by imon
Though overwhelmingly farcical, the Mid-Year Budget Statement of the PLP Government is nonetheless revealing. It showcased the unshakeably weak performance of Prime Minister Perry Christie when it comes to public administration and the oversight of public finance.
This farce is part of a greater PLP hoax, the magnitude of which is dawning on even some of the party’s more fervent supporters at the 2012 general election.
The Great PLP Hoax comprises at least two major dimensions. First, that Christie would be a different prime minister this time. Second, that the PLP would or could deliver the big-ticket items promised in its, “Charter for Governance” and in speeches made by Christie.
Either of these false premises beggared belief. Taken together, they are as unlikely as the Prime Minister refusing an opportunity to speak if offered a microphone.
Human beings are susceptible to magical thinking. Many voters bought into an elixir of promises made by the PLP in 2012, of which five years of poor governance from 2002 to 2007, should have proved a cautionary tale.
The party which failed to complete a single school in five years, promised to double the education budget. The PLP is now cutting the education budget.
The party which failed to make significant upgrades to the Defence Force’s complement of sea and marine vessels, promised to dramatically increase the same. We have now been told that the upgrades are not possible at this time.
NUMEROUS OCCASSIONS
The party which promised National Health Insurance does not appear remotely close to achieving this promise. Christie made this pledge one of his highest priorities when he campaigned for office in 2002. It is likely that he will never accomplish a pledge he made with great passion and on numerous occasions.
The party also promised to renationalize BTC, with the Prime Minister, since the general election, consistently pressing the point, month after month.
Now, the country has been advised that the Christie Administration will not renationalize BTC, and will not sell nine percent of shares to the Bahamian public as previously agreed by the FNM.
The PLP’s overpromising, implausible in the first instance, has unravelled in the face of sobering realities which existed even at the time the promises were made.
The laughable argument by some, that the PLP cannot meet many of its key promises because of the state of the government’s finances, is highly disingenuous.
The then Opposition PLP voted for successive national budgets from 2007 to 2012, and was aware of the global financial situation, even when it played the game of blaming the Ingraham Administration for much of the economic crisis.
In various countries, promises made in party manifestoes are typically costed by the parties and independent observers to in order to provide voters with a sense of reality in terms of promises made. What the PLP promised was a hoax of magical thinking.
The Education Budget has been roughly around $290 million annually. To double that would amount to some $580 million annually. Over a four-year period this would amount to some $2.3 billion in a $2 billion budget.
Not only was the promise wholly unrealistic. Since the election the Government has rushed to nuance what was a clear and unambiguous promise.
The FNM promised in Manifesto 2012 to deepen the harbour at Coral Harbour at a cost of $20 million and $120 million to acquire new vessels. The PLP “upped the ante” saying they would purchase one more vessel than the FNM. The number of vessels the Christie Administration will purchase, if any, is anyone’s guess.
GAME-PLAYING
The promise to buy back a majority stake in BTC is more involved, and has been marked by game-playing. The FNM sold 51percent of BTC for $217 million. The Government could not simply buy back two percent for a majority stake. If it wants to buy back a majority stake it must borrow the sum necessary to buy the entire company.
If the Christie Government proposes to renationalize the privatized BTC then it will have to purchase all shares owned by Cable &Wireless (CW) at the current valuation of the company.
The price paid by C&W was an average of valuations by two leading international investment specialists, including KPMG with a valuation of approximately $413 million and Citi, with a valuation of approximately $422 million. The Prime Minister might explain where his administration is going to find such funds.
The PLP may also wish to explain why they are not preceding with the sale of nine percent of the BTC shares to the Bahamian public as planned by the FNM. Such a sale would bring some $37 million to the Public Treasury reducing the need for at least that sum of new government borrowings.
Incidentally, the Christie Administration may wish to inform the public that the government received more dividends from BTC last year when the state owned 49 percent of the company than what was received by government when it owned 100 percent of BTC.
Costing National Health Insurance is more involved, though it is suffice to say that it would cost hundreds of millions, including significant start-up costs.
