Deputy Leader of the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Arinthia Komolafe  says “in the absence of an articulated economic growth plan, a robust national disaster risk management framework and demonstrated commitment to fiscal prudence, it is difficult to envision how the current administration will be able to address the concerns raised by Moody’s.”

She was reacting to  the state of the economy after the recent credit opinion by Moodys last week.

Mrs Komolafe said that the ratings highlight points that have repeatedly been raised by the Bahamian people to the current administration.

She added, “ the absence of these vital elements undermines the ability of the Government to reverse the negative outlook, stave off any further downgrades of our sovereign rating or improve our existing rating.”

Moody’s also raised concerns over contingent liabilities from state-owned enterprises (SOE’s) and the Bank of the Bahamas (BOB).

Mrs. Komolafe said, “It is common knowledge that SOEs are being subsidized by taxpayers to the tune of approximately $400M annually and the albatross that is BOB has been a drain on public finances over the years. However, there has been no concrete or feasible plan produced to decrease and ultimately eliminate the amount of public funds expended on these ventures.”

She also described the government’s response to this issue as “patronizing, weak, and grossly inadequate”.  

She said that the statement failed to properly address the points raised and provide an action plan for rectifying them. 

Additionally, she said it failed to dispel the notion that the government is not equipped to formulate an effective fiscal policy.

The DNA’s Deputy Leader also said, that the government has a larger obligation to the Bahamian people to properly and competently manage the economy as current and future generations of Bahamians will be impacted by ill-advised decisions or actions made with regard to our economy.