Bahamas welcomes latest global credit ratings
Key Points(5)
- Prime Minister Philip Davis noted that the government's efforts to manage the debt burden and implement new energy reforms have contributed to <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/ratings/en/">Standard & Poor's</a> decision to affirm The Bahamas' credit rating with a stable outlook.
- In its analysis, S&P projected a 1.8% growth in Bahamian GDP for 2024, slightly below the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) recent forecast of 2.3% and the Bahamian Central Bank's predictions of over 2% growth.
- S&P retained The Bahamas' long-term credit rating at 'B+' and praised the country’s "robust recovery" following COVID-19, as well as the government's fiscal consolidation efforts that have significantly reduced the deficit and contained debt levels.
- “The report comes three years into our term, at a time when we’re honoring the Bahamian people for how far we’ve come together, while recognizing there is much work yet to be done.
- When we entered office, the country was in crisis, Davis Stated.
Prime Minister Philip Davis noted that the government's efforts to manage the debt burden and implement new energy reforms have contributed to Standard & Poor's decision to affirm The Bahamas' credit rating with a stable outlook. In its analysis, S&P projected a 1.8% growth in Bahamian GDP for 2024, slightly below the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) recent forecast of 2.3% and the Bahamian Central Bank's predictions of over 2% growth.
S&P retained The Bahamas' long-term credit rating at 'B+' and praised the country’s "robust recovery" following COVID-19, as well as the government's fiscal consolidation efforts that have significantly reduced the deficit and contained debt levels.
“The report comes three years into our term, at a time when we’re honoring the Bahamian people for how far we’ve come together, while recognizing there is much work yet to be done. When we entered office, the country was in crisis, Davis Stated.
“The mishandling of the pandemic meant our country’s health and economic outcomes lagged behind those of other nations in the region. Our national debt had increased by US$2.4 billion in just two years,” he added.
Davis said that everyone understood how grim and serious the situation was and Bahamians feared a major increase in value added tax (VAT) and even a currency devaluation. He said Bahamian businesses were suffering from misguided lockdowns and curfews and hospitals were in dire straits and schools were closed and in disrepair.
But he said his administration has been able to turn around the situation and that there’s still a lot more work ahead.
“A global inflation crisis has hit our Bahamian families hard. There aren’t any easy answers or quick fixes, so we’re taking on our country’s toughest problems,” Davis said, adding that “we’re implementing our country’s first nationwide energy reforms, upgrading our electricity grid and bringing solar power and natural gas to our islands”.
Davis said that the government understands that comprehensive, nationwide reform of this sector is the only way to reduce prices and make electricity more reliable, “both essential to helping Bahamian families and businesses and to supporting the dynamic, inclusive economic growth we know our country is capable of”.
He said that the country is building and strengthening partnerships across the world, strengthening borders as well as advocating for policies that help small island states like The Bahamas to promote opportunities for Bahamians.
But Shadow finance minister J. Kwasi Thompson said the opposition is “very concerned” about the report, noting that S&P said it expects the Bahamian economy to slow to 1.8 per cent in 2024, highlighting the country’s “below-average long-term growth performance compared with that of others at a similar level of development”.
Thompson said the agency presented a “somewhat bleak story of the economic trajectory of The Bahamas”.
