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A L L T H E N E W S Y O U N E E D T O R E A D I N T H E M O R N I N G

VOL. 31 - NO. 30 75 CENTSWEDNESDAY - FEBRUARY 13TH, 2019

“TRAVESTYOF JUSTICE”

our Bahamianswho have beendescribed as sup-porters of the

Progressive Liberal Partyspent last night in theCells of the Cable BeachPolice Station in what oneof their Attorneysdescribed as “a deepeningof the political witchhunt.”

Early yesterday, Policein Grand Bahama arrested50-year-old MichelleReckley, 28-year-oldStephanie Collie and 26-year-old Kylon Vincenton charges of fraud andmoney laundering. InNew Providence, officers

g See page 4...

4 Michelle Reckley, Former Deputy Director of UrbanRenewal (File photo)

Mitchell ChidesFNM Government

The Progressive LiberalParty (PLP) is soundingthe alarm for justice asPLP Chairman, FredMitchell said the party isconvinced that the gov-ernment is on the attackof the party's supporters.

Mr. Mitchell's com-ments came after theparty learned that severalformer public serviceworkers, who were on

BY LICEC BASTIANJournal Staff Writer

F

4 PLP Chairman, Fred Mitchell

g See page 4...

CanadianTouristDrowns InEleuthera

A Canadian Cruise Shippassenger drowned inwaters at Half Moon Cayon Monday.

Police are now investi-gating the circumstancessurrounding this incident

BY LICEC BASTIANJournal Staff Writer

g See page 6...

Schoolsare safe,says Lloyd

Education Minister,Jeffery Lloyd, yesterdayasserted that school cam-puses are safe.

This after a 17-year oldhigh school student was

BY JAMEELHA MISSICKJournal Staff Writer

g See page 6...

4 Education Minister,Jeffery Lloyd

GG visits Mrs. Doris GoMez for 100th BirthDay

4 Mrs Doris Gomez, whocelebrates her 100th birth-day, received a visit fromGovernor General, HerExcellency the Most Hon.Dame Marguerite Pindlingwho presented her withan arrangement of flowers

at her home. Also present to congratulateMrs. Gomez at her home,among family and friends,were Speaker of the

House of Assembly, theHon. Halson Moultrie, andPastor Timothy Stuart.(BIS Photos/Letisha

Henderson)

Dames Maintains Crime Is Down

Authorities are tryingnot to increase the fearindex in the wake of

four murders this pastweekend.

Now there are repeat-ed reassurances thatthese incidents are allisolated and that those

involved may have beenfeuding.

Minister of NationalSecurity Marvin Dames

BY BERTHONY MCDERMOTTJournal Staff Writer

g See page 4...4 Minister of National Security Marvin Dames

Section A REGULAR_Section A Tues 2/12/2019 11:42 PM Page 1

A2 NationalNEWSThe Bahama Journal

Wednesday - February 13th, 2019

MINISTRY OF NATIONAL SECURITY

The Bahamian Government in collaboration with the United StatesEmbassy (Nassau) invites all qualified persons who are interested inapplying for a four-year degree scholarship at the United States

Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut, United States, to submit theirapplications to the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Headquarters,

Coral Harbour Base by 31st January, 2019.

To qualify, applicants must:

Be a Bahamian citizen•Be between the ages of 17-22 years old•Be unmarried and with no dependents•Be willing to serve in the Royal Bahamas Defence Force for a•minimum of five years on completion.Must be physically fit•Must be able to swim•Have SAT scores of 600 in both Math and English (or ACT •minimum o 26 in Mathematics and 27 in English).•Have a high school diploma•Possess excellent English skills•

Bachelor’s Degree Programs are offered in:

Civil Engineering•Cyber Systems•Electrical Engineering•Naval Architecture•Operations Research•Marine and Environmental Sciences•Government•Mechanical Engineering•Management•

Deadline for submission of application is 31st January, 2019.

Deadline for registration for SAT examination is 8th February, 2019foe the 9th March, 2019 test date (results from March test are onlyaccepted if results from previous test are received by 1st March,

2019).

Students may register at:https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat/register/international

The USCGA code number for the SAT exam is 5807.

Deadline for ACT registration is 11th January, 2019 for 8th February,2019 test date.

Students can register at https://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act-non-us.html

The USCGA code number for the ACT exam is 0600.

