The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

OPPOSITION Leader Philip “Brave” Davis called yesterday on Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis to live up to his pre-election promises and identify those who have not declared their assets and liabilities to the Public Disclosure Commission in accordance with the Public Disclosure Act.

PDC chairman Myles Laroda told The Nassau Guardian last week three people, two senators and a parliamentarian, failed to make their disclosure by the March 31 extended deadline earlier this year.

The Public Disclosure Act empowers only two people to act on such information: the prime minister and the leader of the opposition. Either of them can publish the information through a communication in the House of Assembly or cause for it to be laid in the Senate. Either can authorise that the information be presented to the attorney general or commissioner of police so those who failed to disclose could face a penalty. The penalty for not disclosing is a $10,000 fine and/or up to two years in prison.

Yesterday, Mr Davis said he will be looking into exercising his rights under the act.

However, he said given Dr Minnis’ past rhetoric, he should act without hesitation.

In 2014, while in opposition, Dr Minnis said parliamentarians who failed to make their financial disclosures should be arrested.

“I can tell you that I have disclosed,” he said at the time. “I can tell you that the opposition has disclosed. You would do me a great favour, you and the Bahamian pubic –– set an example, march and force them to disclose.

“And the police should lock them up. That’s the job of the police. They must disclose.”

After he won the May 2017 general election, Dr Minnis also set July 3, 2017 as a deadline by which all delinquent disclosures were to be sent, failing which information would be sent to the Office of the Attorney General.

That deadline passed without him taking any action.

Mr Davis said he received a letter from Mr Laroda earlier this year informing him of several Progressive Liberal Party members who had missing disclosures.

“They had several outstanding declarations over the years,” he said. “It appeared to me they did an audit of all persons and from that audit they were able to point out gaps and persons who had not disclosed.”

Since then, he said all PLPs are up to date with their disclosures, adding the three people who missed the recent deadline are not from his party.