By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

FORMER Commodore Tellis Bethel has been appointed the security standard inspector at the Ministry of National Security, a role that will allow him to review the ministry’s “respective agencies and programmes” and make recommendations where necessary.

This was revealed by National Security Minister Marvin Dames during his budget contribution in the House of Assembly yesterday.

“I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to the outgoing commander of the defence force Commodore Bethel,” he said in Parliament.

“He gave many years of dedicated service to the Royal Bahamas Defence Force and by extension, the people of this nation. The same is extended to all the officers who would have recently retired from that great great organisation.

“Mr Speaker, Mr Bethel will continue his service in his new role as the standard inspector of the security forces within the Ministry of National Security.”

Mr Dames said the new role will allow Mr Bethel to further the ministry’s efforts to better serve the Bahamian people.

He said: “In his new role, he will be working through the permanent secretary and the Ministry of National Security to support the three agencies and their ambit to provide high quality, effective and responsive service to their clients, to our clients - the people of the commonwealth of the Bahamas, reviewing the respective agencies and programmes in accordance with their mandates and making recommendations to the minister.”

Mr Bethel’s new post was confirmed by Mr Dames last month, but it was not revealed until yesterday what those duties will exactly entail.

Mr Bethel was placed on vacation last October as a part of a move by the Minnis administration to prevent officers from accumulating so much leave that they have to be paid substantial sums of money when they retire.

Some of those officers have since retired, while three others have returned from vacation leave but have been transferred to other government agencies.

Asked by reporters last month what took officials so long to reveal their plans for the commodore’s future, the minister replied: “…When you’re dealing with persons retiring or demitting office, I’m of the view that that is not something that you conduct in the press. You can’t conduct the affairs of another in the press.”

Insisting that the new appointment was not a demotion, Mr Dames previously said he felt confident that Mr Bethel will perform well in his new role.

The outgoing commodore has since been replaced by Commodore Raymond King, the eighth person in the country to have attained the prestigious rank.

As the ministry and its agencies continue to experience a “period of transformation,” Mr Dames said officials are also considering giving a new role to former Police Commissioner Anthony Ferguson.

He said: “Mr Speaker, Mr Ferguson is currently being considered by this government to take up another position and I hope to announce that very shortly. Mr Speaker, the police force continues to go through a period of transformation, and it is now headed by now commissioner, Mr Paul Rolle, the eighth commissioner of police in the independent Bahamas.

“His executive team includes the first female deputy commissioner of police...We believe in women, we believe in women. Mr Speaker, the government continues and remains committed to the manpower audit carried out during 2018.”