Government exercises extraordinary fiscal discipline Bradley B. Roberts says…

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PLP Chairman, Bradley Roberts

By Bradley B. Roberts
National Chairman
Progressive Liberal Party

Contrary to the politically motivated diatribe by Dr. Minnis recently, there is incontrovertible evidence that the PLP government is demonstrating extraordinary fiscal discipline and leadership with their tough but necessary program to rein in government spending.

Dr. Minnis cannot and should not be allowed to get away with telling untruths and misleading the general public on this matter, regardless of what words or message his political advisors continue to place in his mouth. For the record, the Central Bank of The Bahamas reported that the government narrowed the national debt by $66 million during the first quarter of the current fiscal year. The government initially projected the budgetary deficit for the current year to be $443 million which works out to $110.75 million per quarter. That figure was narrowed by $66 million or by more than 50%. At this current level of spending containment, the actual deficit could come in at under $200 million which is a significant improvement over the state of our fiscal house inherited by this government back in 2012 with runaway spending, no accountability and $500 million in borrowing. The government is to be commended for its focus, leadership and fiscal discipline.

This improvement in our public finances might very well be an inconvenient truth to Dr. Minnis, his cohorts and FNM operatives, but THE FACTS DO MATTER and he cannot get away with making up his own facts as he sees fit regardless of the paid messaging advice he received. If he insists that he sees no tangible evidence that the government is cutting waste and containing spending, then perhaps the government should cut his salary, take away his car and insist that he find office space and an assistant at his personal cost. Having felt first-hand the sting of the government’s drastic cost cutting measures the way civil servants and public corporations have felt the pinch for the past twenty months, perhaps Dr. Minnis would cease and desist with his intellectually dishonest, politically driven and foolish drivel about spending cuts. Since he cannot see, perhaps he should be made to feel.

The government must not waiver in its determined quest to put our fiscal house in order, turn this economy around and right this ship of state after Dr. Minnis and his cohorts ran it aground, abandoned ship and are now shamelessly posturing and feigning dementia, shock and outrage at the poor state in which they left the country just twenty short months ago.