Applicants can make application to sit the SAT/ACT at local SATCenters in New Providence as follows: Aquinas College, St.Andrew’s School, St. Anne’s School, The University of TheBahamas, Government High School and Queen’s College.

For further information, please contact the Royal Bahamas DefenceForce Human Resource Officer, Lieutenant Commander Michael

Hanna at telephone 362-3705 or 362-3711 or via email at michaelhanna@rbdf.gov.bs or visit the website www.rbdf.gov.bs

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD (USCG)ACADEMY 4 YEAR MILITARY DEGREE

PROGRAM

Scabies outbreak under control

All those with symptomsof the highly contagiousscabies at the SybilStrachan Primary schoolhave been treated.

All the affected teach-ers were counselled and

offered the opportunityto be treated as well,according to HealthMinister, Dr. DuaneSands. who updated themedia yesterday.

Updating the Mediayesterday, the Ministersaid, “now, we have tofollow up in the homes ofall of the persons of the

cases to deal with thecontacts and to makesure this is wiped out,”Dr. Sands said.

“As a matter of fact,once people are treatedthey can go back toschool the followingday,” he said.

Scabies is spread bydirect contact.

BY JAMEELHA MISSICKJournal Staff Writer

COMMERCIAL ENTITIESACT TO BE AMENDED

The Government willtable proposed amend-ments to theCommercial Entities( S u b s t a n c eRequirements) Act whenthe House of Assemblymeets today.

The CommercialEntities (SubstanceRequirements) Act,2018 was among a pack-age of legislation passedin December 2018aimed at implementingmeasures to ensure com-pliance with internation-al standards on tax gov-ernance and transparen-cy.

Under the Act, com-mercial entities mustprove that they havesubstantial economicpresence in TheBahamas by havingincome generatingactivities. They mustalso show managementand control over the

business entity locally.The CommercialEntities (SubstanceR e q u i r e m e n t s )(Amendment) Bill, 2019expands and clarifiesvarious definitions, andsubstance and reportingrequirements under theoriginal legislation.

The Bill also includesproposed changes relat-ed to holding companiesand resident criteria.

The amendments fol-low the latest round ofhigh-level discussionsbetween senior govern-ment officials and theEuropean Commission,and take into accountfeedback received fromthe Commission follow-ing an assessment of thelegislation.

Government workedclosely with key stake-holders in the financialservices sector inpreparing the amend-

ments to theCommercial Entities( S u b s t a n c eRequirements) Act.International advisorswere also consulted.A meeting was held onMonday, February 11,2019 with members ofthe broader financialservices industry to out-line the proposedamendments and invitefeedback.

The Government hasalso met with theOpposition to discussthe proposed changes.

The amendmentsreinforce theGovernment’s intent totake all necessary stepsto safeguard the finan-cial services sector andmaintain the industry’scompetitive edge, andensure the removal ofThe Bahamas from allwatch lists in the short-est time frame possible.

GOT NEWS?call The Bahama

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Section A REGULAR_Section A Tues 2/12/2019 11:42 PM Page 2

A3The Bahama Journal

Wednesday - February 13th, 2019NationalNEWS

Campbell: Ensuring Equal Access for Community of Persons with Disabilities is a Priority

Minister of SocialServices and UrbanDevelopment, the Hon.Frankie A. Campbell, toldresidents of Inagua thatensuring equal access forthe community of personswith disabilities in TheBahamas is a major priori-ty for his ministry.

“Our message is one ofinclusion,” MinisterCampbell said. “Mydream as the Minister ofSocial Services and UrbanDevelopment is two-fold:that we would develop, asindividuals, a more caringsociety; a more empatheticand sympathetic societywhere we are concernedabout other persons, andsecondly, that we as a peo-ple, would not focus somuch on our disabilities,but more on our abilities.

“It is important that wesensitize each other as tothe importance of therebeing no impediments tobuildings, businesses andparking spaces; that thereare proper ramps; properrailings for our brothersand sisters living with dis-abilities to hold onto. Thatthere is a need for ourbrothers and sisters tohave access to all of thethings persons not livingwith disabilities enjoy. It isthe right thing to do.”

