The Tribune

By RIEL MAJOR

Tribune Staff Reporter

rmajor@tribunemedia.net

TRANSPORT Minister Renward Wells shrugged off the possibility of a legal challenge to Parliament’s resolution on the Town Centre Mall.

Earlier this week, The Tribune reported that Progressive Liberal Party Leader Philip “Brave” Davis has asked attorney Alfred Sears to examine whether parliamentarians have standing to challenge the resolution in the Supreme Court with the hope of having it declared null and void.

Mr Wells said yesterday: “They can go to the courts. I’m not a lawyer and I don’t know what the courts would say, but I do believe that there is separation of powers in The Bahamas. You have three branches of government. You have the legislature; you have the executive of which I will be walking into Cabinet in a minute and then you have the judiciary. The legislature listened to the resolution, we debated the resolution and we moved that we have full confidence in the prime minister of The Bahamas.

“Even those who had not too flattering things to say either abstained in regard to at least one of the members and the other voted for it. At the end of the day the legislature, the Parliament had its say. . .none of us believed the prime minister misled the Parliament and we’ve already had that debate. We went through that on Wednesday and to use a term that the PLP used to say, ‘so said so done.’”

Mr Wells also again defended the Minnis administration’s decision to move the General Post Office to Town Centre Mall.

He told reporters outside of Cabinet that for the first time in 25 years, the post office has been audited. He said while auditors found a few areas to improve on, the post office received “rave reviews.”

“The last time it was audited they said it was 25 years ago by the United Postal Union. I’m happy to report to the people of The Bahamas that their post office passed the United Postal Union’s audit this past week this Friday. And it was a direct result of the fact that we moved our employees from that dilapidated structure on East Hill Street so those folks can say whatever it is they want to say and do whatever it is they want to do,” he said.

“I said in the House of Assembly the proof of the pudding is in the eating and it has been eaten. The results are that The Bahamas’ post office is where it ought to be and so we are looking forward to the final audit in January. The auditors were here, and they gave us rave reviews. They gave our procedures rave reviews.”