By Clemia Neely
Journal Staff Writer

Free National Movement Senator Michela Barnett-Ellis argued during debate on
the 2025/22026 fiscal budget that the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) has not been
completely honest in their budget debate. How it is, she asked, that this
administration can brag about increased revenue and positive economic outlooks
put on the ground, we’re just not feeling the boom. She says the truth is simple,
this budget isn’t a budget for us, it’s for their friends, their family, and those who
are politically connected.
“It is misrepresentation when the government talks of a budget surplus, while
deliberately ignoring critical expenditure that our people need just to keep the
numbers looking tidy on paper. You don’t get to claim fiscal discipline when
clinics are crumbling, bills are unpaid, and schools are under-resourced. That’s not
responsible budgeting. That’s creative accounting. That’s manipulation dressed up
as management,” she said.
“Unfortunately, this government has made misrepresentation a habit. Whether it’s
the promises they’ve broken, the projects that remained stalled, or the facts that
they twist to suit a narrative, but the numbers don’t lie, and neither do the
experiences of the Bahamian people.”
Senator Barnett-Ellis said that it’s time we start calling things what they are.
Holding this administration accountable for the stories they tell and offering a new
vision, grounded, not an illusion, but in integrity and action. This moment that we
find ourselves in today calls for leadership that is honest about the challenges we
face, and bold enough to address them.
She explained, “This budget in its numbers and its spin demonstrates that there’s a
disconnect between what is claimed and what is felt. That’s not the way the system
is supposed to work. We are told that the economy is booming, but the Bahamian
people are not feeling it. The lived experience of everyday Bahamians not reflect
the narrative being spun in this budget.”
“While the government touts progress and balance, Bahamians are still struggling
to make ends meet. I’ve asked persons about what issues keep them up at night,
and the resounding answer was the cost of living. Just this week at the food store, I

overheard the cashiers talking about looking for a second job because she was
living month to month and did not want to live like that,” she said.
She stated that at the mid-year budget, there was $122 million in unpaid invoices,
and that is not fiscal discipline she said but financial fiction.
“She goes on to say that expenses are increasing, but businesses aren’t growing,
and salaries aren’t increasing in any meaningful way. We are told to believe in a
projected surplus, yet up and down these islands and cays, bills go unpaid,” said
Barnett-Ellis.