Thursday, July 16, 2009

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In your own words Early this week Golden Gates Member of Parliament Shane Gibson called for an almost-line item accounting of where BEC will put that $211m loan the government has moved to guarantee. "It was never detailed in full as to how this money we are guaranteeing would be spent, so on behalf of The Bahamian people I implore the Government to exercise transparency and accountability, and it is my hope that at the end of the day, systems would be introduced and policies changed to bring the much needed relief for consumers and employees of BEC who are daily crying for help. As we all know the guaranteeing of a loan for BEC by a government of The Bahamas is nothing new, as BEC is one hundred percent owned and controlled by the government of The Bahamas and of cause every financial institution lending out substantial amount of monies will want every assurance that the loan will be paid back in a timely manner. What makes this particular guarantee and its implications more critical, is the impact it will have on the national debt of The Bahamas and our overall debt to GDP ratio. This guarantee proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that at times the government has little if any, influence on debt incurred directly or indirectly by itself or its subsidiaries." Thursday, July 2, 2009