01292021 BUSINESS

business@tribunemedia.net

FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2021

$3.90

$4.02

$3.91

IMF calls for austerity the ‘hundreds of millions’

$4.01

Govt ‘discussing’ in income tax reform

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

T

HE International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday exposed the harsh austerity Bahamians face post-COVID by urging the government to increase its “net income” by more than $300m over four years.

The fund, in its full Article IV report on The Bahamas, argued that strict fiscal measures are required to get the national finances back on track over the next decade to meet the Fiscal Responsibility Act’s targets following the debt and deficit blow-out produced by the pandemic and Hurricane Dorian.

The Washington DCbased organisation, while

• Recommends unheard-of budget surpluses • Tells govt to start preparing Bahamian public • $600m capital raise from local investors plan

JAMES SMITH admitting that new and/or increased taxes and deep spending cuts were not practical in the near-term as this would only depress the

Bahamian economy further, setting back its post-COVID recovery, warned that major adjustments will be required in the mid-2020s to ensure The Bahamas’ hits its 50 percent debt-to-GDP target ratio by 2030-2031.

“To achieve the debt target by fiscal year 20302031, staff recommended additional fiscal effort of about three percent of GDP over four years starting in fiscal year 2022-2023, and a constant primary surplus of about five percent of GDP thereafter,” the IMF urged.

“To preserve credibility,

the authorities should start preparing measures and communicate a timetable to implement them once the pandemic-related uncertainty subsides.” The term “fiscal effort” is defined as “the profit a government collects”, or the positive difference between revenues and spending, estimating what the Public Treasury can collect and the government’s capacity to achieve this.

With one percent of Bahamian GDP equivalent to

SEE PAGE 4

Finlaysons lose battle to halt $2.2m tax debt sale

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE Finlayson family yesterday lost its bid to overturn a Supreme Court order compelling the sale of a downtown Bay Street property to settle a near$2.2m tax debt owed to the government.

The Court of Appeal, in a unanimous verdict, refused to grant the former Commonwealth Brewery/ Burns House owners extra time to appeal Justice Indra Charles’ order despite their arguments that another judge had granted a blanket “injunction” against the Treasurer and attorney general to stop the government selling or interfering with any of their property assets.

That injunction, granted

by Justice Keith Thompson in a separate action brought

• Appeal Court upholds order to sell Bay Street property • Finds not covered by injunction over govt ‘unpaid rent’ • ‘Set-off’ talks failed as court doubts ‘post-dated’ returns

MARK FINLAYSON by the Finlayson family’s General Bahamian Companies (GBC) entity, involved a claim for unpaid rent said to be owed by the government for use of

IMF fears 13,500 missed benefits

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

SOME 13,500 “informal economy” workers may have missed out on COVID unemployment benefits, the IMF said yesterday, adding that “execution fell short” on some government assistance initiatives.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its full Article IV report on The Bahamas, said several thousand self-employed and other persons may not have had access to government-funded

benefits because they remain outside the formal economy and make no social security contributions.

“Only self-employed workers in tourism-related businesses are covered by the unemployment benefit extension. This means that self-employed informal workers for other industries (many indirectly linked to tourism) and informal employees are not included among the unemployment beneficiaries,” the Washington DC-based fund said.

SEE PAGE 5

Auditor General set to probe COVID spending

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE government has pledged that the AuditorGeneral will probe all COVID-19 related spending and revenue losses in bid to uncover any “irregularities”, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revealed.

The fund, in its newlyreleased full Article IV report on The Bahamas, said this effort - which will see the Auditor-General complete his investigation of pandemic-related actions taken in the prior 2019-2020

fiscal year by March 2021 was key to fostering public trust in the government and ensuring value-for-money was obtained for every dollar spent.

“Transparency and accountability of the emergency expenditure measures are key to facilitate verification and audit,” the IMF urged. “The authorities are committed to publishing procurement contracts of COVID-19 related spending with beneficial ownership information on their website in the coming months, and

SEE PAGE 7

another property.

GBC was described as the parent entity for Dove Properties Ltd, the vehicle that owned No.56 Bay Street, and the subject of Justice Charles’ sale order as the property upon which $2.2m in outstanding real property tax was owed.

The Finlaysons and their attorney, Desmond Edwards, tried to argue that Justice Thompson’s “injunction” applied to Dove Properties as a GBC subsidiary. They also alleged that Justice Charles failed to to into account their negotiations with the government to “set-off” the real property tax debt against the unpaid

rent owed to them.

However, finding that the talks appeared to have been unsuccessful, the Court of Appeal also questioned if and when - Dove Properties became a GBC subsidiary.

While Mark Finlayson, son of Garet “Tiger” Finlayson, produced GBC annual returns showing it held two shares in Dove Properties, the Court of Appeal noted that the stamp on these corporate filings “post-dated” Justice Charles’ sale order of September 4, 2020.

Appeal justice Milton Evans, detailing the background to the court’s verdict,

SEE PAGE 2

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net THE government has already started discussing potential income tax reforms, the IMF revealed yesterday, although it has admitted any changes will take “years” for The Bahamas to implement.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its full Article IV report on The Bahamas for 2020, again sought to nudge The Bahamas towards more progressive and “equitable” taxation options such as an individual and/or corporate income tax.

And it disclosed that the government, in response to its findings, had confirmed that internal talks are already underway to explore the feasibility of an income tax system in The Bahamas. These revelations came as the Minnis administration voiced optimism it could achieve $300m in extra revenues and spending cuts if required - an increase upon the $200m it is targeting.

“The authorities reiterated their commitment to fiscal discipline once the crisis subsides,” the IMF report said. “Most of the COVID-19 measures have time limits, and thus the fiscal balance should swiftly improve once the recovery sets in.

“They have also started discussing property and income tax policy reforms, and are seeking technical assistance from the international community, but acknowledge that implementation will take years.”

Income, and/or corporate income, taxes have always been a controversial topic in The Bahamas which has no history of them. VAT was preferred as the central element of tax reform under the last Christie

administration since its selfenforcement mechanism at each stage of the production chain, and reliance on businesses to collect it, was seen as one where compliance was easier to attain while administrative costs and complexities would be less.

However, The Bahamas’ present consumption-based tax structure is regressive in that it imposes a disproportionate burden on lower income Bahamians who end up paying a greater percentage of their income in taxes than their wealthier counterparts.

Data produced in the IMF’s Article IV report, which appears to have been taken from a Deloitte & Touche study conducted for the Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) in 2018, suggested that a corporate income tax could generate revenues in excess of four percent of gross domestic product (GDP) or $400m if implemented.

“Tax policy reforms are essential to a robust and equitable fiscal consolidation. Without income taxation, The Bahamas relies on VAT, stamp duties, business license fees and, to a lesser extent, property taxation,” the IMF said, calling for the latter to at least be made more progressive via increased taxation of highvalue real estate.

“While there is scope to enhance revenues within the existing tax policy regime, staff also recommended building comprehensive real estate price indices to provide a basis for market valuebased property taxation and consider strengthening the progressive features of the current system by increasing the rate on higher value residences,” the fund added.

