THE suggestion by former Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis that political parties should be publicly funded is sure to cause a stir.

Plenty of people will be quite entitled to ask why these politicians should be asking for a handout from the public, when the public is so often left short by politicians.

There can be more to such a suggestion, though – depending on what exactly is being proposed.

In a number of countries, such a measure already exists. Party subsidies are paid directly to a political party by a government – though the scale of such funding, and what it can be used for, varies widely. In Sweden and Japan for instance, the sums are quite large.

We know from our own experience here in The Bahamas that our politics can be vulnerable to parties potentially falling under the sway of rich investors – not all of which may have our best interests at heart.

Remember when Peter Nygard posted a video to YouTube titled “Nygard takes The Bahamas back”?

Fast forward to today and that disgraced abuser has been labelled a sexual predator and sentenced to 11 years in prison – and faces more charges to boot.

Back in 2013, he was as close as could be to the PLP. In the video, he could be seen raising a champagne glass and shouting “Victory! Victory! Take our country back!”

The very suggestion that someone as loathsome as him, a serial abuser, would call it “our country” is repugnant.

How much did Nygard give the PLP? We do not know. We have no legal requirement for campaign financing to be made public – so no one makes it public.

How much did he give the FNM? Nygard was roundly rebuffed by now former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham. Back in 1992, he made efforts to curry favour with the FNM – announcing Ingraham victory celebrations at Nygard’s Lyford Cay home, no less. The Tribune attended, only to find there was no sign of Mr Ingraham or any member of his government.

He tried to reach out to Mr Ingraham again on the 500th anniversary of the landing of Columbus at San Salvador, sending each member of the Ingraham government a sports jacket. Nygard was never shy about offering gifts, it would seem. But what was the price to be paid?

However, the point is that if he never gave the FNM a dime, there would still be no record to show it. Who gives our parties money? Who does not? We do not know, and there is no proof to show it. So when one rich investor or another starts to get deals given their way after a government is in office, is it because they are the right person or because they paid the right money at the right time?

If Dr Minnis’ suggestion extends to the point of the public providing funds for political parties and private donations by such investors being banned, then perhaps there might be some merit to the idea.

If it is simply more money on top of the private donations, no one will welcome that.

There is also the question of who qualifies for such subsidies. Dr Minnis suggests it could be based on those who achieved a certain percentage of the vote, for example, or securing seats in Parliament. How does that affect new parties? The Bahamas has seen plenty of those appear – and some fade. The DNA had its moment, but never won a seat. The Coalition of Independents has not won a seat – but has an MP after Iram Lewis’ change of parties. How does that affect funding.

The only merit in the idea is if it cleans up party funding – and for that, all parties would have to deliver transparency over who their donors are and how much they are providing.

If it is nothing but a cherry on top of an already rich cake, we do not need it.