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A L L T H E N E W S Y O U N E E D T O R E A D I N T H E M O R N I N G

VOL. 31 - NO. 82 75 CENTSTUESDAY - MAY 14TH, 2019

COOPER: “MINISTER’S SPIN DIZZYING”DPM: “ECONOMY ON A PATH

OF SUSTAINED GROWTH”eacting to thereport by theDepartment of

Statistics that theBahamian economygrew by 1.6 percent in2018, the Deputy PrimeMinister and Minister ofFinance K. PeterTurnquest says,“this isthe first time the countryhas had decent economicgrowth in over fiveyears. When we look atwhere we are now com-pared to where we were,these results are confir-mation; there has been asignificant turnaroundand our policy mix is

effectively placing us ona path of sustainedgrowth.” The economy was val-

ued at $12.42 billion innominal dollars, accord-ing to the Department.Mr. Turnquest said,

“The key takeaways arethat economic growth ispositive, our momentumhas firmed and it is beingdriven by the private sec-tor. Just five years ago,the country was experi-encing negative growthat -3.0%, and for severalyears, the country strug-gled to arrest the decline.

4 Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, K. Peter Turnquest

R

hadow Ministerof Finance,Chester Coopery e s t e r d a y

described the spin by theMinister of Finance onthe growth of the GrossDomestic Product (GDP)as “dizzying”. Hereferred to what he calledthe Government’s softerthan expected GDPgrowth. The Deputy Leader of

the Opposition said, “It isinteresting that thisAdministration repeated-ly touted it projection ofover 2 percent GDP for

BY LISA KNOWLESJournal Staff Writer

S

4 Shadow Minister of Finance,

Chester Cooper g See page 2...

17 GROUPS CONTRIBUTED TO GDP GROWTHLast fiscal year, theInternational MonetaryFund projected for theBahamas a 2.25 per centincrease in real GDPgrowth 2019 compared toits previous projection of2.5 percent for 2018. These new figures rep-

resent an increase of 2.3per cent in nominal

growth and real growth of1.6 per cent. National Accounts

Director in theDepartment of StatisticsTerah Newbold says, “In2018, nine of the 17industry groups con-tributed to the overallincrease in real GDP.However, increases in realestate, wholesale and

BY LEAH COOPERJournal Staff Writer

g See page 4...

Department of StatiSticS annual anD Quarterly GDp 2018

4 The National Accounts Section of the Department of Statistics held a press conference to release theAnnual Gross Domestic Product for 2018 as compiled by the Production and Expenditure Approaches at theDepartment, Monday, May 13, 2019. Seated from left: Clarice Turnquest, Assistant Director; Leona Wilson,

Acting Director, Department of Statistics and Terah Newbold, National Accounts Supervisor. (BIS Photo/Llonella Gilbert)

g See page 2...

Contract SignedFor Grand

Lucayan VSEPSAfter months of negotia-tions the Bahamas HotelManagerial Union and thegovernment have finallyreached a decision onVoluntary SeparationPackages for 91 managersof the Grand LucayanResort.The package totaled

$4.3 million. Accordingto Tourism Minister

Dionisio D’Aguilar, $3.7million of that will comefrom the government andthe remainder from anannuity fund that theworkers could access attheir leisure. “Moving forward the

employees would be ableto take advantage of theamounts that are about tobe dispersed to them andas I say prepare for the

BY BERTHONY MCDERMOTTJournal Staff Writer

g See page 4...

PLP SENATOR SLAMS IMMIGRATION AMENDMENTSSenator Jobeth Coleby-Davis yesterday slammedthe proposed amendment

to the Immigration Act inthe Senate, labelling it asa stripping away of theBahamianization policy. She said, “we can agree

that foreign investors in

some ways form part ofthe Bahamian history. Formany years you will hearthe names of those whohave brought much to TheBahamas, and made an

impression.“I will not stand here

today and insult the con-tributions of the foreign

BY LEAH COOPERJournal Staff Writer

g See page 4...

