In light of suggestions by the opposition that the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) may be operating outside the law, Minister of National Security Dr. Bernard Nottage said legislation for the NIA would be tabled and passed in the House of Assembly before the end of year.
Nottage said the draft bill for the NIA is "virtually completed".
"It (the draft legislation) is being considered now by various interests," he said recently.
"When it is finished, it is going to be brought to Parliament. So that is not very far off either.
"We will see it well before the end of the year. It will be passed as well before the end of the year."
Free National Movement (FNM) Deputy Leader Loretta Butler-Turner has claimed that the government is using the NIA to "engage in domestic spying on the Bahamian people".
At a rally at FNM headquarters last week, Butler-Turner said the NIA may be a "possible illegal agency engaged in spying on the Bahamian people, possibly listening to our telephone calls, reading our texts and emails, gathering
information".
However, Nottage dismissed those claims as "foolish" and "irresponsible".
Butler-Turner said yesterday that she "wouldn't hold her breath" on the legislation passing before the end of the year.
"The end of the year may turn into the end of their term in office," she said when contacted for comment.
Nottage said the NIA is simply another tool in the fight against crime.
"They (the NIA) are gathering intelligence to help us in the fight against crime, plain and simple," he said.
"There's nothing unusual about it. Intelligence organizations exist in many countries. The one in The Bahamas, the National Intelligence Agency, it's there to supplement the gathering of information against criminals."
The NIA was created by the Christie administration.
According to government officials, it is responsible for collecting and transmitting valuable intelligence to various law enforcement agencies to aid in the fight against smuggling and terrorism.
Former Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) Commodore Clifford 'Butch' Scavella heads the agency.
In 2012, Minister of State for National Security Keith Bell told The Nassau Guardian he expected Nottage to bring legislation to Parliament to strengthen the proposed unit, but said the NIA will be able to do some work without any new laws.
On the rally stage, Butler-Turner said no legislation was brought to Parliament to set up the agency and questioned its legality.
She questioned whether information is being collected for political purposes and then being passed on to the most senior members of the Cabinet.
Nottage denied that any such activity was happening and said Butler-Turner's claims were unbecoming of a member of Parliament.
The creation of the NIA was a campaign pledge of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) and outlined in its Charter for Governance.

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