WHO owns the companies that received contracts related to COVID-19?

It’s a simple question – but we don’t as yet have an answer. Worse, the Auditor General, having asked for an answer, also doesn’t have one.

The Auditor General’s office asked the government to provide ownership details for all those companies that received COVID-related contracts. That information, it appears, is still “pending”.

It’s not quite as clear cut as that – a list was given to the Auditor General for companies “that received payments for the delivery of goods and services related to COVID-19” but that list was not included in the Auditor General’s report, which suggests it fell short of full transparency.

Transparency, of course, is the magic word. It’s also a word Dr Hubert Minnis was keen on using in opposition and on the campaign trail, criticising former Prime Minister Perry Christie’s government for its lack of transparency over Baha Mar, and lambasting the PLP for failing to enact Freedom of Information legislation – something his own government still doesn’t have fully up and running.

In 2017, as Prime Minister himself, Dr Minnis talked of how “under the previous administration, there were constant complaints about having to see certain people in order to get a proposal reviewed or approved. My administration is committed to transparency, openness and accountability.”

Well, failing to meet an Auditor General’s demand is not transparent, open or accountable.

The auditor’s office pointedly referred to a quote from the International Monetary Fund, saying: “Knowing who ultimately owns companies (their beneficial owners) is a key piece of data that allows governments and citizens to check that money is going where intended.”

It’s as simple as that. There might not be any wrongdoing – but unless we can see, we can’t be sure. If we know that a contract is awarded to some MP’s cousin or some official’s own company, we can ask questions about it and determine whether everything was done fairly. If we cannot even see who owns the companies where the contracts are going, we cannot tell if the proper process was followed and if we’re getting value for our money or whether it’s disappearing into the pocket of some family member or friend instead.

The government works for us, so it should be clear with us when we want to know how it does its business. It’s our money, so be crystal clear about how you’ve spent it.

There should be no reason to keep this information from the public eye if all is above board. It should be a simple matter to clarify who, say, got the contract to supply PPE gear to hospitals and clinics, who got the contract to transport medical equipment, or who got the contract to secure COVID tests and so on. But failing to make that clear makes one start to ask if everything really is above board – and that suspicion hurts those who have gone about everything the right way too.

Transparency isn’t just a word you can throw around on the campaign trail – it has to be a commitment. Right now, our government isn’t following through on its words.

If we won’t be honest to our own financial watchdogs in declaring who owns what in The Bahamas, what does that say to the international financial authorities trying to find out which global entities base their companies here and hide behind the smokescreen which as this example clearly shows, our government continues to provide. We won’t find trust until we can establish it here at home ourselves.

Need for equality

Shaunae Miller-Uibo’s victory in the Olympics was a magnificent day for our nation. It has also, it seems, stirred discussion about women’s rights in our country.

Conversations have buzzed around about how if she chooses to have children with her Estonian husband, they wouldn’t have the constitutional right to Bahamian citizenship, for example. Would rules be bent to allow her such a right? Well, if so, why wouldn’t any other woman have that right? As Alicia Wallace writes in her column today, why should someone have to be exceptional to have access to human rights?

It’s frustrating to hear such discussions too – with people talking about a women’s body and her possible children as if it’s their business.

Most tellingly, it’s a conversation that is completely absent surrounding the other gold medal winner from The Bahamas, Steven Gardiner. That these discussions are about Shaunae and not her teammate is the clearest example you need that we do not yet have equality. It’s long past time we remedied that.