Taken together, the promises made by the PLP in terms of those noted in this column, approaches approximately several billion dollars. And, this doesn’t even include many other promises made in the PLP’s charter and elsewhere, including a new Parliament building.
That the Prime Minister and his party like to make promises galore, is old news. Why anyone would continue to believe such empty promises is beyond even reasonable belief.
What is certain, however, is that Christie will keep right on promising, with little to show for it, until the day he leaves office.
The party which failed to complete a single school in five years, promised to double the education budget. The PLP is now cutting the education budget.
The party which failed to make significant upgrades to the Defence Force’s complement of sea and marine vessels, promised to dramatically increase the same. We have now been told that the upgrades are not possible at this time.
NUMEROUS OCCASSIONS
The party which promised National Health Insurance does not appear remotely close to achieving this promise. Christie made this pledge one of his highest priorities when he campaigned for office in 2002. It is likely that he will never accomplish a pledge he made with great passion and on numerous occasions.
The party also promised to renationalize BTC, with the Prime Minister, since the general election, consistently pressing the point, month after month.
Now, the country has been advised that the Christie Administration will not renationalize BTC, and will not sell nine percent of shares to the Bahamian public as previously agreed by the FNM.
The PLP’s overpromising, implausible in the first instance, has unravelled in the face of sobering realities which existed even at the time the promises were made.
The laughable argument by some, that the PLP cannot meet many of its key promises because of the state of the government’s finances, is highly disingenuous.
The then Opposition PLP voted for successive national budgets from 2007 to 2012, and was aware of the global financial situation, even when it played the game of blaming the Ingraham Administration for much of the economic crisis.
In various countries, promises made in party manifestoes are typically costed by the parties and independent observers to in order to provide voters with a sense of reality in terms of promises made. What the PLP promised was a hoax of magical thinking.
The Education Budget has been roughly around $290 million annually. To double that would amount to some $580 million annually. Over a four-year period this would amount to some $2.3 billion in a $2 billion budget.
Not only was the promise wholly unrealistic. Since the election the Government has rushed to nuance what was a clear and unambiguous promise.
The FNM promised in Manifesto 2012 to deepen the harbour at Coral Harbour at a cost of $20 million and $120 million to acquire new vessels. The PLP “upped the ante” saying they would purchase one more vessel than the FNM. The number of vessels the Christie Administration will purchase, if any, is anyone’s guess.
GAME-PLAYING
The promise to buy back a majority stake in BTC is more involved, and has been marked by game-playing. The FNM sold 51percent of BTC for $217 million. The Government could not simply buy back two percent for a majority stake. If it wants to buy back a majority stake it must borrow the sum necessary to buy the entire company.
If the Christie Government proposes to renationalize the privatized BTC then it will have to purchase all shares owned by Cable &Wireless (CW) at the current valuation of the company.
The price paid by C&W was an average of valuations by two leading international investment specialists, including KPMG with a valuation of approximately $413 million and Citi, with a valuation of approximately $422 million. The Prime Minister might explain where his administration is going to find such funds.
The PLP may also wish to explain why they are not preceding with the sale of nine percent of the BTC shares to the Bahamian public as planned by the FNM. Such a sale would bring some $37 million to the Public Treasury reducing the need for at least that sum of new government borrowings.
Incidentally, the Christie Administration may wish to inform the public that the government received more dividends from BTC last year when the state owned 49 percent of the company than what was received by government when it owned 100 percent of BTC.
Costing National Health Insurance is more involved, though it is suffice to say that it would cost hundreds of millions, including significant start-up costs.
Taken together, the promises made by the PLP in terms of those noted in this column, approaches approximately several billion dollars. And, this doesn’t even include many other promises made in the PLP’s charter and elsewhere, including a new Parliament building.
That the Prime Minister and his party like to make promises galore, is old news. Why anyone would continue to believe such empty promises is beyond even reasonable belief.
What is certain, however, is that Christie will keep right on promising, with little to show for it, until the day he leaves office.
Comments