The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

SOME Cabinet ministers are calling for the modernisation of the public disclosure filing process as the deadline for parliamentarians to do so has passed.

Bishop Victor Cooper, Public Disclosure Commission chairman, told The Tribune on Monday that “one or two” officials had requested extra time to disclose their assets and liabilities.

Before the sitting of Parliament yesterday morning, this newspaper asked several parliamentarians if they had disclosed. The deadline to do so was yesterday.

East Grand Bahama MP Kwasi Thompson said he was “carrying it over” that morning while Fort Charlotte MP Alfred Sears indicated he had to check with his accountant.

Central and South Eleuthera MP Clay Sweeting posted on Facebook a form with the caption “Public Disclosure Filed”. Opposition leader and Marco City MP Michael Pintard stated on Tuesday he had dropped off his form.

Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper assured his filing would be done before the end of the day.

The process was brought to their attention last year when Bishop Cooper reportedly told The Nassau Guardian that some first-time MPs were not aware that there was a legal requirement for them to file financial disclosures under the Public Disclosures Act.

Asked if he thought his fellow parliamentarians met the deadline, the Deputy Prime Minister admitted: “I don’t know, you’ll have to ask them. I think the process is a tedious one. I think the filing needs to be modernised.

“The system is archaic. I don’t know whether the process has been reformed over the last 50 years. So that’s what I’d like to see. (I) support public disclosure. I think it’s important and I think it helps with transparency and accountability.

Public Service State Minister Pia Glover-Rolle repeated similar concerns as Mr Cooper about the process needing an update. Her public disclosure was submitted in January, she said.

“Of course, we have a lot going on a daily basis. Not that that should pre-empt us from our obligations, but it will be so much easier if the forms were digitised. As everything, you know, nowadays, even with banking it’s digitised and that would make it much easier and I think more accessible for parliamentarians and those who have to report to get the forms in a more timely manner.”

St Anne’s MP Adrian White explained that while filing seems simple, it comes with its challenges.

“This is my second year doing it,” the opposition MP said. “It seems like a very simple task for many people, but until you’ve adjusted to filing it on an annual basis it can be a little tricky because you have to get supporting documents from a number of places. But I’m proud to have submitted it and I hope all my other colleagues in the House Assembly and the Senate have done likewise.”

He said despite the challenges, the process needs to be done.

“That doesn’t make a difference to me, however, it’s going to be done so long as it gets done that’s fine, but we’ve got a system in place that’s been working for many years now. We don’t always need to change what’s not broken. So just get it done is what I would recommend everybody do rather than look for reasons why we need to do it differently.”

He confessed he did the filing last minute on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Nassau Village MP Jamahl Strachan said he didn’t have much to disclose.

“As a new member of Parliament, I don’t really have that much to disclose. So it should be pretty easy for me, but it’s just a matter of ensuring that we meet the deadline,” he said.

Social Services Minister and West Grand Bahama and Bimini MP Obie Wilchcombe expressed confidence that the filings will be done in a timely fashion.

“We have asked all our members, and other members who thought that they needed extra time have requested such, and I suppose the commission will grant it, but I think for the most part, we will be on time today,” Mr Wilchcombe said.