The Tribune

PROMINENT lawyer Fred Smith, QC, has hit out at the announcement that there may be no Freedom of Information Act brought to Parliament until 2016, saying the legislation is already long overdue and accusing government of stalling in an effort to avoid increased public scrutiny.

Mr Smith, the legal director of the social and environmental advocacy group Save The Bays (STB), noted that the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) promised to enact the legislation during the 2012 campaign but has failed to live up to that pledge.

“It is simply unacceptable,” Mr Smith said. “Five years after the election promise and on the eve of the new election is far too long for the public to wait for transparency and accountability in government.

“An FOIA exists in some form or other across the entire civilized world. It is a disgrace that the Bahamas is lagging so far behind in granting its citizens the fundamental right to know what is being done in their name and with their money by public servants and elected officials.”

Mr Smith was responding to the announcement last week by Minister of Education Jerome Fitzgerald that following his government’s withdrawal of an FOIA passed just before the 2012 election by the former Free National Movement (FNM) administration, a revised version will not be presented to Parliament before spring 2016.

“Again, just like the FNM, they are kicking the can down the road, pushing the matter to the end of their term so as to avoid increased public scrutiny of their own actions and make FOIA the problem of their successors,” Mr Smith said. “It’s no wonder they are stalling – think of how many important public issues have arisen on the PLP’s watch that an FOIA could shed considerable light on.

“Take for example the outrageous letter of intent signed by Renward Wells for a $600 million project without the approval of Cabinet, or the US State Department’s complaints of a lack of transparency in the issuance of government contracts, or the still mysterious NIB controversy right at the beginning of their term. The list goes on and on.”

Mr Smith said of particular concern to STB is the ongoing practice of governments forging secret deals with foreign developers that often lead to significant environmental degradation and social dislocation.

“The scourge of unregulated development has its roots in the lack of transparency and accountability. The public should know what the government has agreed to in its name, and should always have a say on what is done with its Crown land and natural resources.

“In the absence of freedom of information, The Bahamas has been run like a petty dictatorship by successive governments, which have treated our land, our patrimony, our Family Islands as if it was their own to sell to whom they wish and for whatever price they wish – usually next to nothing; prime ministers (as Ministers of Finance) who treat our treasury as if it is their own personal piggybank that can be used to fund whatever shortsighted projects they please.”

Mr Smith said Mr Fitzgerald’s distain for the public was evident in his claim the delay is necessary as government is still in the process of deciding whether it should make the “over 100” amendments to the FNM’s Act, or “scrap it” and start it from scratch.

Meanwhile, Mr Smith said, the rest of the world understands the urgent need for FOIA in the Bahamas. “Earlier this year, the government’s own tax reform consultants from New Zealand insisted the legislation was crucial for the implementation of Value-Added Tax, slated for January 2015.

“And, the new US Embassy Charge d’affaires threw support behind FOIA in the Bahamas and pledged her country’s help to see it in place, a pledge the administration has yet to even acknowledge,” he said.