“Over the medium-term, income taxation can help

SEE PAGE 4

PAGE 2, Friday, January 29, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Environmental stewardship can be good for business A IAN FERGUSON LL types of businesses engage in activities that have environmental consequences. Stewardship refers to the responsibility that companies have to understand and manage their impacts on the environment in any number of ways.

Practicing stewardship can help a business find sustainable practices, improve its reputation among consumers and even save money.

Corporate leaders are becoming more concerned about the challenges facing our planet and its

inhabitants. Many are now convinced they must fundamentally change how their companies operate in order to be sustainably effective. Climate change, water shortages, decreasing biodiversity, unequal distribution of wealth and economic opportunity, plus social unrest and cyber attacks, are among the acknowledged threats to the sustainability of businesses around the world.

While the planet has experienced a temporary break, due to the slowdown in business activity as a result of COVID-19,

geologists still argue that sustained change must occur if we are going to save our planet. Businesses have their part to play.

Not all businesses engage in active stewardship. Some perform activities that have a minimal impact on the environment, while others focus on different areas of corporate responsibility. When a business does engage in stewardship it must generally state its commitment to bear responsibility for the effects its operations have on the environment.

Many businesses work with

environmental agencies to improve their practices.

Stewardship can include one or more of a long list of specific practices and elements. For businesses engaged in manufacturing this includes sourcing raw materials that are renewable, and using chemicals and processes that are safe for the environment. Stewardship can include a reduction in automobile use, whether it comes from a hybrid vehicle fleet or ordering items in bulk to cut down on the need for shipping. For some it is the introduction of solar-powered businesses.

For all types of businesses, using e-mail and mobile devices to reduce paper consumption is a form of stewardship.

Stewardship in business has a number of potential benefits. Collectively it reduces energy usage, protects natural resources and improves public health. For individual businesses that commit themselves to stewardship, the decision can be good for business.

• NB: Ian R Ferguson is a talent management and organisational development consultant, having completed graduate studies

BY

with regional and international universities. He has served organsations, both locally and globally, providing relevant solutions to their business growth and development issues. He may be contacted at tcconsultants@coralwave.com.

Finlaysons lose battle to halt $2.2m tax debt sale FROM PAGE ONE

THEO BURROWS

SAMANTHA SAUNDERS

ANAYAH MILLER

RONIQUE BASTIAN

STEP Bahamas elects new board THE Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Bahamas branch has unveiled its newlyelected board for 2021, featuring 12 director and four officer positions.

The election results were announced via the branch’s virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM), which was held on Tuesday, January 5, 2021.

Immediately following the AGM, the newly-elected Board met to confirm the positions of chairman, vice-chairman, assistant secretary and representatives on the STEP working committees.

Those elected are: • Theo Burrows, chairman and Caribbean regional representative • Samantha Saunders,

vice-chairman and alternate Caribbean regional representative • Anayah Miller, treasurer and Caribbean conference committee representative • Ronique Bastian, secretary • Alexis Miller, assistant secretary • Anita Bain, director • George Carey, director • Shivron Gay, director • Sirhan Johnson, director • Patwell Rose, director • Clarice Strachan, director • Taryn Turnquest-Gordon, director “There are a number of vital initiatives that must be implemented by the newly-elected Board in order for the strategic re-emergence and sustainable growth of the STEP Bahamas Branch. We must

work together and set our minds to take deliberate and bold steps, with the goals of strengthening and advancing the interests of our members both locally and internationally,” said Theo Burrows, its chairman.

STEP is the worldwide professional body that provides education, training, representation and networking for executives specialising in trusts, estate planning, executorships, accounting, banking and related tax and administration matters.

The STEP Bahamas Branch was founded in 1996, and is the largest in the Caribbean and the Latin America region with over 400 members.

said the Treasurer initiated legal action to recover the real property tax debt owed

by Dove Properties for No.56 Bay Street on August 8, 2016.

“As of June 21, 2016, the total amount of real property tax and surcharge payable ... in respect of the property is $2.178m,” the government alleged. “On June 21, 2016, the treasurer issued a certificate under section 38(2) of the Act stating that as of January 1, 2016, the outstanding tax was due and payable by” Dove Properties.

A judgment for this sum was entered against the Finlaysons’ company on May 10, 2019, although its execution was stayed until November 30 that year.

However, on February 18, 2019, GBC obtained the injunction order from Justice Thompson over the unpaid rent dispute with the government.

“Armed with the Order from Justice Thompson, [Dove Properties] then sought to arrange a set-off with the parties involved in the two actions (which I should note have not been consolidated),” appeal justice Evans wrote. “The basis of the request by the applicant for a set-off was the assertion that (Dove Properties) herein is a subsidiary of GBC. “It appears that this attempt to effect a set-off failed, and by summons filed herein on June 30, 2020, the (treasurer) moved to enforce the consent judgment. On September 4, 2020, Justice Charles granted the order for the sale of the property and it is that order which was the subject of the proposed appeal.”

Dove Properties was

some 24 days late in filing its appeal which Mark Finlayson, as the company’s director and vice-president, blamed on the COVID-19 restrictions and the problems this had created for interviewing witnesses with comorbidities.

He argued that No.56 Bay Street’s sale would cause “severe and irreparable” financial harm to Dove Properties and his family, but the Court of Appeal dismissed the bid for extra time to appeal on the basis that there were no “real prospects of success”.

“Notwithstanding the number of grounds of appeal, Mr Edwards’ submissions were reduced to the following points,” appeal justice Evans found.

“Firstly, that as the applicant company is a subsidiary of GBC, the property to which the Order for sale relates is covered and protected by the Injunction granted by Justice Thompson.

“Secondly, that Justice Charles ought to have given proper consideration to the fact that a set-off was being discussed between the parties.” The Court of Appeal, though, had some trouble over whether Dove Properties is a GBC subsidiary.

“It should be noted that by his supplemental affidavit, [Mark] Finlayson produced what purported to be amendments to the annual returns for the years 2019 and 2020. These returns show GBC as the holder of two of the issued shares in the applicant company,” appeal justice Evans found.

“There are a number of things which are unclear relative to these returns, the primary one being when it is alleged GBC became a shareholder in the applicant company. However, what is clear is that on September 4, 2020, when the enforcement

order was made, there was no evidence before Justice Charles to support the applicant’s claim that the applicant was a subsidiary of GBC. “This was seen from the fact that the date stamp which appears at the bottom of the document post-dated the making of the Order.”

Similarly, the Court of Appeal found that No.56 Bay Street was not caught

by Justice Thompson’s injunction because it did not specify what property it was referring to.

This is not the first case in recent times where the Finlaysons are being pursued over alleged debts.