Section A REGULAR_Section A Tues 5/13/2019 11:18 PM

A2 NationalNEWSThe Bahama Journal

Tuesday - May 14th, 2019

COOPER: “MINISTER’S

DPM: “ECONOMY ON A PATH OF SUSTAINED GROWTH”

2018 as a sign of its sup-posed economic steward-ship, only to have beenbrought back down toearth by the facts.“That the Minister of

Finance reacts with gleeafter a lower than expect-ed real, is curious, yetdizzingly out of touch.The Minister’s projectionsare simply not being met;not even close.“That GDP growth for

2018 was 1.6 percent, asdisclosed in the report bythe hardworking profes-sionals at the Departmentof Statistics yesterday ,should be alarming toBahamians,” said Mr.Cooper.He said,“with the open-

ing of Baha Mar, recordtourist arrivals the current

Administration had noth-ing to do with, the boom-ing US economy and nomajor shocks to the econ-omy, like a hurricane, overthe past year, the govern-ment must explain whythe growth projection wasnot met.“Could it perhaps be

the arbitrary raising ofValue Added Tax (VAT)and the subsequent starv-ing of capital expenditureto meet a rigid deficit tar-get the Government wastold was ill-advised?”“ The Government will

not meet its revenue col-lection projection; theeconomy did not meet thestated growth projection.”“Which projections

uttered by thisAdministration should webelieve?”“Where does fantasy

end and reality begin?”“Any growth in the

economy is good, but itstands so reason theGovernment is doingmore harm to economicgrowth than good,” saidthe Exuma and RaggedIsland MP.He said, “the poorly

thought-out rise in VAThas likely slowed growthin the economy, and itmay have a worse effectas growth in world mar-kets is expected to ease inthe coming years.“We note the Minister

touts the increase inhousehold consumption.This is drivel“Yes, household con-

sumption is up because fBaha Mar.“However, household

consumption is also upbecause VAT is up – peo-

ple are paying more taxes.“Household consump-

tion is also up becauseelectricity bills and thefuel charge are up, notnecessarily because peo-ple have more money tospend.”Mr. Cooper said ,“the

Minister tries to make asubversive political pointthat the economy experi-enced a 3 percent (3%)growth in 2013, that wasthanks to the FNM.“The Minister can

thank the PLP for estab-lishing Anchor Projectsthat are seeing the econo-my grow today.“The Minister must

come back down to realityHe is in the newspapertoday saying GrandBahama’s economy hasturned a corner. GrandBahama’s economy con-

tinues to be limp.“It may be in his reality

there is a Grand Bahamawhere people are not leav-ing in droves to find work,where unemployment isnot near an all-time highand where people are notsleeping in their cars, onbenches or in abandonedstructures. However, thatis not the reality that mostof us experience.“It is also reasonable to

ask how this will impactthe fiscal strategy’s budg-et projections.“The Minister of

Finance, if he is prudent,needs to quickly identifymeasures which wouldimprove investor confi-dence in this economy toput it on a path for sus-tainable long-termgrowth.“The current year

(2019) will not have thebenefit of the large upliftof consumption caused byBaha Mar.“Additionally, we trust

that the Minister issuing astatement to accompanythe Department’sNational AccountsNumbers, does not damp-en confidence in theIndependence of theDepartment of Statistics.Perhaps a clear schedulefor the release of suchdata should be imple-mented.“The spin from the

Minister is dizzying.“But anyone can see

that the boasts of theFNM about economicrecovery are more talkingpoints rather than a soberassessment of the realitybefore us,” said Mr.Cooper.

