The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

A top civil servant's attorney yesterday argued that what his client has allegedly suffered must "in no circumstance be allowed to happen" to other public officials who seek to expose purported "wrongdoing".

Ashley Williams, in a statement responding to Tribune Business inquiries, confirmed Antoinette Thompson's refiled lawsuit "focuses on the pivotal provisions within the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Public Finance Management Act which safeguard transparency, accountability and ethical governance within governmental departments and ministries".

He argued that the allegations made by the permanent secretary in the then-Ministry of Transport and Housing, until she was placed on “unrecorded leave” in April 2023, "must be confronted" regardless of the outcome and suggested his client should appear before Parliament's spending watchdog, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), despite the ongoing litigation.

"The allegations made by Ms Thompson must be confronted despite the ultimate outcome, so that what she has allegedly experienced will in no circumstance be allowed to happen to any other civil servant who dares to expose what in their view is" wrongdoing, Mr Williams asserted.

"We also advocate for Ms Thompson's appearance before the Public Accounts Committee apart from the ongoing litigation. The public deserves transparency in the use of their tax dollars, regardless of the outcome of the allegations in court. A Public Accounts Committee hearing will allow the public to make informed decisions and, if necessary, hold their government accountable.

"Ms Thompson has been a part of the civil service in varying capacities for almost as long as this nation has been independent, and has done so with the utmost integrity regardless of the administration in office." The Public Accounts Committee is the only select committee in the House of Assembly where the Opposition has a majority of members, therefore enabling it to scrutinise Government actions more effectively.

Ms Thompson's claim, which has yet to be tested or proven before the courts, is alleging the Government violated the Freedom of Information Act’s ‘whistleblower’ protections by “intimidating” and sidelining her after she sought to highlight purported “wrongdoing”.

She is now seeking “exemplary” and “aggravated” damages for alleged breaches of that law and the Public Finance Management Act after the Government purportedly sought to “punish” her for drawing attention to alleged “clear acts of public misfeasance”.

In her amended legal action, filed with the Supreme Court on December 22, 2023, the public official of 42 years’ standing is alleging that a “breach of duty” was not only committed towards her but the taxpayer due to the failure to scrutinise multi-million dollar contract awards “to ensure that the Bahamian public was receiving value for money”.

Asserting that she could have faced “penal punishment” for the alleged breaches of public service protocols and procedures within the then-ministry, Ms Thompson is claiming she was subjected to an “orchestrated” campaign “to silence her from further ‘whistleblowing’ on the various infractions” alleged to be occurring within the Ministry of Transport and Housing.

The untested claim portrays a situation where Ms Thompson’s relationship with Jobeth Coleby-Davis, minister of transport and housing, Gaynell Rolle, the ministry's under-secretary and other officials in her ministry and its various departments appeared to have broken down such that she was being excluded from key meetings and allegedly squeezed out of her post.

The Freedom of Information Act’s section 47 stipulates that “no person may be subject to any legal, administrative or employment related sanction, regardless of any breach of a legal or employment-related obligation, for releasing information on wrongdoing, or that which would disclose a serious threat to health, safety or the environment, as long as he, acting in good faith, and in the reasonable belief that the information was substantially true and disclosed evidence of wrong-doing or a serious threat to health, safety or the environment.”

Among the wrongdoing covered by these protections is “failure to comply with a legal obligation” or “corruption, dishonesty, or serious maladministration”. Ms Thompson is also alleging that she was “arbitrarily” placed on leave in breach of General Orders 1110, which governs the civil service, and stipulates that all disciplinary proceedings for public officers by governed by Public Service Commission regulations.

Asserting that she was placed on “unrecorded leave” in April 2023, one month after she “brought to [Mrs Coleby-Davis] attention several glaring oversights relating to government contracts issued from the Ministry of Transport and Housing", Ms Thompson alleged she had been “constructively dismissed” and is claiming for loss of current and future earnings plus pension rights and loss of employment.