By Gerrino J. Saunders
Journal Staff Writer

Leader of the Official Opposition Michael Pintard said he does not agree with the
International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) recommendation to raise value added tax
(VAT) to 15 percent so that the government can achieve its target goal of debt
accounting for 50 percent of GDP by the fiscal year 2031. However, it is his
opinion that the Davis Administration can do a better job of raising revenue
without taxing the population.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament before debate on the Local Government
Bill 2024 began Mr. Pintard said, “we don’t support any increase in VAT at this
time. We’ve already made a number of recommendations on how the government
is able to have more resources available for the essential services that they provide.
“One is that they ought to cut back on some of the excessive spending on
unnecessary items that includes the excessive travel with large delegations, that
also includes numerous events that do not move the needle in reducing the
suffering that Bahamians have,” said Mr. Pintard.
He also recommended that when the government hires consultants, particularly
among their supporters, that they hire people who are “going to add value to
increasing efficiency, increasing the effectiveness of the public service and not hire
individuals on the people’s dime in order to do political work, when they should be
doing work to transform the lives of Bahamians.”
Mr. Pintard also warned the government about the amount of debt it is incurring.
He said, “the government is borrowing a tremendous amount of money not to put
in areas that would grow the economy, and we need to grow the economy in excess
of 3.5percent. We do not find that they are choosing infrastructural initiatives
that’s going to contribute to economic growth and development throughout the
Family Islands.

And so there are a number of things the government ought to do that in our view
will guard against the need for them to dramatically raise taxes on the backs of
Bahamians.
They should also collect the revenue that the country is entitled to; and we do not
find that they have implementedaa effective revenue collection measures and so we
are very much concerned in that regard; they should stop entering into loans that
are written off the books so we don’t know the interest rate and what Bahamians
will be paying for the long term,” said Mr. Pintard.
Asked about a recent study by a United States organization that revealed 85
percent of guns confiscated or recovered in The Bahamas between 2018 and 2022
were traced to American retail gun dealers mostly from the states of Texas,
Georgia and Florida Mr. Pintard said the Davis administration is failing on several
fronts as it relates to the smuggling of illegal firearms into the country.
“Well again the one initiative the government keeps talking about is entering into
legal action with neighboring countries against the United States where the guns
are manufactured, we do not oppose that, what we are concerned about is their
inability to coordinate with various stakeholders in order to come up with effective
measures to prevent the import of guns into the country also to deal with the issue
of socializing our young people in a way that they don’t end up part of that gun
culture,” said the Opposition Leader.
Last year, The Bahamas joined Mexico’s $10 billion lawsuit to hold U.S gun
manufacturers accountable for the spread of firearms in the region and the
widespread violence as a result.
This most recent report released last week from the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms,
and Explosives Department revealed that guns are trafficked into The Bahamas and
wider Caribbean most commonly through shipping transport and can be concealed
in large items like cars, and televisions, or broken into components and hidden in
household items like bags of rice or cereal.
Mr. Pintard suggested the government is not taking crime seriously. He said, “you
can see that on a number of fronts, the lack of engagement with persons they know
to be spearheading criminal organizations, we do not see the intentional programs
designed to bring them in, to disarm them to redirect young people who are
attracted to that life because there is a lack of opportunities in other areas.

“There are a host of initiatives they should arm in terms of resources the faith-
based organizations and NGOs that already have programs that are helping our
young people, as opposed to the government duplicating services and that
duplication is ineffective, and so we are very concerned about the lack of attention
this government is giving to the issue of crime.”
Pintard also suggested that the government make sure all agencies responsible for
law enforcement have respect in the community. “And one way to do that is when
allegations are made to investigate them in a very transparent manner, for what
reason the government is not in an open way investigating matters is beyond us,”
said Pintard.
Mr. Pintard was also critical of the government’s indecision as it relates to
construction projects at Bahamas Department of Correctional Services (BDOCS).
The Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe revealed this week that Cabinet
has approved construction of a medium, high and super maximum security housing
units at the prison which will include a mental health block, clinic and medical
facility.
“The government continues to announce projects that seem to go nowhere, the
airport in Grand Bahama , the sale of the hotel in Grand Bahama (Lucayan Resort),
this prison discussion is an age old one, how complex could it be to construct a
comprehensive prison that deals with the issue of rehabilitation but a price point
that makes sense for what it’s designed to do.”
Mr. Pintard said the opposition also has concerns about the pricing the Davis
Administration continues to arrive at.
“We’ve seen it at the Glass window Bridge and we see it in numerous structures
throughout the country. We are concerned about them simply not accessing things
properly and costing the taxpayers more money for items we believe that we could
get at a better price point,” said Pintard.
As it relates to the court battle involving Baha Mar’s original developer and China
Construction America (CCA) Mr. Pintard said the Official Opposition is mainly
concerned with the Davis Administration’s failure to openly investigate allegations
made by Sarkis Izmirlian in the New York Court suggesting there was corruption
involving government officials influencing the outcome of that project while it was
in duress.