The Tribune

By KHRISNA VIRGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement Deputy Leader Loretta Butler-Turner questioned whether postponing a date for the gender equality referendum to 2015 was too long, but said the government had only itself to blame because the entire process was mishandled.

Mrs Butler-Turner told The Tribune yesterday that while she supported the delay, it appeared from the beginning that the process had been “slapped together” and handled poorly.

She explained that there were too many other hard-hitting issues in the public domain that competed with voting on the changes, which seek to enshrine equal rights for men and women in the Bahamas’ Constitution.

In the midst of discussions on the four Constitutional Amendment Bills, the public’s attention was also focused on Value Added Tax (VAT) legislation, which was passed in Parliament last month, and the Gaming Bill. The Gaming Bill will soon be debated in the Senate after it was passed in the House on Monday. VAT will come on stream on January 1.

“I’m fully behind it,” Mrs Butler-Turner said, “and I support all of the provisions for the amendments. My challenge though would have been the process. Truthfully, there was none. It was slapped together at the last minute without thought.

“If they canvassed beyond what they did and really addressed the language and wording of the bills and questions making it easy for understanding, maybe there would have been a better chance of being prepared come November 6 (the original referendum date).

“The education process hasn’t even really begun and we have a lot of people putting erroneous statements in the public domain and muddying the water.

“At the end of the day, I put the blame fully at the feet of the government in not going about this matter the right way. I think they could have gotten it right if the process was done properly. So I have a lot of concern about this. This is the Christie administration’s baby so they have to carry it as best they can.”

Mrs Butler-Turner said the government has to now see how it can win the public’s trust after deciding not to abide by the 2013 gambling referendum. The referendum asked voters if they supported regulating and taxing web shops and the creation of a national lottery. The majority of people who voted said “no” to both questions.

On Monday, Bain and Grants Town MP Dr Bernard Nottage announced that the anticipated November 6 poll would be delayed to next year at a date to be announced later.

He explained that the government decided to postpone the referendum after considering recommendations from the Constitutional Commission, which saw additional time as vital to the success of its public education campaign.

This is the fourth time the Christie administration has delayed the constitutional vote.