Addressing aCommunity Meeting heldat the St. Philip’s AnglicanChurch CommunityCentre in Matthew Town,Inagua, on Saturday,February 9, MinisterCampbell said no humanbeing is exempt from thepossibility of living with adisability, the variousforms of which include,speech or languageimpairment; visual dis-ability, including blind-ness; hearing or communi-

cation disability; mental orbehavioural disability;intellectual disability,including Autism, Downsyndrome and Cerebralpalsy and physical orlocomotion disability.

Executive Secretary ofthe Secretariat of theNational Commission forPersons with Disability,Ms. Maria Kelley, was amember of the Minister’sdelegation to Inagua. Ms.Kelley used the opportu-nity to begin the process

of developing a databaseof persons with disabili-ties.

(The Secretariat isassisted by a Board, con-sisting of 15 memberscomprising representa-tives from governmentministries, civil society,the trade congress, thecommunity of personswith disabilities and othernon-governmental organ-izations – NGOs).

Ms. Kelley said theNational Commission for

Persons with Disabilities’(enacted into law in2014) mandate is toensure that “we haveinclusion throughout TheCommonwealth of TheBahamas”.

She said as such, theCommission will beworking to facilitatecompliance with the lawspertaining to equal accessfor persons with disabili-ties. A former DeputyDirector with theDepartment of Social

Services, Ms. Kelley saiddeveloping the databaseis one of the key func-tions of the Commissionin order to facilitate “aproper registry of all per-sons living with disabili-ties so that we are able toassist them and ensureinclusion for all.”

(Ms. Kelley’s presencespoke to theCommission’s mandate toensure that there is inclu-sion for persons with dis-abilities throughout TheCommonwealth of TheBahamas.)

“This is a society ofinclusion. We want allpersons to feel includedin all that we do here inThe Commonwealth ofThe Bahamas – no excep-tions. Which means thatwe want to ensure thatnot only persons with dis-abilities are aware of theservices that we provideto them, but we also wantpersons who do not livewith disabilities to knowthat there is inclusion,”Ms. Kelley said.

“The Commission’srole is to ensure that thereis equal access to health,education, employmentand every other servicethat is available to thosepersons not living with adisability.”

4 Officials from the Department of Social Services, the Department of Gender and Family Affairs, UrbanRenewal Commission and the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities comprised Minister of SocialServices and Urban Development, the Hon. Frankie A. Campbell‘s delegation to Inagua. Pictured from left

are: Ms. Maria Kelley, Executive Secretary, Secretariat of the National Commission for Persons withDisabilities; Dr. Jacintha Higgs, Director of the Department of Gender and Family Affairs; Minister Campbell;Mrs. Lillian Quant-Forbes, Director, Department of Social Services, and Ms. Sheryl Knowles, Programme and

Special Projects Coordinator, Urban Renewal Commission. (BiS Photo/Matt Maura)

Section A REGULAR_Section A Tues 2/12/2019 11:42 PM Page 3

contract, were to behauled before the courtson fraud and money laun-

dering charges. In a press release, Mr.

Mitchell said, "the Partyofficials learned with cha-grin that the FNM gov-

ernment has arrested anumber of individualswho worked out ofFreeport in the publicservice on contract and

who are supporters of thePLP.

"This is a great shameand disgrace and aninjustice. It is againslave shaming.

"The idea is to paradethe individuals throughthe streets of Freeport, itsairport and in Nassau tofrighten those who sup-port the PLP and intimi-date those who wish toturn to the PLP.

"It is an entirely politi-cally driven persecution,"Mr. Mitchell said.

When, the PLPSenator spoke with thisJournal, he lamented thatthe government's attackon its political opponentsis a direct result of egg onits face following whathe called a botched caseagainst Former PLP MP,Frank Smith.

Two weeks ago, theformer Public HospitalsAuthority chairman wasacquitted of all 15charges of bribery andextortion, broughtagainst him back in2016.

"We’re very con-cerned, because after 20

months of this adminis-tration being in power,they moved again. TheFNM has moved again towhat appears to us to goagainst their politicalopponents for politicalpurposes and we want tobe sure that our support-ers are on guard againstthis.

"What of course ishappening is there’s atide which has turnedagainst the Free NationalMovement and it appearsto us that what’s happen-ing is a direct result ofthis botched Frank Smithcase and they are nowengaging once again invictors justice by sendingtheir prosecutorial dogsout against PLP support-ers," Mr. Mitchell said.