They were also before the Court of Appeal last year in an unsuccessful bid to halt Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation’s effort to recover the remaining multi-million dollar debt said to be owed over the construction of their luxury yacht, the 147-foot Maratani X. The Finlaysons have long been prominent figures in the Bahamian business community, having sold their interest in Commonwealth Brewery/Burns House (now 700 Island Wines and Spirits) to Heineken for $125m almost a decade ago.

Other ventures they have been involved with, most notably the now-defunct City Markets supermarket chain and the acquisition of Solomon’s Mines, the luxury goods retailer, have been notably less successful.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 29, 2021, PAGE 3

WORKERS BLAST AS ‘UNFAIR’ REDUNDANCY SUSPENSION

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net A TRADE union advocate yesterday argued that the government’s suspension of full termination pay for furloughed workers was unfair and weighted in favour of Bahamian employers.

Dave Beckford, the General Workers Union’s vice-president, said the suspension of this Employment Act provision by the government’s emergency powers is now disadvantaging workers who have been temporarily laid-off for more than ten months because it allows employers to not pay full redundancy packages.

Arguing that workers in this situation were falling deeper into financial despair, especially since the government’s weekly unemployment benefit is

DAVE BECKFORD now $100, Mr Beckford said the only beneficiaries were hotels and other companies as they can presently escape the costly burden of financing termination packages.

And, despite the suspension of the Employment Act’s section 28(c), which mandates that employers must pay full severance to staff sent home for more than 12 weeks or 90 days, he added that several resorts Baha Mar, the Ocean Club and the British Colonial

Hilton - had still elected to terminate staff amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Beckford and several Atlantis employees, who attended yesterday’s press conference, urged the Paradise Island resort to either pay full severance to those who want it or follow Baha Mar’s lead by paying furloughed workers up to 30-40 percent of their regular salary.

“It appears that the government is more partial towards the employer when it comes to the issue of furlough in this COVID-19 environment,” Mr Beckford said .”The emergency order put in place by the government in our view is seen as discrimination against the rights of hotel workers who wish to be redundant under the law.”

Mr Beckford, who was recently himself terminated

by the Paradise Island resort, added that Atlantis would be “surprised” at how many employees would opt for redundancy over the present $100 weekly unemployment benefit being offered by the government. “It has been almost a year that hotel workers have been laid off,” he added.

“On the other hand, the employer has the right to lay-off an employee, call the employee back to work, send the worker back home and make the worker’s position redundant. This, in their view, is not fair to hotel workers. Who is hearing their cries?

“I’m begging, particularly Atlantis, because Baha Mar has exercised redundancy, the Hilton has done it and the Ocean Club just did it recently. So what is going on with Atlantis?”

Peter Goudie, the

Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation’s (BCCEC) labour specialist, told Tribune Business that when he heard cries on favour of redundancy packages versus the unemployment benefits extension, he asked himself: “What do you do when your redundancy payment runs out, and you don’t have a job?

“To me, getting a redundancy payment right now in some ways is very shortsighted. I know people are hungry, but when that runs out, you have nothing.

These people right now still have a job and if the economy starts to come back, which of course we hope will happen, very shortly people will start getting back to work.”

Mr Beckford, however, challenged Mr Goudie’s assertion and

wanted to know “how long” the government will maintain the emergency orders. The present extension takes them to May 23, and with the suspension of full termination for furloughed workers due to last for a month after the orders expire, this could result in some workers being temporarily laid-off for 15 months without a pay-off.

He added: “At the end of the day they’re just hoping.

Remember, the last thing they said was they will open up in July. They did not. They only opened up a couple of weeks ago, they called workers back, then they sent them home. This is unpredictable. Give the workers who want to be redundant, give them their packages, as simple as that.”

He vowed that yesterday’s press conference is “just the beginning”.

TOUR OPERATORS MIXED ON US TRAVEL UPGRADE STEP to get financial

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net TOUR operators yesterday said the improved US health travel advisory on The Bahamas was unlikely to produce a significant visitor increase over the near-term.

Murray Sweeting, operations manager for Tru Bahamian Food Tour, told Tribune Business that the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) should have given the country a higher rating than “Level 3” - which keeps it at a “high” risk level.

“I think that we’ve been extremely responsible as a country almost to a fault,” he added. “We’ve been responding to the challenges and shutting down when necessary, closing our borders when necessary.

So I don’t think that that is really fair to us, because we have been responding to risks and we have been doing so for the initial outbreak.”

The prime minister revealed on Wednesday that the CDC was poised to upgrade The Bahamas from “Level 4” to “Level 3”. The shift would move The Bahamas from “very high risk”, in relation to COVID-19, to “high” risk.

This, in turn, downgrades the CDC’s warning to US citizens from “travellers should avoid all travel to The Bahamas” to one where they should “reconsider travel”.

Dr Hubert Minnis said: “I am pleased to announce today that following a reassessment by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, The Bahamas will be moved down to a ‘Level 3’ travel health notice from the more serious ‘Level 4’.

“This reassessment came after discussions between myself, other Bahamian

officials and the US government. We will, I believe, be moved to ‘Level 3’ because the CDC sees how much progress we have made and are convinced that we will continue to be vigilant.”

Still, Keva Carey, general manager of BahTours, said she was unsure whether the CDC’s upgrade will have any impact on short-term demand among US travellers. She added: “It’s yet to be determined how that’s going to affect short-term vacations, because what we saw since the country opened there were three types of visitors - from grandparents, parents and kids, the multi-generational families.

“Then there are ‘millennials’. Then there are families with parents along with their adult kids. I imagine that being dropped down to level three now will probably affect our ability to get long-term visitors.” Ms Carey defined the latter category as persons who stay for a month or longer.

She said: “A five-day vacation followed by a 10-day quarantine is not so attractive. But maybe if you come into The Bahamas for a few months, having quarantine once you get back is not much of an issue.

So the fact that we have moved down to level three may make those people feel more safe about long term travel.”

Much confusion and uncertainty still exists over whether the US plans to impose a mandatory quarantine on all incoming travellers in a bid to contain skyrocketing COVID-19 infection rates and deaths.

For a briefing given to international media on Tuesday by Ian Brownlee, the US State Department’s acting assistant secretary for consular affairs, and Marty Cetron, the CDC’s director for global migration and quarantine, cast

some doubt on whether a quarantine will be made mandatory at the federal level.

In response to questions on the issue, a transcript quoted Mr Brownlee as saying: “We’re not at this time issuing federal quarantine orders, but we do have - and have had - up on the CDC website guidance regarding the ways to increase the safety of international travel......

“Staying home for a period of time, seven days if you have a negative postarrival test taken between day three and five, as is recommended on our website, allows the quarantine period to be shortened.

“Most of this return recommendation really falls in the jurisdiction of state and local authorities, and each, the state and local authorities, may have their own specific advice, but the CDC’s standard advice on this can be found on our website. So these are recommendations from CDC.” Meanwhile Alfredo Bridgewater, owner/ operator of CocoNutz in Freeport, did not sound so optimistic or upbeat about the CDC upgrade. He said it had been “too long” coming, as his business has not been operating for more than a year.

