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Minister: ‘We’re this close’ on $290m hospital funds • New Providence hospital financing not in Budget • Darville: ‘Timing’ issue; China loan being finalised • $6m allocated for site work, owner’s rep in ‘25-’26
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net A CABINET minister yesterday revealed “we’re this close” to finalising the $290m financing for New Providence’s new hospital even though this was not included in the 2025-2026 Budget. Dr Michael Darville, minister of health and wellness, told Tribune Business that the proposed loan facility from the China ExportImport Bank, the state-owned Beijing lender that financed Baha Mar’s construction, was not incorporated into the Davis administration’s spending plans because the details were not completed in
time for the Budget’s contribution” to the presentation. New Providence hosAffirming that the pital in the upcoming proposed Perpall Tract 2025-2026 fiscal year. healthcare facility will Dr Darville told this proceed, he asserted newspaper that the $6m that he is “very confiwill finance a combinadent funding is on the tion of site clearance way” for a project that and preparation, which he hopes will break is part of the Governground “in short order” ment’s obligations in DR MICHAEL although he declined to return for receiving the DARVILLE give a precise date or China Export-Import timeline. Bank loan, and the hiring of an And, while none of the $2m “owner’s representative” who will allocated for “preparatory works” act as the Davis administration’s in this year’s Budget had been “watchdog” once actual construcspent at end-March 2025, the tion work begins. Government is providing $6m for And, unlike previous years, what is described as the Ministry while there was no mention of Health and Wellness’ “equity of the $290m New Providence
National Development Plan not moving ‘nearly as fast as I’d like’ By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net EFFORTS to give the National Development Plan a legal footing are moving “not nearly as fast as I would like”, its steering committee chairman conceded yesterday. Felix Stubbs, the former IBM (Bahamas) chief, told Tribune Business that “government bureaucracy” was responsible for the slow progress despite the Prime Minister repeatedly assuring him he is “very serious” about codifying the initiative in statute law via the proposed National Development Plan Bill. Confirming that the draft Bill is still with the Attorney General’s Office, he added that the Plan’s steering committee is aiming to meet with officials from that office within the next couple of weeks to advance the progress of legislation that was pledged during the re-opening of Parliament in early October 2023. And, disclosing that staff to run its secretariat are already being recruited, and the necessary office space sought, Mr Stubbs told this newspaper he expects work to update
• Chair: ‘Govt bureaucracy’ behind slow progress • Hopes to start work on ‘final 20%’ within weeks • Critical tool to prevent ‘haphazard’ development FELIX STUBBS the original 2016 version - and finish the “20 percent” of the Plan that remains incomplete - to officially begin “within a matter of weeks”. He added that completing the Plan is critical to prevent The Bahamas’ from developing “haphazardly”, and for the country to fulfill its true economic growth potential, with the Government’s just-released Fiscal Strategy Report placing the initiative at the top of “structural reforms” deemed essential to boosting competitiveness and investment.
NIB eyes $32m deficit despite income jump By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net A CABINET minister yesterday said the National Insurance Board (NIB) is forecast to suffer a $32m deficit in 2025 despite earning an extra $4m per month in contribution income from last year’s rate rise. Alfred Sears KC, minister of Immigration and National Insurance, told the House of Assembly that the combined 1.5 percent contribution rate increase that came into effect last July has already generated $4m per month since its implementation but the social security’s deficit “remains significant”. He added that this is currently estimated at $32m for 2025, with 50 percent of the shortfall caused by the “ongoing gap” in contributions and benefits paid out. “This policy adjustment has positively impacted the Fund’s revenue position, generating an additional average of $4m per month in contributions. This increase has proven essential in NIB’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the financial sustainability of the Fund,” said Mr Sears.
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“The Government acknowledges that structural reforms and economic policy initiatives are required to increase competitiveness, facilitate business transactions and foster investment,” the Fiscal Strategy Report 2025 affirmed. Heading the list of such reforms is the need to “institutionalise the National Development planning process”. The Fiscal Strategy Report added: “The Government intends to introduce The Bahamas’ National Development Plan (NDP)
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Taxpayer subsidy payouts to hit $526m in four years’ time By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net TAXPAYER subsidies to lossmaking government enterprises are forecast to increase by $75m over the upcoming four fiscal years to hit $525.6m in 2028-2029, it has been revealed. The Government’s just-released Fiscal Strategy Report 2025 again identifies the likes of the Water & Sewerage Corporation, Bahamasair and the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas (BCB) as a major risk and threat to its forecast 2025-2026 surplus and other fiscal targets as it pledges to continue the “rationalisation” initiative for state-owned enterprises (SOEs). “State-owned enterprise (SOE) reform remains a key Budget priority with targeted measures aimed at reducing fiscal transfers and managing contingent liabilities. The newly implemented guaranteed policy framework, ‘Bahamas Policy Framework for Guarantees’, will be fully operationalised, including the application of eligibility criteria, credit risk assessments and a
standardized guarantee fee structure,” the report said. “In addition, SOEs will be required to submit medium-term business plans aligned with fiscal objectives and face tighter controls on hiring, salary increases and unfunded capital spending. The continued training of SOE directors will improve governance and compliance. “Sector-specific reforms will continue in the water and healthcare sectors, while major restructuring in the energy sector is projected to reduce direct subventions over the medium term. These reforms are essential to reducing fiscal risks, enhancing service delivery and ensuring the sustainability of public finances.” The Fiscal Strategy Report pledged that the Government is targeting a reduction in its contingent liabilities, representing borrowing by state-owned enterprises that it has guaranteed on their behalf. While such guarantees are estimated to total $297.2m at end-June 2025, they are forecast to increase by more than $160m to $458.8m by the
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hospital project in the Government’s recently-released 2025-2026 Budget documents, the minister reassured that this was simply due to “the timing being a bit off” with some details regarding the financing yet to be agreed with the China Export-Import Bank. “Rest assured that funding from the China Export-Import Bank is on the way,” Dr Darville told Tribune Business in a previous communication. “The details concerning the funding will be discussed during my Budget contribution. There will be a few changes with the funding arrangements that are currently being worked out between my ministry,
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Gov’t targets $1.88bn debt slash over four-year cycle By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Government is projecting it will cut its direct debt by $1.883bn over the next four fiscal years and achieve its targeted 50 percent debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio one year ahead of schedule. The estimates, unveiled in the Davis administration’s just-released 2025 Fiscal Strategy Report, rely on it achieving its projected fiscal surpluses from the upcoming 2025-2026 Budget year onwards as well as consistent annual growth in economic output (GDP) to keep the various debt, deficit and other fiscal ratios in check. The Government is forecasting that it will achieve a combined $976.3m in fiscal surpluses, measuring by how much revenues exceed its spending, over the four fiscal years through 2028-2029 despite its own forecasts showing that GDP growth will slow from 1.8 percent this year to 1.7 percent in 2026, 1.6 percent in 2027, and then further to
KWASI THOMPSON 1.5 percent for both 2028 and 2029. Revenue performance is heavily linked to GDP growth and economic activity given The Bahamas’ consumption-based tax system. Yet, despite GDP growth slowing - and ultimately flat-lining to The Bahamas’ pre-COVID and Dorian long-run average - the Government is forecasting consistent annual revenue growth to take its income from $3.896bn in 2025-2026 to $4.556bn in 2028-2029. That represents a 16.9 percent, or $660m, increase
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