He further chided thegovernment adding that,"The former prime minis-ter, Hubert Ingraham,who is one of them, oncesaid that scores are set-tled at 6pm on electionday. So, what is happen-ing by this FNM admin-istration in both anunusual and extraordi-nary measure.

"They ought to knowwhat the Bible says that'when you sow to thewind you reap a whirl-wind'," Mr. Mitchell said.

Considering that sev-eral of the accused arefrom Grand Bahama, Mr.Mitchell further ques-tioned why they had to bebrought to Nassau forarraignment.

"We are advised thatthey [were] to be broughtto Nassau to be chargedin the courts here whichof course is another egre-gious issue because theylive in Grand Bahama.

"Why would you dothat? why would you dothat, unless you are try-ing to inflict pain andpunishment, not by thetrial itself, but by parad-ing them through thestreets of Freeport, theairport and here inNassau," Mr. Mitchellsaid.

In the press release,Mr. Mitchell accused thegovernment of being aninsensitive governmentwith ice water runningthrough its veins.

A4 The Bahama Journal

Wednesday - February 13th, 2019 NationalNEWS

GOT NEWS?Please call The BahamaJournal’s News TIP LINE at 356-7254 and let us know!

“TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE”arrested a 58-year-oldArchitect, ChristopherSymonette in connectionwith the matter. Theywere supposed to bearraigned before ChiefMagistrate JoyannFerguson in theMagistrates Court late inthe afternoon, but prose-cution’s documents in the

matter were not ready.The accused are to

return to Court on NassauStreet at noon today.

Attorney DamienGomez, QC told theJournal, “ We weren’table to start. There is nowitness list. To start offwith, they don’t knowwho their accuser is. Wehave four people whoseonly offence is that they

are PLP supporters.”Mr. Gomez who is rep-

resenting Reckley, Collieand Vincent said, “thewhole matter is a travestyof justice. This is mali-cious and pure evil.”

Symonette is repre-sented by Queen’sCounsels AnthonyMcKinney and WayneMunroe.

Mrs. Reckley is a for-

mer Deputy Director ofThe Urban RenewalProgramme in Freeport,Grand Bahama and is thewife of AssistantCommissioner of PoliceClarence Reckley who isstationed in Nassau.

It is understood thatwhen the seniorPoliceman learnt that hiswife was arrested inFreeport, he travelled

there, only to be told thatshe was sent to Nassau tobe arraigned.

The Journal learnedthat when AttorneyCarlson Shurland soughtto see his client, Mrs.Reckley who was in cus-tody in Freeport, he wastold to have a seat. Aftera long wait, the accusedwas whisked through aback door . Later, when

the lawyer inquired as towhy it was taking so longto see his client, he wasreportedly informed thatshe was sent to Nassau.

A number of support-ers and family membersof the accused were pres-ent in court, includingformer Prime MinisterPerry Christie and hiswife Mrs. BernadetteChristie.

Dames Maintains Crime Is Down

says,“the shootings lastFriday would have allbeen cleared, personswould have beenarraigned just yesterdayin connection with those.

“Police are alreadyfollowing leads in con-nection with these mat-ters. These matters in asense are matters that areisolated to individualswho may have had con-flict for whatever rea-son.”

“We are looking atmaking a full determina-tion, the police that is, asto how these matterswould have occurred.”

“We’re confident inour strategy and we feelthat our strategy is in fact

working,” said MinisterDames.

Mr. Dames stressedthat reducing crime is notjust the responsibility oflaw enforcement agen-cies.

“We introduced theministry’s advisory teamon crime lead by Dr.David Allen and we willbe working very closelywith communities andcarry out evidence basedwork to determine whatare some of the addition-al measures that we needto employ.

“This more than apolice issue and some-times I think we get toocornered, too restrictedand say as what is thepolice doing?

“The police are doing

their job. They just sentthree guys to court for amatter that occurred aweek ago,” he said.

The country’s latesthomicides happened justhours apart on Sunday.

The first took place at9am on WashingtonStreet and BalfourAvenue. The second tookplace on Miami Streetand Robinson Road. Thelast took place around9pm Sunday night atPotter’s Cay dock.

The Minister alsostressed that when com-pared to last year, thenumber of homicides aredown.

