SENATOR MICHELA ELAINE BARNETT-ELLIS.
FREE National Movement leader Michael Pintard has appointed Michela Elaine Barnett-Ellis to the Senate.
Ms Ellis’ appointment comes after former FNM Senator Viana Gardiner resigned from the Senate on December 31, 2021 to take on a new job in the private sector.
In a statement, the FNM said Ms Ellis is a decorated attorney and a partner at Graham Thompson who has years of public service experience.
She has served as chair of the Building and Contracts Committee; the Operations Committee of the National Insurance Board from July 2017 through September 2021; and as honorary secretary of the Bahamas Bar Association from June 2019 to the present.
She has been awarded the City wealth IFC Power Women Top 200 list for three consecutive years.
Ms Ellis is also a dedicated volunteer, serving her community through the community action-oriented Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated. She also served as a volunteer with the Bahamas AIDS Foundation and as a volunteer with the Volunteer Reading Project. She is the daughter of Sir Michael Barnett and Lady Camille Barnett.
“Her experience, perspective, and dedication to serving Bahamians is expected to further strengthen the Senate and help shape our country’s future,” Mr Pintard said. “I look forward to working with her as we take steps toward our recovery and to building back a more resilient and inclusive Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
“The appointment of a new senator is a significant undertaking, particularly in these difficult times that require insightful leadership and persons who are prepared to carefully present well considered views on matters of grave importance to our national development. This assignment places tremendous demands on the time and resources of the office holder if they are minded to serve with distinction and work collaboratively passing legislation and addressing issues that have real consequences in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Bahamians and residents in our beautiful but very complex country.”
He also said: “The Senate provides a powerful platform for talented and experienced Bahamians to add their voice and the views of their caucus to important considerations relative to legislation, policies and issues on local and national import. Another critical aspect of the Senate is the particular role of opposition senators to protect the rights of individuals and safeguard minority opinion in a system of government designed to give greater power to the national government.”
Comments
tribanon 2 years, 9 months ago
Pintard is quoted in another Tribune article as having said: “We are committed to building a country that’s not steeped in political tribalism but believes that when Bahamians collaborate, we can produce Bahamian exceptionalism and excellence."
But Pintard's real message is that he's only too happy to be able to assist in building a society steeped in political nepotism to produce a tight-knit elitist Bahamian ruling class grounded in exceptionalism and excellence."
And as the vast majority of much less fortunate Bahamians know only too well, there are now so many among the elitist political ruling class sucking heavily on the public purse for token salaries and other benefits that there's very little left in the kitty these days to fund all of the things our society so desperately needs, like upgraded and new public schools, a much better public health system, etc., etc.
A much smaller Senate or no Senate at all, combined with a 50% reduction in the number of our MPs and a 50% reduction in our cabinet ministers, would go a long ways to cutting away the layers of unnecessary, most wasteful and very costly fat we have in our government today. But instead, the corrupt Davis led government is about to, if it has not done so already, approve a significant increase in salaries and other benefits for all parliamentarians.
And guess who will be getting much higher tax bills for the generosity these parliamentarians bestow on themselves? That's right...none other than the already over-burdened and downtrodden taxpayers like you and me!
Baha10 2 years, 9 months ago
Well put and articulated.
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