The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

THE Free National Movement (FNM) said that all its parliamentarians met this year’s deadline for filing financial disclosures under the Public Disclosure Act.

Several Davis administration officials told The Tribune they filed their disclosures, including Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper, Education Minister Glenys Hanna Martin, Grand Bahama Minister Ginger Moxey, National Security Minister Wayne Munroe, Labour and Public Service Minister Pia Glover-Rolle, Energy and Transport Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis, Youth, Sports and Culture Minister Mario Bowleg, Social Services Minister Myles Laroda, Central and South Abaco MP John Pinder, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Leon Lundy, Health Minister Dr Michael Darville, Economic Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis.

The Tribune could not reach many other elected officials.

North Andros and the Berry Islands MP Leonardo Lightbourne said his declaration should be completed by tomorrow at the latest, attributing his delay to being on bed rest for a medical issue.

FNM leader Michael Pintard has called for the Public Disclosures Committee chairman, Bishop Victor Cooper, to be more transparent about who has complied with the law.

Bishop Cooper told The Tribune earlier this month that the committee’s office may have been affected by mould, which made the building inaccessible and delayed the processing of public officials’ disclosures.

“We’ve had people who’ve been affected by mould, we’re not going to have anybody else affected,” he reiterated yesterday.

“I can’t speak to what this one say and the next one say, we have an office that’s infected with mould, and so we are not accommodating anyone in there, because it’s not safe to be there.”

Bishop Cooper said the commission had temporarily relocated to the Cabinet office until a new, secure space could be arranged. He stressed that documents must be stored securely and in an organised manner.

Once the office is cleared to return to its original location, officials will do so, with plans to modernise operations.

Under the Public Disclosure Act of The Bahamas, senators and Members of Parliament must submit annual declarations of their assets, income, and liabilities. The deadline for submissions was March 1.

Bishop Cooper has previously downplayed the committee’s role in publishing disclosures, stating that while it compiles reports, it does not have the authority to publish them in the Gazette. He suggested that this responsibility lies with the Prime Minister and the opposition. However, the Public Disclosure Act clearly states that the committee must publish a summary of the declarations once reviewed.

The law also requires the committee to report non-compliance to the prime pinister and opposition leader, who can escalate the matter to Parliament, the attorney general, or law enforcement.

Last year, Bishop Cooper said that 90 percent of parliamentarians had met the March 1, 2024, deadline, though he acknowledged that several senators and senior public officials had failed to comply. The names of those who did not comply were never disclosed.

Under the law, non-compliance can result in fines of up to $10,000 or two years in prison.