By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

AMID repeated calls from the opposition for her to reveal the number of taxi plates that have been issued since assuming office, Transport Minister JoBeth Coleby-Davis did not confirm the total number while answering questions on the issue in the House of Assembly yesterday.

She said it would be improper for her to do so as the process had not yet been completed.

Mrs Coleby-Davis, who is also the minister of housing, addressed the controversial issue of taxi plates and other matters related to her ministry while answering questions put to her by the opposition in the morning sitting of yesterday’s parliamentary meeting.

She was one of several government ministers who answered a series of questions from the opposition.

Earlier this month, opposition leader Michael Pintard chastised the government for avoiding the question-and-answer period in Parliament and even protested in the House along with other opposition MPs during the last sitting.

The FNM has placed more than 30 questions on the House of Assembly’s agenda for the Davis administration to answer.

Some of them were answered yesterday.

 One of the questions asked related to the distribution of taxi plates, something that the opposition has repeatedly spoken of amid accusations that the law has not been followed regarding the issuing process.

 There have also been calls from the Bahamas Taxi Cab Union for the minister to resign, saying the decision to issue “hundreds” of taxi plates last year has caused the market to be oversaturated.

 Yesterday, Mrs Coleby-Davis responded: “The opposition is directed to a press statement from the Ministry of Transport and Housing dated 22 June 2022. As outlined in the press statement, the government of The Bahamas intends to modernise the transportation sector – a critical component of this goal is to bring long overdue changes to the distribution of taxi plates and to empower Bahamians.

 “As the minister of transport, I wish to advise the opposition that the process is not complete and remains in progress. Additionally, as the month of May is the period of renewals of franchises for taxi and livery plates, it would be improper for the minister to confirm an exact number at this time.

 “However, the minister is minded to definitively state that efforts to improve the transportation sector are ongoing and that all decisions have been made and will be made in the best interests of the Bahamian people.”

 Mrs Coleby-Davis was also asked about her ministry’s decision to evict dome residents in Abaco and ultimately have the temporary housing structures demolished.

 However, she referred to previous statements on the demolition exercises, citing public concerns about the conditions of the domes and the fact that they were only meant for temporary use.

 A number of questions were also posed about the Pinecrest Subdivision, specifically about the contract bidding process, contract value and money spent on the project to date.

 Mrs Coleby-Davis, in her reply, began by stating the powers of the housing minister under the Housing Act and added: “The opposition should be aware that the Minnis administration of which the leader of opposition and the member for East Grand Bahama served, published a request for proposal (RFP) for a private sector partner to construct homes on the island of New Providence.

 “Upon coming to office, the review proposals continued and Arawak Homes Limited was selected as the private sector partner to build the homes at Pinecrest.”

 After the minister finished responding to the questions, Mr Pintard noted that several questions put to Mrs Coleby-Davis were still not fully answered.

 “This is not, Madame Speaker, of simply getting up and making a few statements that refer to the questions. We are expecting that the public is going to be provided with accurate information and the minister has made very little attempt in respect to that question,” he added.

 As it relates to the taxi plates, the opposition leader said even though the process was still ongoing, the minister still could have indicated how many taxi plates had been given out to date.

 He added: “We are also aware that there have been several suspensions of senior officers and other officers in the ministry with respect to transport and it is our understanding related to the taxi plates and so the minister would want to clarify what was the nature of the decision made by these individuals that resulted in no less than the prime minister intervening and a number of those persons having been suspended.”