In January 2018 therewere 12 murders, and sofar for 2019 there are 10murders.

gg Continued from / PAGE 1...

Mitchell Chides FNM Governmentgg Continued from / PAGE 1...

gg Continued from / PAGE 1...

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A5The Bahama Journal

Wednesday - February 13th, 2019EditorialNEWS

E D I T O R I A L

The Bahama Journal Is An Independent Newspaper - Published Week Days By The Communicators & Associates In Affiliation With Jones Communications Ltd.

University Drive - P.O. Box N-8610Telephone: 242-325-3082 - Fax: 242-356-7256

Kimaley P. JonesVice President/Operations

Wendall K. Jones Publisher/Chief Executive Officer

Risks of civilwar in Venezuela

The latest troubling events in Venezuela arethe most recent episode in a political crisisthat has been festering since the death ofHugo Chávez six years ago. FollowingPresident Nicolás Maduro’s inaugurationfor a disputed second term in January, thespeaker of the opposition-dominated parlia-ment, Juan Guaidó, declared himself “inter-im president” of the country. Guaidó wasimmediately recognised by the US, Canadaand a group of Latin American conservativegovernments, who called upon theVenezuelan military to rise up againstMaduro. The UK, France, Spain, Germanyand other European countries recognisedGuaidó after Maduro refused their demandto call fresh elections.

Since Guaidó’s declaration, the Trumpadministration has imposed new sanctionson Maduro’s government, seized billions-worth of Venezuelan oil-related assets onUS soil, and started making barely veiledthreats of military intervention. Few woulddisagree that the country is in a disastrouseconomic and social situation, but beforeother governments take similar actions thatcould exacerbate Venezuela’s politicalpolarisation and end up provoking a bloodycivil war, we should first understand how itreached this state of crisis.

After its oil industry began to take off inthe early 20th century, Venezuela’s rapiddevelopment was characterised by pro-found social inequalities. But underChávez, who was elected in 1999, this deepsocial polarisation led to the gradual emer-gence of “Chavismo” – a large and organ-ised movement that championed social jus-tice for the disposessed through far-reach-ing reforms.

Chávez was a charismatic and divisivefigure, revered by most of the poor buthated by almost all in the urban middleclasses, social elites and traditional politicalparties. Still, his energetic leadershiphelped to achieve political stability, despitefierce opposition from his adversaries athome and abroad, especially in the US.

In April 2013, when Maduro was electedpresident – a month after his mentor’suntimely death – Venezuela inherited thepolarised politics of the Chávez era, butwithout Chávez’s leadership as a stabilisingfactor.

Falsely presented as a “fresh face”,Guaidó first came to prominence in 2007,as a member of a generation of studentswho led protests against Chávez’s social-ism, despite his landslide presidential victo-ry in 2006. Guaidó is part of an oppositionthat never stopped challenging Chávez’spopular legitimacy even in his heyday, andwho naturally doubled down as soon as theless assertive Maduro took office. The chal-lenges to Maduro’s legitimacy began themoment he was elected. His presidentialopponent, Henrique Capriles, labelled the2013 election a fraud (without providingany supporting evidence). Capriles calledon his followers to ventilate their “anger” inthe streets, a move resulting in the killing ofa number of Chavistas. In January 2014Guaidó’s political party, Voluntad Popular,launched a nationwide insurrectionarymovement aimed at forcing Maduro out ofoffice. This was only nine months intoMaduro’s term, and long before the countryfaced any serious economic or social prob-lems. In fact, in early 2014 oil prices wereat record highs, and Venezuelans were stillenjoying their highest levels of incomeever, in terms of GDP per capita.

Yet when Venezuela’s economic chal-lenges came, Maduro’s ineffective policiesmade things worse. In 2013, the govern-ment’s strategy of using oil revenues toboost public investment and income redis-tribution was facing serious challenges.

Venezuela failed to increase oil productionin order to fund the expansion of socialrights. Its economy required swift reform,something Maduro showed no interest inundertaking.

And then oil prices collapsed in June2014, leaving an ill-prepared countryfrozen in inaction. Living standards startedto deteriorate, and while a Maduro-ledChavismo remained a large and organisedpolitical force, it lost its dominance.Maduro suffered a humiliating defeat in theDecember 2015 legislative elections, whichallowed an opposition coalition to seize apotentially devastating two-thirds superma-jority in the national assembly.

