In a press statement released this past Friday, Mr. Roberts made reference to a recent international credit analysis made by Moody’s Global Sovereign Rating and Report 2009.
The credit agency said while it is concerned with the increase in The Bahamas’ debt burden, its history of sensible fiscal management and strong policy consensus support the government’s view that debt numbers will start trending down once the worst of the crisis is over.
"Can this lead to a downgrade of The Bahamas ratings? The short answer is not yet," the report said. "But if the increase in debt numbers remains unchecked, it will place strong downwards pressure on the current ratings and could lead to a change in outlook and ultimate downgrade out of the A category."
Mr. Roberts said despite this warning, the FNM government "continues an agenda of mismanagement, which leads to Moody’s forecast that in 2010, the country’s ratio of debt to gross domestic product will climb 46.6 percent."
"This would be an amazing climb from 32.8 percent in 2006, the last full year of the Christie Administration," he said.
"It is not in the long run interest of The Bahamas for this path of mismanagement to continue. This dramatic increase in the level of debt with a declining economy is particularly dangerous because the Moody report also points out that the openness of the economy today is greater than it has been at anytime in this century, and that in 2008, total tourism arrivals were the lowest in a decade and data for the first half of 2009 indicates that 2010 will be worse. The Bahamas can and must do better."
The PLP chairman said any downgrade from Moody’s would make it more difficult ad more expensive for the country to borrow money in the international credit markets.
"It would also represent a significant blow to the stature of country among foreign investors-a blow which could threaten the level of direct foreign capital inflows, which are vital to the standard of living to which many Bahamians had become accustomed," Mr. Roberts said.
On Sunday, Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing said, "It is obvious that Mr. Roberts and the PLP are not interested in anything that is good for Bahamians."
"Anyone sensibly and appropriately reading the Moody’s report would leave it understanding that it affirms the good rating that The Bahamas has, which puts us in a very good position to raise capital through borrowing that we need on the international and local market to do at a cost to Bahamians that doesn’t jeopardize our situation," he said.
"But clearly, it seems that they are more interested in seeking to distort those facts for their own political gain and in the process put at risk the economy of The Bahamas, the jobs of Bahamians and the livelihood of Bahamians by seeking to damage an otherwise good credit rating indicated in the Moody’s report.
"We are in extraordinary times and we are using the space that we have to the benefit of Bahamians but that is something that Mr. Roberts and those are not interested in. What is good for The Bahamas and Bahamians is not good for PLP and Bradley Roberts until they return to office."
Moody’s report said the outlook on the Bahamian economy remains "stable" based on "our expectation that The Bahamas will be able to manage the current crisis without a major long-term impact on its main credit metrics."