While agreeing that the revised US health travel advisory was a step in the right direction, he said: “I am now looking for alternative work because I’ve held out as long as I can.

But that’s good news for tourism and I hope this comes back.”

“It’s good that the restrictions have been lifted, but I’m not sure if it will be enough for our industry to rebound because I’m at the point where I have to find another job. Unfortunately, I may have to close shop and find other work

at least for the immediate future.

“I still have the equipment and the tools, so I may decide to just rent bicycles to guests that come and ask me so I will still be around. But it wouldn’t be in the form of tours where visitors really share the experience.”

Astra Nottage, marketing director for My Own Watersports, said: “Although we are still out to sea, we can see a glimpse of land in our distant future. The advisory does not give us an overwhelming feeling of relief, but it’s moving in the right direction. The new cases reported in The Bahamas recently have been relatively mild and we have fortunately witnessed a decline in the daily reported cases.

“The tier three advisory is also understandable given that the Bahamian government has decided to take precautionary measures and extend the state of emergency until May 23, 2021. Travellers should be warned of the possibility that businesses may close without forewarning. “ She added that her company’s bookings are “100 percent digital”, and that it has the capacity to facilitate bookings while following the necessary precautions.

Ms Nottage said: “Eighty percent of our guests are from the US. Although we are capable of operating safely, the tier three advisory coupled with the new US travel restrictions will definitely anchor sales for the next few months.

“The tourism industry will definitely feel the effects of this pandemic for years to come, and we do not anticipate a quick fix. However, we are staying hopeful and working diligently to provide appropriate health and safety protocols for the return of tourists to our shores.”

sector ‘back where it needs to be’

By YOURI KEMP Tribune Business Reporter ykemp@tribunemedia.net

THE newly-elected chairman for the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Bahamas branch yesterday said he is focused on getting financial services “back where it needs to be”.

Theo Burrows, also a partner with the Graham, Thompson & Company law firm, told Tribune Business “there are a lot of initiatives going on with STEP”.

He added that he wants industry professionals to be “more tech-savvy” to get “things back in line”, as well as ensure STEP assists its members through the COVID-19 pandemic.

“During this time, I have noticed that a lot of members that probably were laid-off or in a transition, we still want to keep them relevant, educate them and train them, so we have a lot of programes for them to remain involved with the industry,” Mr Burrows said.

He added that language courses are a critical for persons wanting to remain engaged with STEP. Mr

Burrows said he is planning partnerships with the Brazilian and Cuban embassies to seek technical support for Portuguese and Spanish tutoring.

“In harsh times like this it’s time to evaluate and readjust, and see how best you can pivot yourself and put yourself forward. Now is the time to offer some qualifications and programmes, as a lot of people are sitting at home,” Mr Burrows said.

He added that he is lining up training courses and certifications for his membership in readiness for the economy to open back up, adding that the trust and estate planning industry has many opportunities to “take advantage of”.

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

REAL ESTATE BARGAINS

1. 6.29 acres at Coral Harbor between Villa d Rosa and Coral Vista, asking $100,000.00 per acre as is. Improvements are needed.

2. Beach lot 2/3rds acre Adelaide Beach, asking $250,000.00 net. Owner financing available.

3. 220 plus acres of farmland in North Andros, asking $22,000.00 per acre. Owner financing available.

4. 1,000 acres tract of land in Cat Island, sea to sea, elevated, asking $30 million. Joint venture considered.

5. 6 acres of farmland, North Andros $25,000.00 per acre. Terms available.

6. Elevate homesites, Oceania Heights Resort, Exuma, $100,000.00 LAND DATA BASE LTD #2 NASSAU COURT Phone: 603-5263 Email: comsvcsgrp@gmail.com

PAGE 4, Friday, January 29, 2021

IMF calls for austerity in the ‘hundreds of millions’ FROM PAGE ONE

more than $100m, the IMF is thus recommending that the government must generate more than $300m per year in extra “net earnings” per year for a four-year period from 2022-2023 to bring its debt ratios back in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Act targets.

And a five percent primary surplus would require the government’s revenues to exceed its recurrent (fixed cost) spending by more than $500m per year even with debt interest payments stripped - a level of performance that The Bahamas has never come close to achieving post-independence.

Marlon Johnson, the Ministry of Finance’s acting financial secretary, yesterday said the government would be putting out a statement in response to the IMF’s full Article IV report and did not want to comment before that was issued. It was not received before press time last night.

However, James Smith, the former finance minister and ex-Central Bank governor, described the IMF’s fiscal consolidation and austerity recommendations

as “pie in the sky”. He explained: “You couldn’t reach those targets without any impact on GDP and employment, which doesn’t help us very much.”

Arguing that “it’s too narrow a measurement” to focus on debt-to-GDP ratios, which only assess a country’s debt as a percentage of its economic output, Mr Smith added that last year’s recession exceeded all the growth The Bahamas has achieved in the last 15 years.

While the IMF is forecasting that the Bahamian economy shrank by 16.2 percent in 2020 due to COVID-19, the Article IV report said the government’s own estimates place this closer to a 19 percent contraction.

“I think that any kind of forward looking plan over the next three-five years, 10-plus years, can only be wild guesstimates,” Mr Smith said. “That is for the simple reason over the next three to four years our economic fortunes are really tied to external events over which we have no control.”

He identified these factors as the speed, and success, of the global COVID-19 vaccine roll-out, especially

THE TRIBUNE

in key tourism source markets such as the US as well as in The Bahamas, as this will determine how quickly travel confidence returns and persons start coming back to this country for vacations.

Acknowledging that it will likely take three to four years for The Bahamas to recover the economic output lost to COVID-19, Mr Smith added: “We need to grow by 20 percent, and I can guarantee that we haven’t achieved that over the past 15 years.

“The sub-structure of the economy has not really changed, and before the pandemic we were unable to generate consistently more than two percent per annum growth, and that’s being generous.”

The IMF has forecast that The Bahamas will return to pre-COVID-19 levels by 2023 or 2024, predicting that a rapid snap-back of travel demand once vaccines are rolled out will lead to 8.5 percent GDP growth in 2022 and higher-than-average economic expansion over the following two years.

However, Mr Smith argued that it was hard to see The Bahamas “do a lot better in the next 15 years without some major structural changes in the economy”. He added: “The IMF seems to be using the same playbook that the pandemic will dissipate at some

point, and we go back on to the same trajectory. The damage to the economy is serious and long-term. The world has changed for us.”

Besides generating faster economic growth, Mr Smith said The Bahamas needs to focus on increasing employment “at medium and low levels”. He added: “That’s where you get aggregate demand from to keep the economy spinning.

“If we create a few thousand hi-tech jobs that will not do what needs to be done. You’ve got to mop up a lot of unemployment among the growth. What our analysis sometimes doesn’t look at is the day-to-day impact on the population of unemployment, low income and suppressed living standards for a group of people who may be losing their homes and selling cars to convert them to cash.

“That’s going on now, and is going to have an adverse effect on living standards.

