Tag Archives: budget cuts

What is VAT?

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For the past few months in Bahamian news, besides waves of crime and gun violence, there has also been the issue of VAT or value added tax and how it will affect the individual Bahamian pocket. A lot of talk has been as to whether it will do more harm than good for The Bahamas in the long term and comparisons have been made to other countries that have a VAT system in place. I’m no expert on any of it so I’ll post a few links below that breaks down all the dirty details because unfortunately there are vast groups of people at home that don’t know or don’t care about what’s going on around them .

Bahamas government website

Straight Talk Bahamas

College of the Bahamas and Budget Cuts

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The College of the Bahamas is the Bahamas’ leading post-secondary education institution and have recently made headlines as the Bahamian government has plans to “cut subsidies to the college by as much as 45 per cent over the next five years,” this and more according to the Tribune news website.

There are also talks of increasing college tuition but students are up in arms because the current campus conditions are not worthy of the proposed increase.

Dr HUBERT Minnis and members of COBUS in front of the Harry Moore Library. From left, front row: Amard Rolle, Marquel Wallace, Lakeisha Rolle, Jan Turnquest, and Alphonso Major. Back row: Lona Bethel, Darron Cash, Dr Minnis, Franklyn Donaldson, Ernesto G Williams, John Bostwick.

(From Tribune website) Dr. Hubert Minnis and members of COBUS in front of the Harry Moore Library. From left, front row: Amard Rolle, Marquel Wallace, Lakeisha Rolle, Jan Turnquest, and Alphonso Major. Back row: Lona Bethel, Darron Cash, Dr Minnis, Franklyn Donaldson, Ernesto G Williams, John Bostwick.

There have been talks about getting the college to university status since I was there 2006-2009 but it seems like things have gotten worse. The College of the Bahamas Union of Students (COBUS) along with a band of other students reportedly marched to the Ministry of Education’s office as they prepared to meet Mr. Jerome Fitzgerald, the Minister of Education.

What the government is proposing will harm “the dreams and aspirations of mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, grandparents, aunts and uncles who’ve envisioned a better Bahamas for their offspring; whose life work has been to build a nation by educating their children in an institution whose essence was the development of their country,” COBUS said.

The government needs to get their ish together! Last month when everyone was going crazy about the gambling referendum they should have been focused on this matter. Priorities of the government…tsk, tsk.