The Tribune

MINISTER of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell responded to Dion Foulkes yesterday over his recent criticism of the government’s plans to rename the Paradise Island bridge in honour of Sir Sidney Poitier.

In his statement issued to the media, Mr Mitchell said the record clearly shows the decision to honour Sir Sidney was a Cabinet decision, and not one made by Mr Mitchell.

“The press conference was called and led by the Prime Minister who formally presented the co-chairs of the Independence Committee, Charles Carter and Nicolette Bethel.

“The Prime Minister is the head of the Cabinet and speaks for the Cabinet and the government.

“I appreciate that Dion Foulkes and the FNM have no responsibility for governance and are prepared to stand on the sidelines, throw stones and muddy the water as best they can, but he still has a public responsibility to be forthright with the Bahamian people,” Mr Mitchell’s statement read.

Last week, Mr Foulkes noted that Mr Mitchell promised that were he ever returned to office, he would find a way to thank Sir Sidney for his contributions to the country.

This caused Mr Foulkes to question whether the Cabinet of the Bahamas was being run by Mr Mitchell.

“Is the PLP Cabinet a committee of one? If Fred Mitchell is the driving force behind the decision to name the Paradise Island Bridge in Sir Sydney’s honour, he should keep that to himself.

“Cabinet Ministers are not permitted to personalise Cabinet decisions. The well established and accepted principle of collective responsibility has been compromised by Fred Mitchell,” Mr Foulkes argued.

But Mr Mitchell said Mr Foulkes and his party do no have the courage to oppose the naming of the bridge and are merely seeking to find other ways to “pollute the issue”.

“Mr Foulkes’ allegation that there has been some breach of the principle of collective responsibility is false and baseless. He does not understand constitutional law. That much is clear. It seems to me like he studied idiocy in its finest form.

“I respect each and every person’s right to disagree with the choices made by the government but I remain committed to the decision.

“It was also reported that Atlantis owns the Paradise Island Bridge.

“This is incorrect. The Bridge Authority, a corporation of the Bahamas government, owns the bridge and only the government can rename the bridge.

“Atlantis agreed with the renaming and will host the concert to celebrate this event.

“Sidney Poitier is a proud son of Cat Island, and of the Bahamas, and I trust that this will be a fitting tribute to a life well lived,” he said.