EDITOR, The Tribune.

The intention of this correspondence is to inform you of matters of public interest that appears to have been forgotten over the past few years the issues and stories were very prominent in newspapers for a period and your reading public was seeking answers or some form of explanations.

As a regular reader of your newspaper, I wish to record the issues and stories of which I write, that are still relevant and should be followed-up by your reporters. I would be as brief as possible.

1) The Freedom of Information Act. Years in the making: Any progress? Will it ever happen?

2) The Integrity Commission promised by a political party during an election campaign. That political party once held office.

3) Enforcement of Laws relating to Seizure and Forfeiture of The Proceeds of Crime. The only seizures and forfeitures are those made by the Police at the time of arrests. “Ninety” Knowles’ rental cars were seized and held on the grounds of the Police College where they remained. The US seized assets Canada and Jamaica.

4) Disclosures by politicians and top public servants required by Law. Is it being done and who investigates the submissions?

5) Millions of tax-payer’s donors have been paid to persons, who were unlawfully held in our prisons. We would like to know how much has been paid thus far and what action, if any, has been taken against officials responsible for the loss. Please include in the inquiry the 12 Nigerians, who had been held unlawfully for two years. Legal action was taken. The result has not been published.

6) Bank of The Bahamas delinquent loans, in particular those large sums owed by prominent persons, that became public knowledge. The formation of the company called “RESOLVE” to facilitate collections. Was any money collected? If so what percentage? There was a report indicating, that the Central Bank had instructed the Bank of The Bahamas to take civil action against those delinquents. Was any action ever taken?

7) A Political Party in opposition had promised that there would be an audit of the millions spent on the two first Junkanoo/Carnivals. I do not recall seeing any published audit.

8) It was revealed, that the sum of $650K was spent by the Ministry of Tourism on an International Music Festival, that was cancelled. The question asked in the media was what was that money spent on and with whom. There was a short debate between two politicians. There was no response to the question and no audit.

9) A Prime Minister gave delinquent real property tax debtors a deal to pay 50% of the debt and have the other 50% cancelled. The persons who paid regularly got no such deal. How much of delinquent taxes were paid and how much was written off?

10) A former Chief Justice expressed concern over the large number of outstanding warrants for the non-payment of fines, that contributes to a huge loss of government revenue. He expressed concern that the arrests warrants are not being executed.

11) The construction of Shanty Towns is a National Issue. The Attorney General should ask the Supreme Court to deal with the injunction promptly. Any enforcement must proceed with our Law enforcement Agencies, without political interference. The Heads of these forces are reliable, efficient and capable getting the assignment completed humanely and effectively.

I very often listen to the press officer at press conferences held for reporters. He always appears to be speaking down to his audience and does not seem to encourage any questions. Our reporters need to be more aggressive they must take a hard look at the media personnel in the USA and be as inquisitive as they are.

PAUL THOMPSON, Sr

Nassau,

January 24, 2023.