The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip Davis framed unmet transparency and accountability reforms as matters of trust and “character” yesterday, as he defended his administration’s record despite failing to deliver several promised reforms.

“Transparency and accountability, they are matters of character,” he told reporters. “Those are matters that you either trust or don't trust someone. If you don't trust me, you're not going to believe what I'm going to do.”

His comments come as the Progressive Liberal Party campaigns for re-election without delivering on a slate of transparency and accountability reforms promised before the last election, including Freedom of Information Act implementation, integrity legislation and campaign finance reform.

Pressed on the gap between those promises and delivery, Mr Davis acknowledged that not all commitments were fulfilled but urged the public to weigh that against what his administration accomplished.

“We could accept the things we didn't fulfil, you know,” he said. “As I keep saying, we did a lot, please acknowledge that.”

Mr Davis also defended the timing of new policy pledges unveiled in the party’s Blueprint for Progress launch on Wednesday night, rejecting suggestions they were politically motivated. Some critics have questioned why the administration did not pursue such proposals this term.

“We are in the political season,” Mr Davis said. “I expect my critics to attack, not debate me on the issues and the ideas. If you look at what we're saying, we are building upon which we have already started, some of which we promised and wasn't able to complete and we’re building on that.”

He argued that outlining future initiatives is inherent to campaigning and should be viewed as part of presenting a national vision.

“The critics will continue to say, anything I say now, I'm doing it for politics,” he said. “But what we are doing now is, we are saying to the Bahamian people, the politics is about the future. So we have to paint the future for the people and to give them a vision of The Bahamas that will include the initiatives that we think we have to put in place.”

He said the administration sought to bolster credibility by pointing to its track record, insisting that hundreds of commitments were completed during the last term.

He cited initiatives introduced during the term that were not part of the original platform, including a school breakfast programme, as evidence of responsiveness while in office.