Laurencia I.A. Smith, Journal Staff Writer

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest predicted that COVID-19 will cause a sharp recession.

“This is going to be a difficult time for us. Our worst case scenario up to this point showed us that somewhere around a billion dollars in loss into the economy with the shutdown.  Now we have to start to go back and revaluate,” Turnquest said yesterday.

COVID-19 isn’t only snatching lives, it’s also snatching economies across the globe, causing The Bahamas and other countries to close their borders.

The Bahamian economy has also taken its fair share of blows over the last few years, largely due to Mother Nature.

Turnquest addressed the harsh reality, but said he believes the country has enough headroom until the end of this fiscal year.

“So I think this is going to be a long term problem for us. Certainly, well into the New Year.  But we will address whatever the challenges are in the new budget definitely passed in June,” Turnquest said. 

It’s been six months since the passage of Hurricane Dorian which has left billions of dollars in damages.

According to Turnquest, the Ministry of Finance is stressed, as COVID-19 didn’t dismiss what Dorian left behind.

“The challenges that Dorian brought did not go away.  So serious challenges are ahead of us, trying to mop up whatever restoration efforts that need to be done,” Turnquest said.