The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement leader Michael Pintard said Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell’s dismissive comments about the Freedom of Information Act are “incredibly sad” and let “the cat out of the bag” about how the Davis administration feels about a system whose implementation has been slow for more than a decade.

Mr Mitchell said the administration opposes “this Freedom of Information Act idea”. His comment came even though the Progressive Liberal Party promised to fully implement the law in its pre-election Blueprint for Change, identifying it as one of the keys to good governance.

More than 100 countries have implemented some form of freedom of information legislation. Although a law was passed locally in 2017, no one can request information through the system.

Information Commissioner Keith Thompson told The Nassau Guardian last week that his office has done what it can to get a FOIA pilot programme rolling but needs the Office of the Prime Minister to provide the necessary technology.

Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis later said the FOIA was not among his top priorities.

On Friday, after Mr Mitchell’s comments, the Office of the Prime Minister said the administration is committed to implementing the Freedom of Information Act and that Minister Mitchell affirmed the government “is actively moving forward with the FOIA’s implementation”.

However, The Nassau Guardian’s article did not suggest or report Mr Mitchell saying the government is “actively moving forward” with implementing the law. Mr Mitchell said the prime minister’s position is: “Yeah, we’ve got a Freedom of Information Act and we’ll get to it”.

Mr Pintard said: “It is an old adage that often when a crime is bad, the cover-up is even worse. This came to mind when I read the statement from the Office of the Prime Minister from the desk of the country’s chief executive on Fred Mitchell’s incredibly sad statement on the government’s views on the freedom of information.

“The army of political spin doctors at OPM decided for reasons unknown to issue an utterly false and misleading statement in their futile attempt to back peddle or moonwalk away from the sentiments expressed by a cabinet minister and chairman Mitchell. Of course, as we all know, Minister Mitchell let the cat out of the bag and confessed to the nation that the PLP simply ain’t about that freedom of information business. They are not about that life.”

Mr Mitchell also suggested he does not support the Fiscal Responsibility Act and Public Procurement Act that legislation good governance advocates have sought for years.

“The clear and unmistaken truth is that Minister Mitchell didn’t affirm the Freedom of Information Act,” Mr Pintard said. “The truth is stated that he and the PLP oppose these acts.

“Bahamians have realised for a while now what Minister Mitchell has just gotten around to admitting. The Davis administration never had any intention of fully implementing the Freedom of Information. They will continue to stall and slow walk the implementation of this important piece of legislation because, as they have been showing us, they do not want accountability and transparency.”