By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

PRIME Minister Philip “Brave” Davis explained Fred Mitchell’s dismissive comments about the Freedom of Information Act yesterday in a way that does not reflect what the foreign affairs minister told reporters.

In a recent interview with ZNS, Mr Mitchell was asked about Michael Pintard’s critique that the Davis administration is lackadaisical about implementing the information system, which proponents believe is critical to good governance.

Over 100 countries in the world have FOIA laws, and the United States has repeatedly noted this country’s failure to fully enact the FOIA  in various annual reports.

 Mr Mitchell told ZNS: “We oppose this Freedom of Information Act idea.” He then explained that the administration would eventually deal with the matter, but did not see it as a priority. He contrasted the Progressive Liberal Party’s view on such legislation with that of the Free National Movement, suggesting the PLP does not view it as essential.

 Mr Mitchell was criticised for his comment. The PLP pledged to implement the system in the “good governance” section of its pre-election manifesto, the “Blueprint for Change”.

 Asked yesterday about Mr Mitchell’s comment, Mr Davis claimed: “He did not say that we are opposed to the idea. What he said is that when the question was being mooted, when it was first being mooted, there was an issue about it. At that time, we wanted to understand what was being implemented so he was opposed to what was then being implemented. 

“The bill that’s now there is something that we have now embraced, but we will be bringing (it) in time when it becomes a priority for us.” 

 “Right now, our priority is addressing those issues of poverty in this country.”

 The Tribune obtained the recording of Mr Mitchell’s interview in Grand Bahama. He did not allude to previous iterations of the FOIA or suggest that the latest version is the one he embraces.

 “We oppose this Freedom of Information Act idea,” he said. “The FNM has this view; they’ve passed something called the Fiscal Responsibility Act, Procurement Act, and Freedom of Information Act. All of these things that really have nothing to do with people’s ordinary lives. It’s just a bunch of public relations, accounting procedures and confusing activity with action.”

 “So what did the prime minister say? Yeah, we got Freedom of Information Act. We’ll get to it. If you want information –– if you want any information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs –– you can come get it. There’s no issue with information being disclosed in his country. So, the issue right now is high prices. What are we going to do about the high prices? That’s the issue. The issue is how are we going to stop these young men from killing one another every day. That’s the issue. Freedom of Information? I don’t think so. That’s basically my view about this, and it’s bureaucratic and expensive to execute. I’m not sure you get any results from it that people can actually see and feel.”

 Mr Mitchell’s comments came after Information Commissioner Keith Thompson told The Nassau Guardian that his office has done what it can to get a FOIA pilot programme rolling, but needs the Office of the Prime Minister to provide the necessary technology.

 Mr Davis later told reporters the FOIA is not a priority for the administration right now, pointing to cost of living concerns and other issues. The FNM countered that the government has enough people and a dedicated FOIA department to implement the system, adding that it only needs support from the administration.