The Tribune

SENATOR Desmond Bannister said Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson should advise her government to pay those persons whose contracts were suspended following the change in government in May.

Contributing to the 2012/2013 Budget Debate in the Senate, Mr Bannister said Bahamians who have been asking about the fate of their contracts must now "have a real sense of grievance" after hearing the earlier comments of Mrs Maynard Gibson, who is leader of government business in the Senate.

"They cannot feel that their matters will be dealt with fairly, and I suspect that some will now seek judicial review on the grounds that the public comments of the Attorney General show a bias, and that accordingly she could not have decided their matters fairly."

Mr Bannister's statement came in response to Mrs Maynard-Gibson's Budget contribution, in which she said some of the contracts issued by the former FNM government were witnessed by some of the party's candidates.

But, he said, "There is no law that says that a political candidate cannot witness a contract, and the Attorney General has given no legal reason in her comments why those contracts should not be honoured. If someone broke the law, Madam President, then the Attorney General should say so, and take action against them. She knows and we all know that no laws were broken, so should advise the government appropriately, and pay the people so that they can go on with their lives."

Highlighting the many legislative changes made during the FNM's last term in office, Mr Bannister said the Attorney General will benefit from the FNM's passing of many pieces of legislation, such as: the Witness Anonymity Orders to protect witnesses; electronic monitoring of criminal defendants; stiffer penalties for sexual offenses including child pornography and rape; and stiffer penalties for drug offenses and firearms offenses - "which the PLP now says that they want to reduce".

"I hope that they are not considering changing the penalties that we imposed for dealing drugs in school zones, that would be unconscionable," he added, before continuing his list of FNM improvements to the administration of justice, which included plea bargaining; smaller, more manageable juries; an increase in the number of judges and a doubling of the number of courts operating in Freeport and New Providence.

He said: "Should she wish, Madam President, the Attorney General could share the statistics with us to show the amazing number of trials that were completed within 12 months with respect to serious offenses that had been committed in 2011," he said.

Mr Bannister noted that the new government must be satisfied with the FNM's provision for judges, because the current budget mirrors the FNM's budget in this regard.

Moreover, he said, the FNM provided judicial salary reviews in compliance with the law, without the controversy seen when the last PLP administration missed the deadline.

"Madam President, the FNM left a legacy for the Attorney General to build on. We expect her to build on it, and we will support any efforts to help improve our system of justice. The test will be whether she can keep those six courts operating at the same time, as we did.

"Madam President, the Attorney General announced that the new government is now engaging attorneys who still need to complete their pupilage. That is truly amazing.

"I hope that it does not become a widespread practice. In the Bahamas, attorneys can only appear in courts and conduct cases on their own when they have completed pupilage, which signifies a certain level of competence.

"Now, according to the Attorney General, Bahamian taxpayers who expect that the government will be hiring experienced attorneys will pay for attorneys to learn and to go to court with other lawyers. I wonder what will be the policy with respect to those of them who take two years or more to complete their pupilage?

"As I leave this subject, Madam President, I pause to reflect on the honourable Attorney General's comments with respect to contracts signed by Bahamians prior to the last general elections. I am quick to declare my interest, since my firm represents one of the persons; however as a Bahamian I express my concern.

"Our Constitution provides that 'the Attorney General shall not be subject to the control of any other person or authority.' It gives the Attorney General powers that nobody else in this country has.

"The tradition is that the Attorney General is essentially a non-political officer, since she is invested with the power to charge the Prime Minister if he breaks the law.

"It is an important tradition that has been honoured by convention throughout history, that Attorneys General give advice based on the law, not political policy."