The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A governance reformer says the omission of anti-corruption legislation from the Speech from the Throne “raises some concerns” about the Government’s upcoming legislative agenda.

Matt Aubry, the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) executive director, told Tribune Business the priority must be placed on citizens having “greater capacity” to ensure their government is doing what is necessary to preserve their rights and interests.

“The kinds of legislation we were looking for were the Ombudsman Bill, which was brought forward and we benchmarked earlier this year. This was a prime opportunity to help citizens navigate and deal with times when government is not operating the way it should,” the ORG chief added.

“The Public Disclosures Bill that was talked about, although we see value in a much more comprehensive Integrity Commission Bill, as was mentioned in the Blueprint for Change and was raised in the last administration.” The trend in the Caribbean is that public disclosure is now part of a much broader package of integrity-related legislation where issues such as conflict of interest and patronage systems are also dealt with more comprehensively.

However, Ryan Pinder KC, the attorney general, last week told Tribune Business that the anti-corruption legislation referred to by Mr Aubry remains firmly on the Government’s agenda for the upcoming session of Parliament. He added that just because it was not included in the Speech from the Throne does not mean the Davis administration will not pursue it, as not all Bills were included in the address by governor-general, Cynthia Pratt.

Mr Aubry said: “We were excited to hear the Speaker of the House talk about the Parliamentary Services Bill, and that’s something that is really going to be important moving forward, because I think the strength and the independence of Parliament would be critical in ensuring greater democracy and policy development.

“We were very excited to hear, obviously, things like the Public Service Bill, which is an opportunity to have a more effective and efficient public service, and also the development and push forward of the National Development Plan. That is really powerful.

“So understanding that there’s a number of items that are going to be addressed, then the question also becomes a matter of priority, and then once done, the ability to make sure that these things are enacted.”

Bahamians have had a “right” to freedom of information since 2017, but have not been able to use it, and this is something ORG will be following up on to ensure citizens are able to see what is going on in government.