‘Catastrophe Collision’: No Covid Mitigation Without IMF’s $250m

• The Office of the Auditor General, in a report tabled in the House of Assembly yesterday, revealed that the financial support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was critical in providing the Bahamian government with sufficient cash to make it to the end of the 2019-2020 fiscal year, following what it termed “a collision of catastrophes”. 
• “The collision of both catastrophes, Dorian and COVID-19, put the Budget in a crisis, tax receipts going down and government payments increasing,” the report said. “The required $250m funding assisted in addressing the supply and demand shock, and having provision for the economic downturn. 
• Most importantly, the funding was vital in facilitating the urgent measures taken by The Bahamas with respect to socio-economic impact and public health resiliency. The $250m was essential in providing budgetary support and sustaining the healthcare and mitigation measures in response to COVID-19.

(Source: The Tribune)