The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Deputy Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

ALTHOUGH “taken aback” by Centreville MP Reece Chipman’s resignation from the Public Accounts Committee, Official Opposition leader Philip “Brave” Davis said the move is a condemnation of the government.

The backbench MP resigned from the PAC on Wednesday due to frustration with the immobility of the traditionally powerful parliamentary committee.

Mr Davis, Cat Island, Rum Cay and San Salvador MP and who chairs PAC, speculated the move could be followed by other actions, but stopped short of saying what those could be.

Yesterday, Mr Chipman told The Tribune he had no intention of leaving the FNM or crossing the floor to the Progressive Liberal Party.

“I was taken aback by his resignation, but after reading it I understood it was inspired by his disappointment with his party and government and how he perceives Parliament is conducting its affairs,” Mr Davis, pictured right, told this newspaper.

“He has condemned his party and government and the House of Assembly. There are some obvious suggestions that flow from those remarks and we’ll have to see what actions come out of them.”

He also said: “Chipman is frustrated by his inability to carry out duties as a member of the committee.”

Asked whether he agreed with Mr Chipman that the House of Assembly is not functioning as it should, Mr Davis said: “The unfortunate fact of life is this is just the culture. It’s because of the lack of recourse by standing committees. He notes there haven’t been reports from many of the standing committees, but if he checked the records there haven’t been any reports from standing committees for many years.”

Mr Davis also agreed the PAC has its hands tied with the only course of action available to it is to raise this issue on the floor of the House again.

House Speaker Halson Moultrie told The Tribune in an interview on Wednesday the matter had not been revisited because Mr Davis did not bring it to his attention.

To this Mr Davis agreed, adding he planned to do so in short order.

“We have had several meetings and we were attempting to get responses from the government. They have pretty much hidden behind the ruling of the former Speaker Dr Kendal Major and we believe it’s misinterpreted, but at some point we will bring it to the floor.

“However, the fact that they have the majority raises the questions of what can be done? We have met several times and requested information but nothing has been forthcoming. We brought it to the House before but we haven’t gotten satisfactory response.”

The PAC, which examines public finances, has done little of consequence this term.

The Minnis administration has refused its requests for information, having interpreted a 2015 ruling from Dr Major as barring the committee from reviewing anything not brought to the House of Assembly by the auditor general.

Mr Chipman sought to table his PAC resignation letter in the House of Assembly on Wednesday, but Mr Moultrie denied him, saying he did not give notice of his intention to table the document beforehand as protocol requires.

In the letter later sent to the media, Mr Chipman said: “The Public Accounts Committee is one of the most prestigious committees in the Commonwealth parliamentary system. As a matter of fact, Westminster acknowledges it as the most important committee of the House of Assembly. In addition to its constitutional functions, Parliament maintains oversight of government’s financial matters through the Public Accounts Committee.”

He also noted: “Public Accounts Committee can only review reports laid before the House, most of which are substantially behind and irrelevant at this time. The only relevance is the political ping-pong which the next generation of Bahamians can care less about. The Bahamian people want clarity on, how much money we have? How much do we need and what are we spending it on?”

Mr Moultrie said Mr Chipman’s letter highlighted several grievances that have nothing to do with the PAC.