Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest says  when he presents  the national budget next week Wednesday, one thing you will not see in our budget is any runaway spending. 

“We will spend the people’s money responsibly, in accordance with our strategic priorities and the commitments made to the Bahamian people. All of our work at the Ministry of Finance moving forward will be conducted in the context of a statutory mandate to practice fiscal responsibility,” he said.

Mr. Turnquest explained that the public can expect the government to make hard choices to lower the debt levels as well as make responsible choices to arrive at a more sustainable fiscal balance. 

Minister of Finance   pointed out   the government’s  prioritized internal auditing as one of several initiatives showing  how serious the government is about transparency, integrity  and accountability. He spoke  at  a meeting of the Institute of Internal Auditors last Friday. 

The Minister  also said, “We recognize that words like accountability and transparency must be more than political buzzwords. We must back that up by taking steps to ensure that we have a cadre of qualified financial and accounting professionals to enable the government to track and account for revenue and expenditure, and to uphold its commitments to fiscal responsibility.” 

Mr. Turnquest  also said that fiscal discipline has not been a hallmark of all governments in the past. 

He added, “at the governance level, the landmark fiscal responsibility legislation, released for public consultation two weeks ago, is a major initiative that demonstrates our seriousness and commitment to living according to this ethical standards and fiscal responsibility principles.” 

The government chose to develop the 2018/2019 budget in accordance with the law’s guidelines. 

Above all, Mr. Turnquest noted that the public will see the government embrace the idea  of transparency and accountability “ in a way no other government has done before.”