The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

PROGRESSIVE Liberal Party chairman Fred Mitchell dismissed Opposition Leader Michael Pintard’s threat to publish the names of public officials who failed to meet the March 1 financial disclosure deadline, warning the FNM leader to “be careful what you do and what you say,” while accusing him of getting matters “almost always” wrong.

“This is a free country and the leader of the opposition does not have to threaten anyone,” he said in a voicenote over the weekend.

“If he believes that is what he ought to do in this free country, democratic country, he believes that’s his duty, don’t threaten, just go ahead and do it, no big deal. The problem with the leader of the opposition is that he almost always gets things wrong, so all I say to him is be careful what you do and what you say.”

Mr Mitchell’s comments followed a Tribune report detailing Mr Pintard’s criticism of the Public Disclosures Committee and its chairman, Bishop Victor Cooper. Mr Pintard accused Bishop Cooper of being indirect and unclear, leaving unanswered which MPs, senators and senior public officers met the March 1 filing deadline required under the Public Disclosure Act.

“He should release the information, and if he doesn't, we'll just go ahead and release that information to you,” Mr Pintard said outside the House of Assembly on Wednesday.

“There are some members of Parliament and members of the Senate who released consistent with the timeline. There are others who release, I guess they had explanations after. There’s at least one member who didn't release at all.”

Mr Pintard argued there was no justification for withholding the list, contending that transparency is a legal responsibility of the chairman and that delays erode public confidence in the integrity of elected officials. He has repeatedly raised the issue this year, insisting the law requires an annual publication of a compliance list.

While the disclosure deadline was March 1, and some officials reportedly sought extensions, the Public Disclosures Committee has previously attributed delays to accessibility problems and facility limitations — explanations critics argue do not satisfy the requirements of the law.

In its 2024 investment climate report on The Bahamas, the United States noted that the Public Disclosure Commission failed for the past 13 years to meet its legal obligation to gazette reports concerning legislators’ declarations of assets, income and liabilities. The report said the most recently gazetted report was dated December 2011, and “it contained information on disclosures only up to 2008”.

Bishop Cooper also wrongly claimed last year that the commission was not empowered to gazette disclosures. Section 6(2) of the Public Disclosure Act states that after the commission examines parliamentarians’ declarations, “it shall publish a summary of that declaration in the Gazette in the form prescribed by Form B in the Second Schedule”.

That form calls for details including information about a declarant’s spouse and children, particulars of bonds, stocks, shares and similar investments, and an official’s annual income.

However, the law does not empower the commission to disclose who failed to declare. Instead, the commission can report non-compliance to the prime minister and the leader of the opposition, either of whom can have the information disclosed in the House of Assembly or the Senate, or have the matter referred to the attorney general or commissioner of police for further action.