By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

DNA Leader Branville McCartney said the time has come for the Christie administration to clear up the misconceptions attached to its National Intelligence Agency.

His comments came days after State Minister for National Security Keith Bell told The Tribune that the long-awaited legislation to support the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) was complete and was now on its way to Cabinet for review.

Mr McCartney said clarity was needed in respect to the NIA’s purpose and scope.

The former Bamboo Town MP, in a statement released over the weekend, questioned the present status of the agency and said its functions are shrouded in mystery.

He added that legislation for the NIA should have been in place before it was created.

“The time has come for this government to provide an in-depth explanation about the NIA…. its purpose and how its function affects the individual privacy rights of the citizenry of this country, if at all.

“In the face of growing public mistrust of the government and its systems, this administration must stop allowing for inferences and speculation to take the place of fact. The government still has a chance to correct the misinformation which exists by simply putting out the facts.”

“While an argument can be made for maintaining the secrecy of the NIA’s operations and the protection of the identities of those involved, this level of opacity in a country as small as the Bahamas is an issue, particularly in an environment where public confidence in the government and its transparency hangs by a thread.”

Shortly after the Progressive Liberal Party formed the agency, the government appointed former Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) Commodore Clifford “Butch” Scavella to head the NIA, however little was revealed about its operations.

In early 2014, Long Island MP Loretta Butler-Turner accused the government of “running a spy agency with no clear legal footing and no accountability.”

However, National Security Minister Dr Bernard Nottage has said that only criminals are being monitored by the agency. He denied that the government is prying into the personal communications of Bahamians.

Despite pressure from the opposition, the government has continually delayed enacting NIA legislation.

Officials had promised the legislation would come in 2014, however the government did not meet that target.