They’re going to fall into poverty, and we’re going to have to drag them out with GDP growth. I don’t see that in the proposals by the IMF.” The fund, meanwhile, outlined the government’s plan for funding the remainder of its $2bn gross borrowing requirements for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. The deficit remains at its initial $1.327bn figure, which is a net amount representing the increase in national debt, as some of the $2bn will be used to refinance existing.

Revealing that the government plans to raise $600m from local investors in the Bahamian capital markets, the IMF said: “They expect to borrow an additional $150m from the Inter-American Development Bank, $100m from the World Bank Development Policy Operation, and up to $75m from international commercial banks under the World Bank Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) framework by June 2021.”

The fund added that the government has to-date settled $240m of the $360m in arrears payments, which it had planned to do over a three-year period. This was used as the justification for hiking the value-added tax (VAT) rate to 12 percent in the 2018-2019 budget.

Govt ‘discussing’ income tax reform FROM PAGE ONE achieve a more equitable income distribution. The government should also review its tax expenditures.” The IMF said a “sin tax” on alcohol and tobacco remains among the potential short-term measures it can employ to increase revenues.

It added of the government: “They remain committed to reaching the budgeted deficit target this fiscal year despite significant revenue shortfalls in the first quarter (a decline of about 45 percent compared to the same period last year).

“They are confident that, if needed, the various contingency measures could result in additional revenues and savings of up to $300m.

The Ministry of Finance has begun hosting quarterly meetings with line ministries to prevent unfunded commitments.”

The government is also more optimistic than the IMF about The Bahamas’ rebound prospects even though it is predicting a deeper recession than the Fund. “They have a lower growth projection for 2020 (-19 percent), but a higher forecast for 2021 (three percent),” the Article IV report added.

YOUR

“The authorities agree that the recovery will likely be gradual, with real GDP back at pre-pandemic levels by 2024. Confident about the Bahamian tourism sector’s attractiveness given the close proximity to the US, they see risks as tilted to the upside and are hopeful that the recent reopening could result in a significant pickup in tourist arrivals over the next few months.”

“In tax administration, the government should prioritise the review of the Department of Inland Revenue’s (DIR) organisational structure, completing the DIR Bill and appropriate amendments to existing tax laws to support the integration of the departments, develop strategic and operational plans, focusing on results-based management, and modernise core administration functions,” the IMF added.

“For Customs, priorities include establishing an effective exemption monitoring and verification unit, strengthening risk management functions, and developing capacity in post-clearance audit, while establishing a trusted trader programme that gives defined benefits to programme members.”

CHOICE FOR THE FAMILY WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/JOYFM1019

Request For Bids A cement company is requesting bids for trucking services for its two locations in New Providence.

Interested parties are invited to send an email to (truckbids242@gmail.com).

Bids will be received until February 9th, 2021

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 29, 2021, PAGE 5

IMF fears 13,500 BROKERAGES LIMIT TRADING IN GAMESTOP, SPARKING OUTCRY missed benefits Associated Press

FROM PAGE ONE

“There are approximately 13,500 informal workers in The Bahamas. However, limited information about inter-linkages of the economy would make effective targeting beyond the tourism sector difficult.” The informal economy refers to commercial activities not regulated or protected by the state, with the majority of participants in this area likely self-employed or micro businesses.

Calling for improvements in the efficiency and targeting of social spending, the IMF said that of all the funds dedicated to business and individual COVID-19 assistance during the final quarter of the 2019-2020 fiscal year - a sum equivalent to 1.2 percent of economic output just 0.8 percent of GDP was ultimately expended.

“Execution fell short given limited demand for some programmes and implementation delays,” the IMF said, adding that the government’s spending on Hurricane Dorian relief, as well as tax breaks granted to facilitate construction, will impose a burden on the Public Treasury equal to about 6 percent of GDP - more than $600m spread over four years.

The fund also identified what it described as “a duplication of services” where 15 percent of National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme beneficiaries also have private health insurance.

Turning to the Government-sponsored national food distribution effort, the IMF said: “The distribution of food support through walk-in demand, and the lack of up-to-date data and registration of poor households will significantly limit

the effectiveness of this policy.

“Moreover, food assistance leaves households with the need to request other types of benefits to cover day-to-day expenses.

The government will have to register the citizen again every time a benefit is granted. Since social assistance programmes are application-based, validating information is challenging because of limited digitalised information and limited information exchange across relevant stakeholders.”

It added: “As the country moves from the containment to the recovery phase, more emphasis should be placed on improving the efficiency and targeting of social spending. Without current information, it is impossible to target help and subsidise appropriately.

“Thus there is a pressing need to improve social statistics and collect more information about households to understand the income/wealth distribution and sources of income.

Digitising key information, particularly in the health sector, will be key.

“This will be critical to ensure an efficient and adequate healthcare system for the eventual new, postCOVID-19 normal. Staff recommended expanding telemedicine services and modernising the processes for data collection, flow, storage and analysis of health information,” the IMF added.

“This should be accompanied by a significant investment in connectivity, digital and medical equipment, training of health providers and development of digital health solutions that should be shared with the public - apps or wearables to track health data.”

To advertise in The Tribune, contact 502-2394

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that BERNES NELSON, of Palm Beach Street, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 29th day of January 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that ALIX HERARD JUSMA, of #55 B Gladstone Terrace, Freeport, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 22nd day of January 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that PRECIOUS MICHEL, of Khayton Way, Joe Farrington , P.O.Box N-3731 Nassau, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 22nd day of January 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence,

ROBINHOOD and other retail brokerages took steps to tamp down the speculative frenzy surrounding companies such as GameStop, but the actions only sparked more volatility in the market and an outcry from users of the platforms and some members of Congress who say small investors are being treated unfairly.

GameStop stock has rocketed from below $20 earlier this month to close around $350 on Wednesday as a volunteer army of investors on social media challenged big institutions who had placed market bets that the stock would fall.

The action was even wilder yesterday: The stock swung between $112 and $483 before closing down 43.2% at $197.44. It then shot back up 60% in aftermarket trading.

Robinhood said yesterday that investors would only be able to sell their positions and not open new ones in some cases. Robinhood also required investors to put up more of their own money for certain trades instead of using borrowed funds.

Besides GameStop, Robinhood said trading in stocks such as AMC Entertainment, Bed Bath & Beyond, Blackberry, Nokia, Express Inc., Koss Corp., American Airlines, Tootsie Roll, Trivago and Naked Brand Group would be affected by the new restrictions.

After the market closed, Robinhood said it would allow limited buying of those securities starting today.

The frenzy surrounding shares of GameStop, AMC and others has drawn in an

influx of investors with little or no experience trading stocks. That poses a challenge for brokerages that cater to small investors, said Andy Nybo, managing director at Burton-Taylor International Consulting.

“The brokers were forced to take action because they would be in the firing line if an unsophisticated investor loses money,” he said.

