The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS and LETRE SWEETING

Tribune Staff Reporters

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell said the Davis administration wants to prorogue Parliament more often.

His comment came as he and Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper defended the recent prorogation after criticism from Free National Movement Leader Michael Pintard.

“The prorogation of the House is something that was routinely done in the pre-independence era,” Mr Mitchell said.

“When we came to office in 2021, we agreed to go back to the position where every year, essentially, you reset the agenda by proroguing the House and starting again. There’s nothing irregular about this. There’s no special need to duck anything, none of that.

“They’re actually making much more out of it than it is. And that’s because it’s just unusual to see it happen. Most of the post-independence prime ministers just had one session. You open Parliament, and it just kept for the five years. We agreed that we would go back to sessions annually if possible. That gives us an opportunity to reset the agenda and to say where we’ve gone.”

Mr Mitchell noted the Minnis administration left many questions unanswered when Parliament was prorogued and dissolved in 2021.

“I think they had something like some 266 questions left unanswered when they dissolved Parliament in 2021,” he said. “So they really can’t talk about who’s ducking who. We set the agenda as follows in 2021: reopen the economy, get things going. And we’ve done that. And now it’s time to reflect and reset priorities, and we’re going to do that.”

He added: “You know, it’s their job, of course to rattle our cages, but be assured that we don’t hear the rattles from them, what we hear is grumbling and noise.

“They need to take care of their own business like, you know, Pintard looking over his shoulder because Minnis is trying to get him. They need to concentrate on that first, instead of troubling us.”

For his part, Mr Cooper said the administration passed dozens of bills during the session.

“There is a reason why Pintard is in opposition and we’re in government,” he said on the sidelines of a Ministry of Education conclave yesterday.

“We are the government of the day and we will lead as we see fit. The prime minister has made a determination that we are going to reset. We are going to return on October 4. It is what it is.

“We’ve accomplished more than 100 pieces of legislation passed in the House of Assembly. We have a great agenda lined up for the future.

“We are going to stay focused on the mission. We are humbled that the Bahamian people have given us five years to lead. We have a magnificent blueprint for change. We are making significant headway achieving many of those elements of the blueprint for change.”

“The reality is that our prime minister will lay out in due course the legislative agenda, and you should anticipate a Speech from the Throne that sets out all of the details for the upcoming three years.”

The Office of the Prime Minister said the next session of Parliament will see the government “prioritise legislation and policies which address the high cost of living, lift our people and strengthen our economic and national security”.

The next parliament session will likely coincide with Cynthia “Mother” Pratt’s anticipated appointment as the next governor-general, allowing her to read the Speech from the Throne.