Now, we have turnedthings around and we areset up for future expan-sion and sustainedgrowth. This will allowfor expanded job oppor-tunities for Bahamiansand improve our abilityto withstand shocks.” General Government

expenditure declined,which was unsurprisinggiven the Government’scost containment and fis-cal responsibility poli-

cies. This had no damp-ening economic impact,given the strong privatesector performance.Household consumptionincreased by $140 mil-lion, and exports ofgoods and servicesincreased by $244 mil-lion. The rebound in

tourism, which continuesto benefit from a combi-nation of healthy gains inair visitor arrivals,increased room availabil-ity and expanded airlift,

was further observed bythe real growth in theaccommodation and foodservices industry. “There is no doubt this

performance is also hav-ing positive impacts onwholesale and retailtrade, and generalimprovements in con-sumer and business con-fidence have translatedinto the observedincrease in consumptionby households and inbusiness spending,” saidMinister Turnquest

Along with publishingits annual GDP reports,the DOS had its inaugu-ral release of experimen-tal quarterly GDP dataseries, covering the years2015 through 2018. “We congratulate the

DOS on its efforts tomodernize and expandthe country’s availablestatistical data. This is anencouraging develop-ment, and theGovernment looks for-ward to the evolution ofthe data coverage and

planned methodologicalimprovements for thisnew series. Going for-ward, the timely releaseof more frequent data onthe national accounts willbenefit, not only theGovernment, in its abilityto analyze and respond toshort-term economicdevelopments, but alsoconsumers and investorsin their decision makingprocesses,” said MinisterTurnquest.“The importance of

quarterly GDP statistics

cannot be understated, asit provides an almost realtime look at the move-ments and performanceof the economy. Thisinformation can point todynamic relationshipsoccurring that eitherdrive or drag economicgrowth. This is key foreconomic modelling pur-poses and for the appro-priate timing of economypolicy. Annual GDP statscannot give you thisinsight,” he said.

gg Continued from / PAGE 1...



A3The Bahama Journal

Tuesday - May 14th, 2019NationalNEWS

Immigration Department Holds80th Anniversary Exhibition

4The Department of Immigration held its 80th Anniversary Exhibition for Immigration Awareness Month, under the Theme “Commemorating Our Beginning, Working inOur Now, and Influencing Our Future." The event was held on Monday, May 13, 2019, in the Food Court of Mall at Marathon. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of

Transport and Local Government, Mrs Cora Bain-Colebrooke gave remarks. (BIS Photos/Derek Smith)

McQueen Charged With Murder

A 42-year old man wasarraigned yesterdaybefore Chief MagistrateJoy Ann Ferguson-Pratt

on one charge of murder.Cheron McQueen wascharged with the May 3rdHospital Lane murder ofAntoine Barron Roberts.He was also charged withpossession of an unli-censed firearm and 15 live

rounds of ammunition, towhich he pleaded notguilty. He remanded to theBahamas Department ofcorrections until June19th. He was representedby Attorney NathanSmith.

BY LISA KNOWLESJournal Staff Writer

Alleged Child Abductor RemandedA psychiatric evaluationhas found that allegedchild abductor De’EdraGibson is fit to enter aplea in the case of suchcharges.The 29-year-old hair

stylist pleaded not guiltyon four counts of abduc-tion when she appearedbefore MagistrateSamuel Mckinney yes-

terday morning.The charges included

abducting an unmarriedperson under the age of16 – the youngest was athree –year-old boy.Gibson’s plea comes

only a month after herAttorney HowardThompson argued incourt that she had a histo-ry of mental illness,adding that just last year,she had been treated atNew York’s Brookdale

University HospitalMedical Center.How having opted to

have her matter heard inthe Supreme Court, Ms.Gibson will enter a pleaagain.As the Magistrate

Court was not at libertyto grant her bail, Ms.Gibson was remanded tothe Bahamas Departmentof Corrections until June24th.

BY BERTHONY MCDERMOTTJournal Staff Writer

PLP SENATOR SLAMS investors that has helpedto build this country.However, I questionwhether there was a needfor this CommercialEnterprise Act or the saidamendments to theImmigration Bill. “, shesaid. Senator Coleby-Davis

said, “The BahamasInvestment Authority, ifgiven the power andresources could efficientlyand effectively managethis process for the coun-try, and if there are appar-ent inefficiencies in thework permit process at theImmigration level; thenlet us fix it.”Educating people and

investing in their growth,she added, is what the newBahamas should be doing. The PLP senator

admonished the govern-ment to rethink theamendment and try totighten what is allowed orremove some professionsfrom the list to avoid any

g See page 4...