The surge in the use of stock options fueled by individual investors has some brokerages nervous and explains why some have taken steps to restrict trading. The potential issue centres on the possibility that a brokerage that isn’t capitalised well enough could run into trouble if a large number of investors suddenly lose money on options trades that don’t go their way.

Brokerages often lend investors money to make their trades, and could be exposed to huge losses if many investors are suddenly wiped out and can’t pay back the borrowed funds.

In an interview yesterday on CNBC’s “Closing Bell”, Interactive Brokers chairman and founder Thomas Peterffy laid out some of the concerns that prompted his brokerage to limit trading.

“If our customers are unable to pay for their losses, we have to put up our own money,” he said, adding that Interactive Brokers “doesn’t have a problem”, as it has $9bn in equity as a cushion.

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev also told CNBC that his company does not have a liquidity problem.

He said the steps yesterday were taken “preemptively” to protect the firm and its customers, and not at the

behest of any hedge fund or market maker.

“I know how Clorox and Lysol felt in the pandemic when they were running out of hand sanitizer and supplies,” Tenev said. “We just haven’t seen this level of concentrated interest marketwide in this small number of names before.”

Robinhood’s stated goal is to “democratise” investing and to bring more regular people into investing. The company has forced huge, groundshaking changes for the brokerage industry, such as its decision to charge zero commissions for customers trading stocks and exchange-traded funds.

That’s why some users took yesterday’s actions as an affront.

Robinhood investor Carlos Amaya said the app’s action yesterday was a disappointment to users like him who prided themselves on being a “different breed of investors”.

The 28-year-old school operations manager in Washington, DC, said his parents immigrated from El Salvador and he was the first person in his family to buy stocks when he started using the app in 2017. He’s since made several thousand dollars.

“We pride ourselves in the name Robinhood because we’re trying to make more money and be the next people at the top,” he said. “You would expect Robinhood to let us do our thing instead of blocking

us and saying it’s for our protection.”

Ziad Cohen, another Robinhood user, said he’ll ditch the trading portal once he sells his GameStop shares. He bought 85 shares last week, and says he is ahead by $20,000, even with the stock’s decline yesterday. The 19-year-old college student from Los Angeles plans to use that money to pay rent and his student loans.

Investors upset over the trading portals’ restrictions are getting some sympathy from some members of Congress.

Democratic Sen Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who is set to become chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, announced that he will hold a hearing on the GameStop situation. Rep Maxine Waters, D-Calif, also announced a hearing in the House Financial Services Committee.

Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, called Robinhood’s actions “unacceptable”, and said she would support a hearing to explore why the online brokerage is blocking small investors from buying stocks while hedge funds “are freely able to trade the stock as they see fit”.

Kalen Holliday, a spokeswoman for Interactive Brokers, said the company’s restrictions apply both to individual and institutional investor accounts.

NOTICE NOTICE is hereby given that NICOLE-PARIS MCDOWALL, of #28 Seapointe, New Providence, The Bahamas is applying to the Minister responsible for Nationality and Citizenship, for Registration Naturalization as a citizen of The Bahamas, and that any person who knows any reason why registration/ naturalization should not be granted, should send a written and signed statement of the facts within twenty-eight days from the 29th day of January 2021 to the Minister responsible for nationality and Citizenship, P.O. Box N-7147, Nassau, New Providence, The Bahamas.

PUBLIC NOTICE

INTENT TO CHANGE NAME BY DEED POLL The Public is hereby advised that I, ANNA EWA KANIA a.k.a ANNA EWA WARZECHA, of Harbour Road, Paradise Island in the Eastern District Nassau, Bahamas intend to change my name to EWA WELCHAR. If there are any objections to this change of name by Deed Poll, you may write such objections to the Deputy Chief Passport Officer, P.O. Box N-742, Nassau, Bahamas no later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice.

MARKET REPORT www.bisxbahamas.com

THURSDAY, 28 JANUARY 2021

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX:

CLOSE

CHANGE

%CHANGE

YTD

YTD%

2072.54

0.26

0.01

-19.92

-0.95

(242) 323-2330 (242) 323-2320

BISX LISTED & TRADED SECURITIES 52WK HI 4.25 33.05 2.00 2.02 2.10 6.00 6.75 3.80 6.49 4.40 6.16 12.77 3.64 6.85 10.88 8.44 15.08 4.25 9.26 15.21

52WK LOW 3.13 22.65 0.67 1.62 1.66 5.00 6.00 2.70 4.50 3.50 5.80 11.06 2.10 4.75 9.60 7.50 13.00 3.25 8.15 14.00

PREFERENCE SHARES 1.00

1.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00

1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 10.00 0.90

SECURITY AML Foods Limited APD Limited Benchmark Bahamas First Holdings Limited Bank of Bahamas Bahamas Property Fund Bahamas Waste Cable Bahamas Commonwealth Brewery Commonwealth Bank Colina Holdings CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank Consolidated Water BDRs Doctor's Hospital Emera Incorporated Famguard Fidelity Bank Bahamas Limited Focol Finco J. S. Johnson

SYMBOL AML APD BBL BFH BOB BPF BWL CAB CBB CBL CHL CIB CWCB DHS EMAB FAM FBB FCL FIN JSJ

LAST CLOSE 4.20 32.12 1.62 2.02 1.67 6.00 6.61 2.98 4.74 3.50 5.80 11.24 2.55 6.85 10.10 8.40 13.50 3.80 8.50 15.20

CLOSE 4.25 32.12 1.62 2.02 1.67 6.00 6.61 2.98 4.74 3.50 5.80 11.24 2.51 6.85 10.18 8.40 13.50 3.80 8.50 15.20

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

1.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1000.00 1.00 10.00 1.00

SYMBOL FBB22 BFHB

LAST SALE 100.00 100.00

CLOSE 100.00 100.00

CHANGE 0.00 0.00

BAH29 BG0107 BG0207 BG0130 BG0230 BG0307 BG0330 BG0407 BSBGRS760240 BSBGR120371 BSBGRS790262

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 97.04 100.72

107.31 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 99.97 97.04 100.72

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 (0.03) 0.00 0.00

Bahamas First Holdings Preference Cable Bahamas Series 6 Cable Bahamas Series 8 Cable Bahamas Series 9 Cable Bahamas Series 10 Colina Holdings Class A Fidelity Bank Bahamas Class A Focol Class B

BFHP CAB6 CAB8 CAB9 CAB10 CHLA FBBA FCLB

CORPORATE DEBT - (percentage pricing) 52WK HI 100.00 100.00

52WK LOW 100.00 100.00

115.92 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 102.00 100.50 97.72 100.70

104.79 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 99.97 94.40 100.70

SECURITY Fidelity Bank (Note 22 Series B+) Bahamas First Holdings Limited

BAHAMAS GOVERNMENT STOCK - (percentage pricing) Bahamas Note 6.95 (2029) BGS: 2014-12-7Y BGS: 2015-1-7Y BGS: 2014-12-30Y BGS: 2015-1-30Y BGS: 2015-6-7Y BGS: 2015-6-30Y BGS: 2015-10-7Y BGRS FL BSBGRS760240 BGRS FX BSBGR120371 BGRS FL BSBGRS790262

