2020 Fiscal Strategy Report set for Wednesday release in keeping with Govt’s December commitment
In keeping with its commitment to publish the 2020 Fiscal Strategy Report (FSR) in December, the Most Honourable Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Hubert A. Minnis will table the FSR during the next sitting of the House of Assembly.
Senator Kwasi Thompson, Minister of State for Finance, will detail key elements of the report in the Senate, outlining the government’s fiscal strategy over the next few years with its focus on securing economic resilience beyond the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and accelerating the pace of economic recovery. During his presentation, Minister Thompson will also provide updates on the Government’s ongoing efforts to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, including policy actions to provide ongoing assistance to Bahamians and communities in need.
“Our fiscal strategy looks at the macroeconomic picture over the next three to five years. It starts with where we are today in terms of our economic growth prospects, our current spending ability, capacity to generate revenue, and debt levels. Today, these are all defined by the two unprecedented external shocks that rocked the nation of over the past 14 months. These shocks have caused us to act with a sense of urgency as we cannot take a business as usual approach,” said Senator Kwasi Thompson, Minister of State for Finance.
“The fiscal strategy charts the course forward for where we want to be in the next few years. It outlines how the Government plans to achieve fiscal sustainability as quickly as possible, including policy actions to accelerate the pace of economic growth and key fiscal adjustments to mitigate risks. The importance of the fiscal strategy to our economic development cannot be overstated for strong, structured and disciplined fiscal management underpins our economic viability. Our approach will be to make the difficult decisions while also pursing innovation, training and encouraging local and foreign investment,” said Minister Thompson.
The Prime Minister advised Parliament on November 18 about the status of the 2020 Fiscal Strategy Report, which the government is required to present to the House of Assembly by the third Wednesday in November. Given the unprecedented times, the Government decided to take extra diligence in crafting its strategies, making use of the most current fiscal information about the planned reopening of tourism in November to inform critical policy deliberations about the FSR. The 2020 FSR will be available on the official budget website: www.bahamasbudget.gov.bs.
