show a GDP expansion of 20% in 4 years from $5 billion to $6.2 billion. It is also an irrefutable fact that the Bahamian economy grew by 6% in the period May 2002 to the present, whilst suffering negative growth in 2001.

Bahamian households have enjoyed a 14% increase in personal income during this same period or 3.5% per annum. The incremental increase in personal income is outpacing the rate of inflation which is contained at 1.74% per annum. The PLP government can show a reduction in unemployment from double digits to an irreducible minimum in less than five years. This is what the PLP has to show as the fruits of its policies and these fruits all spell good news for the Bahamas and the Bahamian people.

It is also important to note that the anchor resort strategy played an important role in the present economic realities of our country. The ranting of the side opposite means that good news for the Bahamas is bad news for the FNM; the PLP understands their anxiety. The success of the government’s economy policies is clearly not the result of mere land speculation, but the result of sound economic policies, planning, and sustained economic developmental strategies coupled with a vigorous pursuit to diversify the Bahamian tourism product and by extension, the Bahamian economy.

Within the next four years, the Bahamas would boast of having no fewer than twelve distinct tourism products that will attract a wider range of tourists who desire different touristic experiences; this will make the Bahamas more attractive globally. As the existing tourism product matures and its life cycle comes to an end, new products must be introduced to the market so that the Bahamas can maintain its competitive edge and secure a larger market share in the highly competitive global tourism market. The government’s economic policies and vision for this country have received a ringing endorsement by the Bahamian people and the government will and must not be deterred or distracted from its mandate.

It is obvious that the FNM and Hubert Ingraham do not understand this. They wish to take the country back to the dark days of land speculation and when they grant land to foreigners for development when nothing happened. Just remember Eleuthera. It is also now clear that the FNM and its leadership would be happy to leave our family of islands desolate and devoid of economic life. Sadly, the FNM remains a party of resistance to positive change for the Bahamian people and that is why the Bahamian people cannot turn back to their regressive policies.

The PLP government has been about the positive transformation of the Bahamas and therefore we must do all we can to continue the success and the progress that have been made over these past 4 years.

Issued on Sunday, the 18th March, 2006
Raynard Rigby
National Chairman, PLP