The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

TWO months past the government's self-imposed deadline for prosecuting delinquent public officials under the Public Disclosure Act, the Public Disclosure Commission has yet to hold its first meeting.

PDC chairman Myles Laroda confirmed yesterday that while the group has been fully appointed, it has not met because one of the three members was out of the country.

Mr Laroda said he could not provide an update on compliance until after members have met to discuss the way forward.

There was a July 3 timeline set by Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis for the files on delinquent disclosures to be sent to the Office of the Attorney General.

Since then, the first annual deadline for newly elected members of Parliament and senators to submit their full disclosures has passed.

In the case of persons appointed or elected after the annual March 1 deadline, the Public Disclosure Act states that disclosures must be filed within three months from the date - effectively, August 10 for MPs and August 22 for senators.

Yesterday, Lemarque Campbell, chairperson of Citizens for a Better Bahamas (CBB), reiterated his concern over the stalled pace of the commission.

"I think this raises a lot of concerns given the timeline for the first disclosures have now passed," Mr Campbell said.

"With it confirmed that the board hasn't met yet, we don't know what work has been done.

"This should have actually set the tone for this administration going forward, how they handled this first deadline, and we haven't heard anything about it.

"It's concerning," he said, "we can only lobby them, at the end of the day it's up to the government to ensure that the work of the Public Disclosure Commission is actually carried out."