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Bahamas PM pleased with economic performance
2/24/2011
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Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham said Wednesday that the local economy “has turned the corner” and that The Bahamas could look forward to better days.
In a mid-year budget statement to Parliament, Ingraham said that the improvement in the local economy is “solidly anchored in our fundamental fiscal anchors and is designed to return us to more prudent and sustainable levels of government debt over time.
“… there are clear indications that the economy has turned the corner and that, despite the risks that are present, we can look forward to better days ahead,” he added.
Ingraham said that his administration, as with other governments around the world, had executed an economic and fiscal strategy tailored to the vital needs of the local economy and citizens.
“Along with key structural reforms designed to enhance the domestic business environment, we are positioning The Bahamas to gain maximum advantage from the modest, though ongoing, economic recovery that is underway.”
The Prime Minister said that the first half of the budget year occurred in a global economic environment in which there was continuing but modest growth, especially in the United States economy.
“This had obvious implications for the performance of the Bahamian economy and our fiscal performance in the first half,” he said, noting that the U.S. economy is now forecast to expand by three per cent in 2011, which is almost three-quarters of a point higher than was projected last October, largely on the basis of the fiscal package passed in late 2010.
Ingraham said that growth in the emerging and developing countries is expected to continue at its recent strong pace, averaging 6.5 per cent in 2011.
The Prime Minister said that his administration believes the local economy will grow by at least two per cent this year, adding that it will be supported by growth in the key tourist markets.
In addition, Ingraham said that various local projects such as the multi-billion Baha Mar tourism project, “will provide impetus for the construction sector.
“As a result, domestic business activity and employment conditions are projected to improve further. It will be recalled that, in the 2010/11 Budget I projected total Government recurrent revenue for the year of US$1,492 million. (and) total Government recurrent expenditure was estimated at US $1,554 million. “Given our total revenue and expenditure projections, we forecasted a deficit of three per cent of Gross Domestic Product for the 2010/11 Budget, down from 5.7 per cent of GDP in 2009/10.”
He said revenue collections for the July to December 2010 period amounted to US$584.1 million, down by nearly US$50 million for the corresponding period in 2009.
Ingraham said that his administration is now making adjustments to recurrent and capital expenditures for the next six months. noting that total expenditure on recurrent and capital expenditure will be contained and remain within the parameters established in the 2010-2011 budget.
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