CHANGE 0.05 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 (0.04) 0.00 0.08 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

VOLUME 5,000 265

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

EPS$ 0.239 0.932 0.000 0.110 0.070 1.760 0.369 -0.438 0.140 0.184 0.449 0.722 0.102 0.467 0.646 0.728 0.816 0.203 0.939 0.631 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

VOLUME

3,500

DIV$ 0.170 1.260 0.020 0.030 0.000 0.000 0.260 0.000 0.000 0.120 0.220 0.720 0.434 0.060 0.328 0.240 0.540 0.120 0.200 0.610 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

P/E 17.8 34.5 N/M N/M N/M N/M 17.9 -6.8 33.9 19.0 12.9 15.6 24.6 14.7 15.8 11.5 16.5 18.7 9.1 24.1

YIELD 4.00% 3.92% 1.23% 1.49% 0.00% 0.00% 3.93% 0.00% 0.00% 3.43% 3.79% 6.41% 17.29% 0.88% 3.22% 2.86% 4.00% 3.16% 2.35% 4.01%

0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 6.25% 7.00% 6.50%

INTEREST Prime + 1.75% 6.25%

19-Oct-2022 30-Sep-2025

6.95% 4.50% 4.50% 6.25% 6.25% 4.50% 6.25% 4.25% 4.50% 5.22% 4.53%

20-Nov-2029 15-Dec-2021 30-Jul-2022 15-Dec-2044 30-Jul-2045 26-Jun-2022 26-Jun-2045 15-Oct-2022 18-Jan-2024 15-Dec-2037 28-Mar-2026

MATURITY

MUTUAL FUNDS 52WK HI 2.39 4.43 2.14 201.90 184.85 1.69 1.85 1.77 1.24 8.49 10.26 7.28 13.91 12.84 10.81 10.00 8.98 11.79

52WK LOW 2.11 3.30 1.68 164.74 116.70 1.65 1.79 1.75 1.05 6.41 7.62 5.66 8.65 10.54 9.57 9.88 8.45 11.20

FUND CFAL Bond Fund CFAL Balanced Fund CFAL Money Market Fund CFAL Global Bond Fund CFAL Global Equity Fund Leno Preferred Income Fund Leno Growth Fund Leno Diversified Fund Leno Global USD Bond Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Secured Balanced Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Targeted Equity Fund Royal Fidelity Bahamas Opportunities Fund - Prime Income Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Equities Sub Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - High Yield Fund Royal Fidelity Int'l Fund - Alternative Strategies Fund Colonial Bahamas Fund Class D Colonial Bahamas Fund Class E Colonial Bahamas Fund Class F

NAV 2.39 4.43 2.14 201.90 184.85 1.69 1.79 1.77 1.05 8.49 10.03 7.28 13.91 12.84 10.05 N/A 9.28 11.86

YTD% 12 MTH% 4.55% 4.55% 1.58% 1.58% 2.60% 2.60% 3.47% 3.47% 10.86% 10.86% 1.65% 1.95% -3.06% -2.22% 0.80% 1.17% -12.30% -11.81% 1.76% 1.76% -1.97% -1.97% 4.91% 4.91% 5.28% 15.75% 0.05% 3.96% -0.35% -6.34% N/A N/A -0.50% 3.70% -3.80% 4.10%

NAV Date

31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Oct-2020 31-Oct-2020 31-Oct-2020 31-Oct-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 31-Dec-2020 30-Sep-2020 30-Sep-2020 30-Sep-2020

MARKET TERMS

BISX ALL SHARE INDEX - 19 Dec 02 = 1,000.00

YIELD - last 12 month dividends divided by closing price

52wk-Hi - Highest closing price in last 52 weeks

Bid $ - Buying price of Colina and Fidelity

52wk-Low - Lowest closing price in last 52 weeks

Ask $ - Selling price of Colina and fidelity

Previous Close - Previous day's weighted price for daily volume

Last Price - Last traded over-the-counter price

Today's Close - Current day's weighted price for daily volume

Weekly Vol. - Trading volume of the prior week

Change - Change in closing price from day to day

EPS $ - A company's reported earnings per share for the last 12 mths

Daily Vol. - Number of total shares traded today

NAV - Net Asset Value

DIV $ - Dividends per share paid in the last 12 months

N/M - Not Meaningful

P/E - Closing price divided by the last 12 month earnings

TO TRADE CALL: CFAL 242-502-7010 | ROYALFIDELITY 242-356-7764 | CAROLISLE 242-502-7525 | LENO 242-396-3225 | BENCHMARK 242-326-7333

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, January 29, 2021, PAGE 7

Auditor General set to probe COVID spending

FROM PAGE ONE

have started collecting the necessary information from the line ministries.

“The auditor-general will audit the fiscal year 20192020 COVID-19 related expenses and revenue losses

by March 2021. The auditorgeneral will report on any irregularities and abuse, and can recommend legal proceedings. Such efforts strengthen the public’s confidence in the government and ensure that spending is of high quality.”

Oversight over the

Hubert Minnis: “Which expenditures and which suppliers are so controversial that he cannot disclose them to the public, as he is so required? Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised. Every promise ever made to the Bahamian people about accountability is sitting in the dustbin.

“Twice the proclamation of emergency has expired – at the end of June and in November - and neither time did you comply with that requirement. Neither time.

You are in breach of the law, sir. Why? What do you not want the Bahamian people to know about how you are operating behind closed doors?”

Away from the politics, the IMF said the Bahamian commercial banking industry

government’s COVID-19 spending, and awarding of pandemic-related contracts, became a hotly-contested issue in the House of Assembly on Wednesday after Philip Davis, the opposition leader, accused the prime minister of breaching the emergency powers orders.

The basis for this assertion was that the government has failed to submit a report to Parliament that details the “expenditures, suppliers for the goods and services procured, and the reasons those suppliers were chosen”.

Mr Davis charged to Dr

could withstand up to a 15 percentage point increase in non-performing loans as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the picture was not the same on credit unions. “Some banks (representing about one-quarter of system wide assets) could experience modest capital shortfalls,” the fund added.

“Some of the credit unions, which represent about three percent of total banking system assets, are heavily exposed to the tourism sector and may need to be resolved.

“Staff urged the Central Bank to intensify oversight and ensure timely intervention. Once the crisis recedes, the Central Bank should engage with banks to facilitate the effective work-out of non-performing loans so that

they do not drag down credit growth.

“Loan moratoria, where considered useful for households and firms to weather liquidity shocks, should be targeted to those borrowers affected by the pandemic and phased out as the pandemic recedes to promote transparency and sound risk management, and prevent moral hazard,” the IMF continued.

“The Central Bank should provide guidance so banks’ estimates of expected credit losses are robust and timely, and ask for regular loan portfolio reviews and risk assessments by banks.”

