A well-known fiscal hawk expressed “major concern” that Bahamian taxpayers would foot an ever-increasing bill to support the bureaucracies this nation is being forced to create through its international trade commitments.
Rick Lowe, an executive with the Nassau Institute think-tank, spoke out as Tribune Business uncovered details on a three-strong package of Bills designed to bring the Bahamas into compliance with its sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) obligations under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and World Trade Organisation (WTO).
The Bills – the Animal Health and Production Bill, the Food Safety Bill and the Plant Protection Bill – each create a new supervisory body to oversee the specific regulatory regime they usher in.
The Animal Health and Production Bill requires the creation of a National Veterinary Service; the Food Safety Bill ushers in a Food Safety and Quality Authority; and the latter Bill calls for a National Plant Protection Organisation.
