The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Christian Council has urged Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis to reconsider the Cabinet appointments of Sebas Bastian and Leslia Miller-Brice, warning that their longstanding ties to the gaming industry have raised serious questions about conflict of interest, public trust and the integrity of executive power.

Pastor Mario Moxey, the new president of the Christian Council, said yesterday that the appointments should be tested in court, but that the council has no intention of taking legal action.

The religious body released a pointed statement criticising Mr Davis’ decision to appoint Mr Bastian as Minister of Innovation and National Development and Mrs Miller-Brice as Minister of Culture, Art and Heritage.

The BCC said its concern was “not personal” but centred on governance, public confidence and whether the “spirit of the law” had been honoured.

The statement acknowledged that the ministers reportedly satisfied the legal requirements to serve, but argued that the appointments had “created a dark cloud” because of the Gaming Act’s restrictions on Cabinet ministers and close relatives holding gaming licences or maintaining financial interests connected to licence holders.

The council said the issue goes beyond technical compliance.

“The Bahamian people should not be asked to accept what appears to be legal gymnastics crafted to get one over on the law,” the statement read. “When a statute is enacted to prevent a particular ethical danger, government must not appear to be searching for pathways around the very concern the law was designed to address.”

The BCC referenced Sections 25 and 26 of the Gaming Act, which outline restrictions intended to keep Cabinet authority and gaming interests separate.

The council said those safeguards were intended to prevent conflicts between public office and private interests, guard against undue influence in regulatory decision-making, and maintain confidence in Cabinet decisions.

It also argued that the provisions were meant to prevent the perception that national policy could be shaped by commercial gaming interests and to keep the gaming industry from improper proximity to executive power.

The statement drew on the history of the 2013 gaming referendum, when Bahamians rejected the regulation and taxation of web shop gaming and the establishment of a national lottery.

Despite that outcome, the Christie administration legalised and regulated the industry through the Gaming Act in 2014, drawing criticism from religious groups and others who argued the government ignored the will of voters.

“Whatever one’s view on that decision, the Act included an important and deliberate safeguard: a firewall intended to keep Cabinet authority and gaming interests clearly separated,” the statement read. “That firewall was not accidental. It was not incidental. It was a matter of sound public policy.”

The council argued that no public evidence had been provided to address whether Mr Bastian and Mrs Miller-Brice had “truly and completely relinquished any direct or indirect” connection to financial benefits from gaming enterprises with which they were previously associated.

In March, it was reported that Mr Bastian stepped down as chief executive officer of Island Luck, a leading lottery retailer and gaming lounge he co-founded 17 years ago.

Meanwhile, Leander Brice has reportedly resigned as chief executive officer of GLK Limited, owner of A Sure Win.

The BCC said the ministers’ connections to gaming were not “distant, incidental, or obscure”, but longstanding and publicly known.

“The public is therefore hard pressed to believe, without clear and compelling disclosure, that all relevant interests and benefits have been fully severed in substance and not merely rearranged in form,” the statement read.

The council cited a July 2025 statement from Mr Davis, who said he had no intention of changing the law to allow Cabinet ministers to hold interests in gaming licences.

The BCC said that the statement reflected “sound judgement” and the “wisdom of the law”.

Mr Bastian’s rise in politics and Mrs Miller-Brice’s Cabinet appointment have revived years of debate over whether people connected to the gaming industry should hold senior government positions in a country where the industry is heavily regulated and politically sensitive.

When Mr Bastian emerged as the Progressive Liberal Party’s candidate for Fort Charlotte in 2025, Mr Davis welcomed his entry into politics but ruled out amending the Gaming Act to allow Cabinet ministers to remain involved in the gaming industry or maintain related interests.

In July 2025, Mrs Miller-Brice, the Seabreeze MP, publicly supported revisiting the law that appeared to keep her out of a Cabinet position during the first Davis administration before the PLP’s re-election last Tuesday.

The BCC also tied its concerns to The Bahamas’ upcoming Caribbean Financial Action Task Force Fifth Round Mutual Evaluation, scheduled for October 19 to 30.

The regional body will assess the country’s compliance with global standards set by the Financial Action Task Force and examine the effectiveness of The Bahamas’ anti-money laundering, countering the financing of terrorism and countering proliferation financing framework.

The council noted that the Central Bank of The Bahamas previously described 2026 as a “crucial year”.

While acknowledging that the appointments do not automatically affect the mutual evaluation, the BCC argued that they risk “sending a conflicting signal” when The Bahamas must demonstrate strong governance standards and sensitivity to conflicts of interest involving highly regulated sectors.

The council said the financial services industry was “too important to the national economy” for the government to ignore concerns that may raise questions about transparency, regulatory credibility and the integrity of public decision-making.

The BCC also cited 1 Thessalonians 5:22, which states: “Abstain from every form of evil.”

It argued that the public interest should stand above the advancement of any person and that leadership must recognise that some decisions, while technically lawful, may still be “politically unwise, morally troubling, and damaging to public confidence”.

The council said reconsidering the appointments “would not diminish” the prime minister’s leadership.

“Our appeal, therefore, is made in hope,” the statement read, urging the prime minister to honour the spirit of the Gaming Act in a manner that “protects The Bahamas’ international reputation, and reassures the Bahamian people that good governance will remain the defining mark” of his leadership.