From that moment on, the political con-frontation became institutional, as the legis-lature focused primarily on ousting thepresident, while the executive and pro-gov-ernment judiciary tried to dismantle theassembly’s powers. In parallel with anunprecedented decline in living standards,there were periods of failed political dia-logue and deadly violence. The governmentdealt in an increasingly authoritarian waywith an increasingly undemocratic opposi-tion, deepening mistrust and resentmentbetween both camps. The absence of apolitical agreement made the May 2018presidential election perfectly legal butpolitically ineffectual, as major oppositionparties refused to participate.

The shift to the right of major countriesin Latin America, and Donald Trump’selection, also played a fundamental role indeepening Venezuela’s political polarisa-tion. The US and its allies started treatingVenezuela’s Chavismo as a criminal ratherthan a political organisation, andVenezuela’s government as an enemy ratherthan an adversary. Sanctions were imposedand, in August 2017, the country was virtu-ally banned from international capital mar-kets, accelerating the decline of its oilindustry. Yet this confrontational approachfailed to deliver on its objectives, as itemboldened Maduro in his claim of beingsubject to imperialist aggression, and disin-centivised rather than promoted the emer-gence of challengers to Maduro withinChavismo, especially among the military.

The recent move by Guaidó to anointhimself “interim president” could bringabout catastrophic consequences forVenezuela. Unless the international com-munity is willing to risk a needless war onthe American continent, it must urgentlycreate conditions for a national dialogueaimed at reaching a political agreement.This means acknowledging that both thestatus quo and the endorsement of Guaidó’sclaims are unsatisfactory from a democrat-ic point of view, and do not guarantee thecountry’s peace and stability.

The idea that Maduro has managed toremain in office during the past six yearssolely through corruption and the use offorce is a gross misrepresentation. Itignores that, beyond the president, theChavismo social movement counts millionsof supporters, primarily from lower-incomecommunities, and is strongly embeddedwithin the Venezuelan military.

The holding of new general elections toresolve the current dispute can only be theresult of an internal agreement that theinternational community can help to facili-tate. An initiative by Mexico and Uruguayto host an international conference thisweek, along with the decision of the EU tohead a contact group of European and LatinAmerican countries, should be stronglysupported. Venezuelans have a right tocoexist, and they should be allowed toresolve their problems in a democratic,peaceful and sovereign manner.

Public Disclosure: The Million-Dollar Elephant in the RoomBy Jerry Hutchinson

PUBLIC DISCLOSURE: An Act to make provision for the public disclo-sure of the assets, income and liabilities of persons in public life and formatters incidental thereto or connected therewith. [Assent 7th October

1976] [Commencement 3rd January 1977]`.

The law regarding Public Disclosure is clear;Public Disclosure is required: “In the case of aperson appointed a Senator or elected aMember of Parliament, as the case may be, atany time after the 31st day of December 1977,within three months from the date of suchappointment or election, as the case may be, inrespect of his assets, income and liabilities asat the previous 31st day of December”. Section4 (2) (A) Public Disclosure Act, 1977. and (B)and thereafter on the 31st day of December, ineach year that he is a Senator or Member ofParliament, in respect of his assets, income andliabilities as at the 31st day of December ineach year, so, however, that a declarationrequired to be furnished on the 31st day ofDecember in any year shall be deemed to com-ply with the requirement of this subsection if itis furnished before the 1st day of March nextfollowing that date.

Whatever its current status, the originalintention of the Act was a serious one. ThePublic Disclosure Commissions duties wereintended to be in the public interest. Indeed,the Act states that; “The Commission shallconsist of three members appointed by theGovernor-General, upon the recommendationof the Prime Minister after consultation withthe Leader of the Opposition”. Yet, there hasnot been a public disclosure declaration pub-lished in the Gazette as required by law insometime. If public officials had assumedoffice and not been aware of these disclosurerequirements then, they should have beenapprised of them. However, as the PublicDisclosure Act (PDA) has careened around thecountry like a hand grenade this is highlyunlikely. What is more likely is that publicofficials have decided that the PDA is a jokeand they have no intention to comply with it.On 3 November, 2017 the Tribune reported:

“CITIZENS for a Better Bahamas (CBB)yesterday slammed the government for failingto meet its campaign promises on enforcementof the Public Disclosure Act.

