By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement Senator Michela Barnett-Ellis accused the Davis administration yesterday of enacting critical laws without implementing them, starving oversight bodies of funds, and misleading Bahamians about the true state of the economy.

In her Senate contribution, Mrs Barnett-Ellis charged that the government had broken major promises linked to legislation such as the Protection Against Violence Act, the Anti-Gang Act, and long-awaited reforms including the Ombudsman Act, Campaign Finance Reform, and the Freedom of Information Act — all of which, she said, remain dormant and unfunded.

She described a pattern of avoiding accountability, citing the underfunding of watchdog institutions and the failure to operationalise laws passed with significant public attention.

“Anti-gang legislation was passed, but how many individuals have actually been charged under it?” she asked. “The Protection Against Violence Act was passed in 2023, but the Commission at the heart of that Act has yet to be appointed. On the issue of transparency, perhaps the area where this administration has failed most spectacularly: We are told the Ombudsman law is a priority, but it has yet to be brought into force. I did not even see any budgetary allocation for it.

“There has been little to no progress on the Freedom of Information Act despite promising to do so. Not a peep about Campaign Finance Reform or electoral reform or a new Public Disclosure Act that they promised to implement in that now notorious brochure known as the ‘Blueprint.’ Oversight institutions remain underfunded and underpowered. The Independent Commission of Investigations Act and the Protected Disclosures Act were passed with great fanfare but neither has been brought into force.”

She claimed the disconnect extends to the national budget, accusing the administration of painting an inflated picture of economic success.

Although officials tout a surplus and rising revenue, Mrs Barnett-Ellis argued ordinary Bahamians see none of the gains.

“We are told that the economy is booming, but the Bahamian people are not feeling it,” she said, citing $122m in unpaid invoices at mid-year, dilapidated clinics, and under-resourced schools as signs of a government out of step with the people’s needs.

Mrs Barnett-Ellis concluded her address by urging the government to move beyond rhetoric and deliver tangible results that enhance the lives of everyday citizens.