The Bahamian people have witnessed the swearing in of the new Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. The selection of the new Cabinet and swearing in of the new Deputy Prime Minister, the other ministers and the new senators. The portfolios of ministers have been assigned and ministers have taken up their postings.
This past Wednesday, there was a grand ceremony in Rawson Square to mark the opening of the new Parliament at which time the Governor-General presented the government’s legislative agenda via the Speech from the Throne, a tradition which signifies publicly that the Governor-General is the local representative of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth 11.
With the legislative agenda in place, the new Government will present its fiscal plans for The Bahamas at the next sitting of Parliament. This will take the form of the 2007/8 Budget. The Budget presentation by the Minister of Finance who, in this case, is the Prime Minister ,the Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham. Generally, the Budget debate sparks hot rhetoric from Members in the House and Senators in the Senate and it is expected that this debate will be most contentious.
The government outlined a range of initiatives in the Throne Speech. There are about 24 pieces of legislation which will either be introduced or amended. Included in this are a Code of Ethics for Ministers, amendment to the Prime Minister’s Act, the Juries Act, the Police Act, the Prison’s Act, the Immigration Act etc. The House of Assembly will have a very active legislative agenda.
In conjunction with legislative programme, there are a number of measures which the will seek to implement. Some of these will include steps" to deliver an improved tourism product and protect and expand our share of the tourism market, my Government will encourage and facilitate international investment in the hotel and resort sector; accelerate the upgrade of the City of Nassau; and extend the tourism sector to include "Over- the-Hill" residential and commercial neighbourhoods of New Providence."
New Providence Road Corridor and Junction Project will be highlighted in order to address the traffic congestion being experienced on the streets of Nassau.
A National Health Fund will be established in order to "assist with the purchase of prescription medicines for specific chronic illnesses." In housing, there will be the commencement of 600 affordable homes to be constructed on on newly furnished lots.
A significant act will be "a review of the National Investment Policy of The Bahamas and legislation will be placed before you for the enactment of a National Investment Act.It will consolidate all investment incentive legislation and provide transparency and clarity and a ‘level playing field ‘ for investing in The Bahamas for both Bahamians and international persons."
The consolidation of the investment policy will auger well for investors either local or foreign. Too often, there is a hassle in cutting through the bureaucracy leading to much frustration. Investing in The Bahamas is a cumbersome undertaking. Another initiative like the "one stop shop" has been tried and failed; let us hope there is success this time around.
When one compares the contents of the Throne Speech with Manifesto ’07, there are exclusions. The most glaring one is the elimination of Exchange Control which was excluded from the Throne Speech. Does mean that the Ingraham Government will not proceed with it at this time?
After the Buget debate and approval, the Free National Movement would have placed its stamp on the government of The Bahamas thereby unfolding its approach to governing The Bahamas over the next five years.
- Austin DWI - New York DWI