The Tribune

By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

SOME elected officials have still not complied with financial disclosure requirements in 2023, according to Public Disclosure Commission Chairman Bishop Victor Cooper.

He said his office would notify Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis and Opposition Leader Michael Pintard of the delinquencies next week.

Only Mr Davis or Mr Pintard could refer the matter to the Office of the Attorney General for potential prosecution, but neither has said they would.

Elected officials must make their financial disclosures by March 1.

Bishop Cooper said while 99 per cent of them have filed, some have inexcusably not done so.

“All of them are aware,” he said. “We did all that is necessary to keep them advised so there’s no excuse unless people are travelling and that kind of thing and they need to ask for an extension.”

 “But we have submitted and are submitting names of those persons to the prime minister’s office and the leader of the opposition, persons who have not yet disclosed.”

 “There are penalties, and they can go up to $10,000, so the attorney general, I guess and the prime minister and the leader of the opposition will deal with that, but it’s out of our hands once we’ve submitted that to them.”

 Under the Public Disclosure Act, the prime minister or leader of the opposition can identify those who failed to follow the law by tabling a communication in the House of Assembly or causing one to be tabled in the Senate.

 In addition to a $10,000 fine, those guilty of breaking the law could serve two years in prison.

 Last year, some first-time MPs said they were unaware there was a legal requirement to file financial disclosures under the Public Disclosures Act.

 In March, The Tribune asked several MPs if they had met the deadline.

 Mr Davis, Pia Glover-Rolle, Adrian White, Clay Sweeting and Michael Pintard were among those who said they did.

 Yesterday, Bishop Cooper said the commission wants to modernise the public disclosure filing process.

 The Bahamas does not have a robust system surrounding public disclosures. The United States, in its human rights report, has repeatedly noted that there is no independent verification of the information public officials submit.