future which is verybright. “As you are all aware,

we feel that there are sig-nificant jobs on the hori-zon in Grand Bahama.Obviousl, we have theCarnival deal that’s in thefinal stages of beingagreed upon, which willlead to hopefully 1000jobs,” the TourismMinister said. On hand for Monday’s

signing, Bahamas Hotel

Managerial UnionPresident Obie Fergusonwho said throughout theprocess, the governmentmaintained employeeswages and benefits as farback as October and that,he said, showed goodfaith.“That was something

that we relied on andwhere we had one or twomembers who had aninterest in trying toresolve it at $2.7 million.We indicated that the gov-ernment in this casethrough the Minister,

would have been veryunderstanding.“To this day, as we

speak, those members arestill being paid theirsalaries and their benefits.So for that, I want tothank the Minister for thatexercise,” he said. However, the union

chief suggested that mov-ing forward, VSEP pack-ages be incorporated incollective agreements toavoid at times tense nego-tiations.“The Tourism industry

is the kind of industry that

you want to have peace,you want to have stability;you want to have a certainamount of security andproductivity for our num-

ber one industry. “I believe that our rela-

tionship is critical as wemove forward,” the UnionPresident said.

According to MinisterD’Aguilar, workers couldreceive the first paymentby the middle of themonth.

A4 The Bahama Journal

Tuesday - May 14th, 2019 NationalNEWS

THE MINISTRY OF FINANCIALSERVICES, TRADE & INDUSTRY

THE PORT DEPARTMENT, MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT & LOCAL GOVERNMENT

17 GROUPS CONTRIBUTED

Contract Signed For Grand Lucayan VSEPS

retail trade accommoda-tion and food services,and financial serviceswere leading contribu-tors.”For the Real Estate

industry, she said thatreal value addedincreased by $16 millionor 0.9 per cent.

She added thatWholesale and RetailTrade grew by $43 mil-lion or 3 per cent whencompared to 2017. The Accommodation

and Food ServicesIndustry was also said tohave showed a com-bined increase of $253million. She said that this is

influenced by the 7.9 percent rebound posted fortourist arrivals in 2018. The Financial and

Insurance Sector wassaid to have grown by$42 million or 4.2 percent in comparison to2017’s figures. This, she indicated,

was supported by favor-able developments in

domestic credit andextended by theFinancial Institutionscompared to the previ-ous year. Mrs. Newbold added

that household expendi-ture also went up by$140 million or 1.9 percent. Other sectors con-

tributing to this growth

include Non ProfitInstitutions servinghouseholds grew by $7mor 2.2 per cent, Exportsand Goods and Servicesby $244 million or 6.3per cent; while theimports of goods andservices dived by $23million or 0.4 per cent. Based on the revised

figures, real GDP

growth was -0.4 percentin 2013, -0.1 percent in2014, 1 percent in 2015,-1.7 percent in 2016 and1.4 percent in 2017. The figures were

based on data availableup to this past March.The full report will be

made available on thedepartment’s website onor before June 13th.



PLP SENATOR SLAMS further dishonest entry andinflux of foreign workersplacing a greater disadvan-tage on Bahamians. Attorney General

Senator Carl repeatedlystressed yesterday that thetemporary visa to be grant-ed to foreigners coming toThe Bahamas is only forthe purpose for making

income generating deci-sions of their IBC’s orinvestment funds. During his contribution

on the Senate, he said, “weare taking decisions tosave Bahamian jobs, tosave the BahamianFinancial Services Sector.“The truth of the matter

is that without a major shiftin the practical administra-tion of Immigration poli-

cies, without a major list ofrestrictive practices in rela-tion to the core incomegenerating activities, andstrategic decision makingof these IBC’s; we willlose hundreds, if not thou-sands of jobs in theFinancial Sector, and it isthe loss such jobs; middleclass jobs, upper-middle-class jobs and jobs for the‘not quite poor’.”



vol. 31 - no. 82 tuesday - may 14th, 2019 75 cents...

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