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MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2022
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Food stores ‘expecting’ price control extension By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN food stores yesterday said they “expect” the Government to extend tomorrow’s deadline to implement the major price control regime expansion if both parties are unable to reach agreement by then. John Bostwick, the Retail Grocers Association’s (RGA) attorney, told Tribune Business “the ball is in the Government’s court” as to the next step since neither the food retailers, wholesalers and distributors or their pharmaceutical counterparts have received any response to the position papers and alternative solutions that were proposed “well within” the time permitted by the Davis administration.
• Say: Waive tomorrow’s deadline if no deal • ‘Uniting’ with pharmacies to ‘stand up’ to Gov’t • ‘Ball in the Gov’t’s court’; no reply to industries With the November 1 deadline to expand price controls to 38 food product categories, and multiple pharmaceutical drugs, now less than 24 hours away, he said the Association’s 130 members are “somewhat concerned” by the Government’s silence but feel the looming implementation should again be “extended” given that negotiations remain
open and have not yet concluded. “We continue to wait for the Government’s response,” Mr Bostwick told this newspaper. “The grocers responded well within the time allocated and, to-date, there has been no communication from the Government. At this time, we are just waiting. That can also be said for the other associations.”
JOHN BOSTWICK Asked about the imminent November 1 deadline to implement price control changes, and adjustments, to up to 5,000 food items, he replied: “We are somewhat concerned, but due to the fact the consultation process [has not ended] and the proverbial ball is in the Government’s court, the Government’s hands........ it’s definitely
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A PROMINENT doctor has warned the Government that its proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) reforms must not “crash private healthcare” and suffocate the “innovation and investment” that drives improved medical care. Dr Conville Brown, principal of The Bahamas Heart Centre, Cancer Centre Bahamas and The Medical Pavilion Bahamas, told Tribune Business the Davis administration needs to balance its push for
DR CONVILLE BROWN universal health care via NHI with maintaining an environment in which private health practitioners can flourish since they are the ones that drive medical
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Banks ‘can take more’ as debt drops $29m By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMIAN commercial banks have “significant capacity” to take on more government debt, the Ministry of Finance’s top official has asserted, after the national debt for the three months to end-September fell by $29m. Simon Wilson, the financial secretary, told Tribune Business the modest decline is nothing to get excited about yet as the total government debt closed the 2022-2023 fiscal year’s first quarter at $12.1bn. However, he voiced hope that it represents “the start of a trend” in what will be a
SIMON WILSON long haul, spanning multiple administrations, to rebuild The Bahamas’ fiscal headroom and cut the debt burden to more sustainable levels. Speaking after the Government’s debt
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Roadworks blasted over 30% sales fall • Auto dealer: My 10-year sewer woe neglected By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
‘Don’t crash private’ healthcare with NHI By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
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A FRUSTRATED Bahamian auto dealer yesterday blasted the Village Road roadworks for both causing a 30 percent decline in sales and failing to resolve his decade-old sewerage problem. Brent Fox, Montague Motors’ principal, told Tribune Business that if he did not own the property upon which his dealership sits he would have been “wiped out” by a combination of COVID-19 and the ongoing road improvements which, at times, have either totally blocked access to Village Road’s southern end or made it virtually impassable to vehicular traffic. And he likened the failure to solve a ten-year sewer problem impacting both his business and some 10-15 apartments located behind it as “a slap in the face” despite repeatedly urging construction crews
and the Ministry of Works to address the problem during the current works. Mr Fox explained to this newspaper that his sewer connection to the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s main one is the lowest-lying one in the Village Road area. Due to the “degradation” associated with the previous infrastructure, during period of heavy rain or frequent use by other businesses in the area, his pipe “became half full” and started to back-up. As a result, to cure the problem he was forced to install a 100-gallon lift station at his own expense to ensure the waste form his pipe could be pumped into the Water & Sewerage Corporation’s main line. Hopeful that the installation of new sewage infrastructure would provide a permanent solution, Mr Fox said his hopes have been dashed because the new main line has been
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