By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement (FNM) chairman Dr Duane Sands said Bahamians should not expect the Davis administration to ever release the Immigration Commission’s report.

“The Bahamian people, if they believe that they will ever see this report coming out of this administration, they are kidding themselves. It will not happen,” he told The Tribune yesterday.

The commission was established in October 2023 after leaked documents raised concerns about discretionary immigration approvals and alleged political interference by then-Immigration Minister Keith Bell.

The controversy triggered widespread public criticism and called into question the transparency and integrity of immigration practices.

The Davis administration pledged that the commission would play a key role in overhauling immigration policy, reviewing the department’s operations, and restoring public trust.

Since its launch, however, the government has provided little detail about the commission’s internal work.

In June, press secretary Keishla Adderley told reporters the commission had completed a “comprehensive review” of immigration operations in both New Providence and the Family Islands and that its findings would soon be submitted to the prime minister, followed by public consultations.

However, Prime Minister Philip Davis told The Tribune last month that he had not yet received the report.

Dr Sands said the delay in the report’s release is likely to shield certain individuals from scrutiny.

“The chairman of the Progressive Liberal Party made it very clear that this administration does not believe in freedom of information,” Dr Sands said. “They have overseen the release of tens of millions of dollars of secret payouts to individuals from the public purse and the Bahamian people don’t have the right to know. They do not want us to know what really happened.”

He accused the government of making numerous promises of investigations and reports that never materialise, citing matters such as the release of illegal immigrants downtown, the completion of a shelter in Abaco, transactions involving Bahamas Power and Light (BPL), and negotiations over the Grand Lucayan resort.

“Do not hold your breath, because you probably will not survive,” Dr Sands said.

He added the delay undermines trust in the country’s immigration system and the government as a whole. “I think the credibility of this administration is woefully low, but the impact on the credibility of the institution, the ministry, the government, in the eyes of the public, has also been badly damaged,” he said.