The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune.

Your Editorial of today is right on the money with this matter and quite honestly, I do not think that the Bahamian people realise, or appreciate, the magnitude of what seems to have happened. The Data Protection Commissioner clearly understands, but seems to be leaving it up to the Police. Unless that is the Editor’s view of the matter, of leaving it up to the police to discover. And presumably the police must leave it up to the Attorney General? And ……

Bahamians will readily march to Bay Street, and do all manner of things, to protest that we are no longer hanging murderers, and many people have come to the conclusion that, because of that single fact, murder is not punished in The Bahamas and so we have rampant murder counts now. Well guess what. Either Fitzgerald and Mitchell MUST immediately disclose how they got the information, and thereby satisfy the world (yes the world is watching) that it did not come by way of a criminal act, or the perpetrators and other opportunists will get the same idea as the murderers, that justice will never come to them.

I have worked in Financial Services Information Technology for many, many, years and have always understood that by law, I would be in very serious trouble, should I ever allow information, that came into my possession, to be disclosed to any third party. Except of course by the order of a competent Court, or words to that effect.

Does anyone realise how many Bahamians earn a living today in the information technology business, and may just feel that information that comes into their hands, or that they can access, may be of value to someone else? I wonder how Fitzgerald and Mitchell would feel if Loretta Butler-Turner got up in the House one day and tabled their bank account details, for the last ten or fifteen years.

Yes, somebody has them, and I definitely would not encourage anyone passing it on, nor Loretta disclosing it under House protection, but it is not difficult in this country to do. You don’t have to be at all smart to do this stuff.

If they came by the information honestly, they now need to say how they got it. If they don’t, then the police must question them when they leave the House. And the perpetrators, if found guilty of an offence must be dealt with according to the law.

This is one bomb that has a short wick so time is of the essence.

MONKEEDOO

Nassau,

April 20, 2016.