In a press statement the advocacy groupcalled on citizens to reject "implausible" and"unreasonable" excuses and demand the fullenforcement of the critical anti-corruption law.

Lemarque Campbell, Citizens for a BetterBahamas' chairman and TransparencyInternational's country representative, said:"Civil society can't remain silent on this issue.You have countries such as the UK where theassets, incomes, liabilities and campaign con-tributions for government officials are auto-matically posted and updated online for thepublic to view. Yet we can't even get the foun-dation right - by having the Public DisclosureCommission meet in a timely manner”.

It is fair then to conclude that no public offi-cial has any immediate plans to disclose to theBahamian citizens their assets and liabilities.What should be troubling to Bahamians is thatthis clear breach of the law has existed formany years and no amount of public criticismhas had any effect on these non-compliers.Indeed, the Houses of Parliament has been thescene of many heated clashes in which mem-bers were accused of non-compliance. Anexample was reported in Bahamas News onWednesday 19th, October 2011.

“A tit-for-tat over the disclosure of theirfinances caused a heated exchange inParliament between members of the governingparty and Bran McCartney, the self-imposedleader of the DNA. McCartney started the rowby accusing Prime Minister Hubert Ingrahamof violating the law by not complying withpublic disclosure laws. The Public DisclosureAct requires that members of parliament pub-licly disclose theirs, and their immediate fami-lies, assets, interests and income. Violation ofthe law is supposed to be an offence punish-able by a $10,000 fine, up to two years in jailor both, and additionally the member can havehis property forfeited to the Crown. The lawhas been rarely, if ever enforced”.

When asked by a reporter last year if he hadcomplied with the Act, Mr Ingraham said hehad not and that he was “too busy “to do so.Since then, Ingraham has allegedly made theappropriate disclosures. He told a newspaperearlier this year that he has since complied andhas submitted the required information to thepublic disclosure committee. Mr McCartneydid not withdraw his statements and the MPsfor the government dropped the matter. But notbefore Mr Ingraham warned all MPs to get up-to-date with the Public DisclosureCommission. “All members are now on noticethat they ought to do their disclosure for 2009and 2010,” the Prime Minister said”.

Some of the reasons given by MPs for theirnon-compliance are so implausible and far-

fetched that only an idiot would believe them.Indeed, comedy writers would find a richtreasure trove of comic material if they readthe excuses given. Their excuses range fromfear of extortion, kidnapping, robbery andburglary, all real risks experienced daily bythe local population. In fact, they use everyexcuse except perhaps, that the dog ate theirdisclosure forms! No matter how strange andesoteric their excuses the reality is more mun-dane.

They don’t wish their employers, the peo-ple, to know how they are progressing mone-tarily. Maybe they fear that the interest in theiraffairs springs from the public’s interest in themore salacious details of their declarationsand has nothing to do with their obligationsunder the PDA; and some will avoid comply-ing with the PDA at all costs. In the absence ofpersuasive evidence to the contrary, I mustreluctantly make a causal link between thislack of transparency and disclosure in ourpublic life especially public accounting, andthe recent findings by TransparencyInternationals Corruption Perception Indexwhich indicates that the Bahamas is at its low-est rankings ever. These numbers came froman opinion survey of Bahamians who wereasked a wide range of questions on corruptinteractions with public officials. The respon-ders for better or worse, have drawn their ownconclusions in the absence of information tothe contrary. It is safe to assume that impor-tant international agencies are probably doingthe same. But, be advised, there are conse-quences for non-disclosure. Under 13(1) ofthe PDA which recites:

“ Any person who (a) fails without reason-able cause, to furnish to the Commission adeclaration which he is required to furnish inaccordance with the provisions of this Act; (b)knowingly makes any false statement in suchdeclaration; (c) fails without reasonable causeto give such information or explanation as theCommission may require under section 6 or 7;(d) after a summary of a declaration has beenpublished. shall be guilty of an offence andshall on conviction on information, be liableto a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars orto imprisonment for a term not exceeding twoyears, or to both such fine and imprisonment,and where the offence involves the deliberatenon-disclosure of the property of a Senator orMember of Parliament, the court shall, inaddition to the imposition of a fine or term ofimprisonment or both (i) if the propertyinvolved is situate within The Bahamas (ii)declare that it be forfeited to the Government;(iii) if the property involved is situate outsideThe Bahamas, order that an amount equiva-lent to the value of such property (the value tobe assessed as directed by the court), be paidby the Senator or Member of Parliament to theGovernment”.

