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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2025
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‘Make most of tailwinds’ on 40% pt debt-to-GDP surge t 'JOBODF DIJFG OPX UBSHFUJOH AQSPEVDUJWJUZ CPPTU THE Bahamas must “make the most of the tailwinds” t 5P UBLF #BIBNBT BCPWF post-COVID and “generate a HSPXUI QPUFOUJBM productivity boost” after the pandemic and $4.3bn in storm damage drove a 40 percent- t EFCU HSFX UP PO age point debt-to-GDP surge. Simon Wilson, the Ministry $07*% CO TUPSNT of Finance’s financial secreBy NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
tary, in a July 4, 2025, letter to the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) Bahamas representative asserted that this nation’s “above potential” economic growth since emerging from COVID-19 means it “is an advantageous position” to capitalise upon these trends and drive output to new heights via further policy reforms. The letter to Shirley Gayle, sent as part of the Government’s request for a second $160m “policy-based loan” from the IDB to finance the overhaul of The Bahamas’
disaster recovery management and governance regime, asserted that Hurricane Dorian and the three storms that immediately preceded it - as well as COVID-19 - drive a near-40 percentage point debt-to-GDP rise in just six years. Acknowledging that the post-COVID improvements have also coincided with “no major natural disasters” striking The Bahamas, thus helping the Government to rebuild some of the lost fiscal headroom that is vital
to countering such events, Mr Wilson argued that this nation is now well-placed to improve upon its projected annual GDP growth average of just 1.5 percent over the long-term. Noting that the latest $160m loan will finance implementation of the reforms laid out in the Disaster Recovery Management Act, which was enacted by Parliament in December 2022, Mr Wilson wrote: “Within Latin America and the Caribbean, The Bahamas is one of the most
A CABINET minister yesterday said the bulk of the last-minute revisions to the Government’s 2024-2025 spending and deficit figures resulted from advice by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Michael Halkitis, minister of economic affairs, told the Office of the Prime Minister’s weekly media briefing that most of the $37.3m in spending and deficit adjustments for the five months between July and November 2024 resulted
from $25m being reclassified from an ‘expense’ to an ‘investment’. He added that the $25m allocated to finance The Bahamas’ bid to become a shareholder in the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) was initially recorded as an expense. However, following a review by the IMF, the Government was advised to classify the transaction “below the line” as an investment. The minister added that this adjustment accounted for the bulk of a $37.3m revision to the Government’s fiscal figures, with the remaining
SIMON WILSON vulnerable countries to natural hazards, especially those related to climate change. “The Bahamas has experienced 14 major disasters, mainly hurricanes, in the last 20 years which have claimed more than 400 lives, affected about 50,000 people and caused direct damages to public infrastructure and housing amounting to over
REFORMS - See Page B4
Work start imminent for Taino Bridge alternative By NEIL HARTNELL and FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporters nhartnell@tribunemedia.net CONSTRUCTION of a “temporary” replacement for Freeport’s deteriorating Taino Beach Bridge is due to begin in early October, residents and businesses have been informed. Charisse Brown, Lucaya Service Company’s (LUSCO) chief executive, and who also heads the Grand Bahama Development Company (DevCO), in a September 24, 2025, letter pledged that Bahamas Hot Mix has been hired
to construct a “temporary limestone causeway” that is expected to take around eight weeks to complete. This new structure, she added, will be constructed parallel to the existing bridge and “provide a 20-foot asphalt roadway” that can be used by both pedestrians and vehicles as an alternative to the crumbling crossing that will be adjacent to it. No timeline or start date, though, were provided for work on the Taino Beach Bridge. And it was unclear what plans have been made, because Mrs Brown’s letter
CAUSEWAY - See Page B6
‘Only make bad employers lodge a redundancy bond’ By ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN employers yesterday argued that only tax delinquents and companies in breach of other financial obligations should be forced to provide financial security in advance for staff’ terminations. Kendrick Delaney, owner of The New Duff, told Tribune Business: “If the concern is unpaid staff when a business shuts down, then let’s focus on the real
risk: Companies that don’t file regularly, skip VAT or NIB payments, or show a pattern of poor financial management. Those are the ones that should be mandated to post a bond. And, if they improve, remove it. “At The New Duff, even through global economic storms, few rebates and limited government funding, we work hard to meet every standard, pay every tax and prove our commitment to our team of amazing staff.
SECURITY - See Page B6
amount made up of smaller, miscellaneous changes. “You might recall that The Bahamas joined the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) during the past year. Part of joining the CAF, we subscribe $25m to become a shareholder in the bank,” Mr Halkitis said. “When we initially did it, we classified that as an expenditure. When the IMF came in and did their review, they sat with us and they said: ‘Listen, this is rightfully an investment. It doesn’t need to be
FISCAL - See Page B5
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IDB: Bahamas to top the Caribbean over disaster governance t N SFGPSNT UP DMJODI mWF ZFBS USBOTGPSNBUJPO t "OE DVU TUPSN EFBUIT MPTTFT CZ BOE t $PODFSOT PWFS VQEBUFE #BIBNBT #VJMEJOH $PEF
Minister: IMF backed $25m ‘reclassification’ By NEIL HARTNELL and FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporters
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MICHAEL HALKITIS
By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas will have the best disaster risk management regime and governance in the Caribbean once it executes vital reforms aided by a $160m Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) loan. The multilateral lender, in a report obtained by Tribune Business, said the latest financing - designed to help implement elements in the Disaster Risk Management Act passed by Parliament in 2022 - will take The Bahamas from a below-average performer in this area to regional leader within just five to six years. And, based on the scale of improvement anticipated from The Bahamas implementing these reforms, the report asserted that this nation will see a 21.9 percent reduction in disaster-related deaths and a 26.5 percent fall in economic losses associated with hurricanes and other climate change-related events. Asserting that the $160m financing is “essential” for The Bahamas to “to implement the necessary governance reforms... that will allow it to smooth out the fluctuations generated by natural disasters”, the IDB added that among the changes demanded by the loan is the long-awaited release of an updated Bahamas Building Code to help reduce the disaster exposure faced by private and public assets. The IDB report, though, identified “the heavy workload at the Ministry of Public Works” as being among the key risks to the success of the project and its reform agenda because this threatens to delay the new Bahamas Building Code’s submission to Parliament for enactment into law. This is critical because the release of at least some of the $160m funding is tied to this happening.
RESILIENCE - See Page B5