By Clemia Neely
Journal Staff Writer

Election season is quickly approaching, and the Progressive Liberal Party is
confident that they have changed the Bahamas for the better over the past four
years. During the Senate debate on the 2025/2026 budget Senator Michael Halkitis
said if you compare where the country is today to where it was four years ago,
there can be no denial of progress.
The Minister of Economic Affairs said, “We’ve seen consecutive years of
economic growth and employment at its lowest level since 2008. We are projecting
the first ever overall budget surplus in an independent Bahamas. A first-time
initiative like the School Breakfast Program, the National Youth Guard, and
Upskill are critical investments in people.”
He noted that The Davis Administration is making “historic investments in
infrastructure, especially in our family islands, and investors have responded with
over $12 million in investments and billions more in the pipeline.”
According to Halkitis if you were to ask the average Bahamian the question of
whether or not they are better off now than they were four years ago, he has no
doubt that the answer would be a resounding yes.
However he admitted, “We have had our challenges, of course, but by no means
are we perfect. And we still have a very long way to go to get to where we need to
be. But the nation is headed in the right direction. Progress is apparent everywhere
we look.”
He tells the Bahamian people to stay tuned, because the Davis Administration is
just getting started as they lay the foundation for the next five, ten, twenty, and fifty
years of growth with their Blueprint for Change.
As for the economic standing entering a new fiscal year Mr. Halkitis reminded that
the government has produced its first budget with a projected surplus of $75
million and with many first-time initiatives, expansion of innovations that has been
launched over the past three and a half years, and targeted investments to empower
the people of The Bahamas.
He said, “It means that the government is projecting that in the upcoming year
2025-2026, the government will collect sufficient revenue to adequately fund the

programs that the government has to fund and still have $75 million left over. So,
we’re collecting enough money to do what you have to do and still have funds left
over.”
He noted that in the budget this year, the debt of the Bahamas stood at $11.461
billion. Next year, the debt is projected to be $11.386 billion, a debt reduction of
$75 million. He said the surplus will go directly towards reducing the debt of the
Bahamas.
Additionally, he said, “Our information and communications sector rebounded
with 21.5% growth. Agriculture, forestry and fishing industries grew by 21%
through targeted government investment.”
He goes on to say, “Our international standing and credit rating are much improved
over the last four years. Fitch Rating Services assigned our inaugural double B-
minus rating with a stable outlook, while Moody’s upgraded our outlook from
stable to positive for the first time in 17 years. We also successfully returned to the
international bond markets with a $1.06 billion bond offering at 8.25% interest.”
Senator Halkitis believes this demonstrates that The Bahamas can go to the
international markets, raise funds in good size on good terms, and have invested
demands nearly four times the amount offered, demonstrating market confidence.