As I have previously stated, no public offi-cial has ever been found liable under this sec-tion. Either it does not apply or, no one givesa damn whether it applies or not; only timewill tell. However, if public officials choose tosubmit a “dodgy” declaration or, a complaintis made about the contents of the declarationwe have an App for that. Section 8(1) pro-vides:

“Where (a) any person fails to furnish theCommission with a declaration which he isrequired to furnish in accordance with thisAct; or (b) the Commission examines a decla-ration and any related information or docu-ments, or conducts an enquiry into any suchdeclaration or into a complaint made inrespect of any summary of a declaration and isnot satisfied with any aspect thereof, theCommission shall report the matter (settingout such details and particulars as theCommission in its discretion thinks fit) to thePrime Minister and the Leader of theOpposition”.

What is abundantly clear is that the provi-sions of the Public Disclosure Act 1977 arebeing wilfully ignored by many persons inpublic life with no consequences. If the Act isnot intended to be complied with then, justrepeal it. However, if it remains in force thencompliance must be demanded. It seems to methat there is a spirit of non-compliance andopaqueness loose in the land which must bearrested. If are public officials refuse to obeythe rules then, why expect it from our citizens.Sadly, disregard for the rules have beenweaponized by politicians who flaunt the rulesof practice and tradition themselves but pun-ish others, (usually opponents) who do thesame thing innocently.

So, if you are in public life, to declare ornot to declare, that’s a $million question!

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A6 The Bahama Journal

Wednesday - February 13th, 2019 NationalNEWS

GOT NEWS?call The Bahama

TIP LINE at 356-7254

Canadian TouristDrowns In Eleutherathat occurred shortlybefore 3pm.

Police could not saywhat led to the mandrowning. According toreports, he was discov-ered unresponsive, float-ing in waters at HalfMoon Cay.

The tourist was

removed from the waterand CPR rendered. Thevictim was transported tothe local clinic onEleuthera, where he waspronounced dead.Investigations are ongo-ing.

Police are also investi-gating a stabbing incidentat a Government school inWestern New Providence

which left a juvenile malewith injuries, and anothermale in custody.

According to police,shortly after 11:00am,Monday, an altercationoccurred between twomale students, on thepremises of a SeniorGovernment School in thewestern district of NewProvidence, which esca-

lated, resulting in one ofthe students being stabbedabout the body.

The injured student wastransported to hospital,where he is detained instable condition. Policehave taken into custody, a17 year old student of theschool in connection withthis incident.Investigations are ongo-

ing.A drug bust at the

Lynden PindlingInternational Airport(LPIA) on Monday leftone man in police custody.

Shortly before 4:00pm,Drug Enforcement UnitOfficers acting on infor-mation, while at thedomestic section of theLPIA, conducted a search

of a man who had arrivedon a flight from Andros,and recovered from hisluggage 11.6 pounds ofsuspected marijuana.

The man was takeninto custody and isexpected to be formallycharged before aMagistrate Court thisweek. The drugs is valuedof $11,600.

S c h o o l sare safe,says Lloydtaken into custody inconnection withMonday’s school stab-bing at C.C.SweetingSenior High School thatleft another in hospital.

According to police,the incident unfoldedaround 11:00am whenthe teens got into analtercation on theschool’s grounds, leadingto one of them beingstabbed about the body.

“The school has beendealing with that alongwith the police and the

parents and the studenthas been receiving med-ical treatment. The mat-ter is now under activeinvestigation,” MinisterLloyd said.

“I am awaiting a reportso that we can determinewhat actions need to betaken,” he added.

“I want to emphasizethat our schools are safefor our students and ourteachers. I want toemphasize that whereverincidence of violence orthreats of violence occur,those are immediatelyaddressed, confronted

and resolved; so thatagain, we provide thesafest environment forthose who need to be onthe campus.”

The injured studentwas taken to hospital,where he’s listed in stablecondition.

This is the latest inci-dent of school violence inrecent days.

Last month, a CVBethel science teacherwas attacked by a stu-dent.

This was followed upby a similar incident atCH Reeves Junior High.

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