The IMF said it will “take years” for the deposit insurance protection fund to reach its $125m target, having warned the Central Bank

THE WEATHER REPORT

5-Day Forecast

TODAY

ORLANDO

High: 63° F/17° C Low: 44° F/7° C

TAMPA

TONIGHT

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

Breezy and cool with low humidity

Mostly cloudy

Cloudy to partly sunny

Partly sunny; nice in the afternoon

Some sun with a shower; breezy

Partly sunny, windy and not as warm

High: 70°

Low: 60°

High: 72° Low: 63°

High: 76° Low: 65°

High: 79° Low: 58°

High: 71° Low: 59°

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

AccuWeather RealFeel

67° F

58° F

70°-59° F

76°-64° F

81°-51° F

69°-57° F

High: 64° F/18° C Low: 47° F/8° C

The exclusive AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature® is an index that combines the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation, pressure and elevation on the human body—everything that affects how warm or cold a person feels. Temperatures reflect the high and the low for the day.

N

almanac

E

W

ABACO

S

N

High: 66° F/19° C Low: 62° F/17° C

8-16 knots

S

WEST PALM BEACH High: 69° F/21° C Low: 57° F/14° C

8-16 knots

FT. LAUDERDALE E

W

FREEPORT

High: 70° F/21° C Low: 59° F/15° C

N

S

E

W

High: 67° F/19° C Low: 56° F/13° C

MIAMI

High: 70° F/21° C Low: 59° F/15° C

8-16 knots

KEY WEST

High: 69° F/21° C Low: 63° F/17° C

ELEUTHERA

NASSAU

High: 70° F/21° C Low: 60° F/16° C

Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021

High: 70° F/21° C Low: 64° F/18° C

N

The higher the AccuWeather UV IndexTM number, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.

tiDes For nassau High

Ht.(ft.)

Low

Ht.(ft.)

Today

8:04 a.m.

8:23 p.m.

3.1 2.4

1:42 a.m. -0.4 2:32 p.m. -0.3

Saturday

8:46 a.m.

9:08 p.m.

3.1 2.5

2:27 a.m. -0.5 3:13 p.m. -0.4

Sunday

9:29 a.m.

9:55 p.m.

3.0 2.6

3:14 a.m. -0.4 3:54 p.m. -0.5

Monday

10:14 a.m.

10:44 p.m.

2.9 2.7

4:03 a.m. -0.4 4:38 p.m. -0.5

Tuesday

11:02 a.m.

11:38 p.m.

2.8 2.7

4:56 a.m. -0.2 5:24 p.m. -0.5

Wednesday 11:53 a.m.

-----

2.5 -----

5:54 a.m. -0.1 6:15 p.m. -0.4

Thursday

2.7 2.3

6:57 a.m. 0.0 7:10 p.m. -0.4

12:36 a.m.

12:51 p.m.

sun anD moon Sunrise Sunset

High: 71° F/22° C Low: 66° F/19° C

N

S

E

W S

8-16 knots

6:54 a.m.

5:53 p.m.

Moonrise Moonset

6:56 p.m.

7:43 a.m.

Last

New

First

Full

Feb. 4

Feb. 11

Feb. 19

Feb. 27

ANDROS

SAN SALVADOR

GREAT EXUMA

High: 72° F/22° C Low: 66° F/19° C

High: 72° F/22° C Low: 68° F/20° C

N

High: 71° F/22° C Low: 65° F/18° C

E

W S

LONG ISLAND

tracking map H

uV inDex toDay

CAT ISLAND

E

W

8-16 knots

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

Statistics are for Nassau through 1 p.m. yesterday Temperature High ................................................... 79° F/26° C Low .................................................... 68° F/20° C Normal high ....................................... 77° F/25° C Normal low ........................................ 65° F/18° C Last year’s high ................................. 82° F/28° C Last year’s low ................................... 63° F/17° C Precipitation As of 1 p.m. yesterday ................................. 0.00” Year to date ................................................. 1.23” Normal year to date ..................................... 1.18”

about including credit unions under this safety net before they were fully capitalised.

“The Protection of Depositors (Amendment) Act 2020 enhances the Deposit Insurance Fund’s (DIF) governance, reduces the time within which it must make payouts, and provides access to credit unions,” the Fund’s report said.

“Effective implementation of these reforms will require adequate staffing at the Central Bank and the DIF. While annual DIF premiums doubled to 0.1 percent of insured deposits, it will still take years to reach the 2019 recommended target ratio of two percent of insured deposits (about $125m) given that the fund only contained about $60m in 2020.”

High: 73° F/23° C Low: 68° F/20° C

8-16 knots

MAYAGUANA High: 74° F/23° C Low: 68° F/20° C

Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures

CROOKED ISLAND / ACKLINS

are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.

RAGGED ISLAND High: 74° F/23° C Low: 70° F/21° C

High: 73° F/23° C Low: 69° F/21° C

GREAT INAGUA High: 77° F/25° C Low: 69° F/21° C

N

E

W

E

W

N

S

S

10-20 knots

10-20 knots

marine Forecast ABACO ANDROS CAT ISLAND CROOKED ISLAND ELEUTHERA FREEPORT GREAT EXUMA GREAT INAGUA LONG ISLAND MAYAGUANA NASSAU RAGGED ISLAND SAN SALVADOR

Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday: Today: Saturday:

WINDS N at 8-16 Knots ENE at 7-14 Knots NE at 8-16 Knots ENE at 8-16 Knots NNE at 8-16 Knots ENE at 8-16 Knots NNE at 10-20 Knots ENE at 10-20 Knots NNE at 8-16 Knots ENE at 8-16 Knots NNE at 8-16 Knots E at 7-14 Knots NE at 8-16 Knots ENE at 8-16 Knots NE at 10-20 Knots ENE at 10-20 Knots NNE at 8-16 Knots ENE at 8-16 Knots NNE at 8-16 Knots ENE at 8-16 Knots NNE at 7-14 Knots ENE at 7-14 Knots NE at 10-20 Knots ENE at 10-20 Knots NE at 8-16 Knots ENE at 8-16 Knots

WAVES 8-12 Feet 5-9 Feet 2-4 Feet 2-4 Feet 6-10 Feet 5-9 Feet 3-6 Feet 4-7 Feet 6-10 Feet 5-9 Feet 5-9 Feet 4-7 Feet 1-3 Feet 2-4 Feet 4-8 Feet 4-8 Feet 2-4 Feet 2-4 Feet 10-14 Feet 6-10 Feet 2-4 Feet 2-4 Feet 2-4 Feet 3-6 Feet 4-7 Feet 4-7 Feet

VISIBILITY 5 Miles 5 Miles 5 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 5 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 5 Miles 5 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 5 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 5 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 10 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 10 Miles 5 Miles 5 Miles

WATER TEMPS. 76° F 76° F 76° F 73° F 78° F 77° F 80° F 79° F 78° F 78° F 78° F 76° F 77° F 74° F 80° F 80° F 79° F 79° F 79° F 79° F 76° F 76° F 79° F 79° F 77° F 77° F