THE group Citizens for a Better Bahamas has appealed to the government to start bipartisan talks with the Free National Movement to enact political campaign finance reform.

The advocacy group pointed to recent controversy surrounding the implications of campaign finance donations made by Canadian fashion designer Peter Nygard to the Progressive Liberal Party. There are also concerns that Mr Nygard’s billionaire Lyford Cay neighbour Louis Bacon has made political donations.

CBB representative Lemarque Campbell said the group has been working closely with global anti-corruption network Transparency International (TI) to monitor and report on the matter.

Mr Campbell, a lawyer, said: “[CBB] calls on the government to work with the opposition in a bipartisan manner in ensuring that the appropriate political campaign finance reforms are enacted, as it will restore Bahamians’ trust in our political system going forward towards the upcoming election.

“CBB appreciates that certain parliamentarians have come out and stated that there is a need for campaign finance reform,” he said.

“However, we need to go further and actually implement these reforms based on best practices. CBB will continue to dialogue with TI in raising the Bahamas’ position on these reforms to an international level.”

Transparency International has established partnerships and local chapters in more than 100 countries, including Jamaica as well as Trinidad and Tobago.

The global network turned its focus to The Bahamas last year with CBB in transition to become a TI national contact. Mr Campbell said the local group was on track to complete the accreditation process.

He underscored CBB’s support of research gathered by TI regarding political campaign finance reform, which sets out best practices for the regulation of public and private funding in political campaigns; establishment of ceilings on expenditures during elections; and general oversight and accountability mechanisms. TI’s Anti-Corruption Helpdesk also provided information on electoral campaign reporting rules.

Mr Campbell said: “CBB also agrees that political parties and candidates should regularly report on donations received and expenditures during electoral campaigns – even to the extent of providing these reports online for the public to view in real time.

“Further, we stress the need for an independent and well-resourced supervisory body with investigative powers to proactively conduct investigations throughout and after the elections to ensure political parties and candidates follow campaign finance rules.”

Transparency International annually ranks countries based on how corrupt its public sector is perceived to be, using data from surveys of leading institutions like the World Bank. The country ranked 24 in its 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index – on a scale of 0, very corrupt, to 100 being very clean – with a score of 71 out of a possible 100. However, The Bahamas was not listed in its 2015 report.

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

Attorney Fred Smith yesterday challenged Prime Minister Perry Christie and Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell to substantiate their claims that two Cubans who the government deemed national security risks were denied entry to Cuba, Panama and the United States.

"Put your money where your mouth is Fred Mitchell," said Smith, who appeared as a guest on Love 97.5 FM's talk show "Issues of the Day" with host Wendall Jones.

"Produce the proof. Produce those letters to [Cuban President Raul] Castro, and to Panama and to everybody else. Produce the documentation to substantiate what you've said.

"I challenge Perry Christie and Fred Mitchell to put their money where their mouths [are]. Produce the documentation to show these fellows are national security risks. Don't just go into Parliament [and] make all kinds of accusations; poison the entire nation's mind of these two boys... That is an abuse of parliamentary privilege. And it is irresponsible of them to do that."

Smith represented Carlos Pupo and Lazaro Seara Marin, who were held in prison without charge for almost three years.
Senior Justice Stephen Isaacs freed the Cubans on February 18 after Smith brought a habeas corpus application and the government's lawyers had no objection.

After the court's decision, Mitchell classified Pupo and Marin as "a national security risk". In the House of Assembly last month, Mitchell claimed the men had criminal records in the United States. The men are reportedly in the United States, according to a relative who resides there.

Christie advised Parliament over a week ago that the government reached out to the United States, Cuba and Panama and requested a place to deport the men, but the requests were rebuffed.

Smith said the Bahamian people have relied on information, but questioned why, if the Cubans did anything unlawful, were they never charged in three years. He confirmed the Cubans were with their families in the United States, but could not say how they got there. He said he has communicated with them to prepare a legal case against the government.

"It is not a big secret," Smith said. "The newspapers reported this. I don't know what the big problem is. So, if the Bahamas government thinks they are such a national security risk and the U.S. government would not accept them, why don't they apply to extradite them for the offenses they committed in The Bahamas?"

Mitchell advised Parliament recently that a formal complaint was being formed against Smith to the Bahamas Bar Association after the Cubans were able to leave The Bahamas.

In response, Smith told The Nassau Guardian that Mitchell in "true sleight of hands style" has been vague about what he (Smith) allegedly did in breach of the Bar Code of Ethics.

"I know I have done nothing improper and I should let Mr. Mitchell know, I consider his libels and defamations towards me actionable and I will be issuing a writ against Mr. Mitchell shortly," he said. "... And I challenge Mr. Mitchell, if he is not a coward, to repeat all of the defamations that he uttered against me in Parliament, outside of Parliament.

"I am prepared to have him stand in front of me outside of Parliament and he can say all of the defamatory things to my face and let me see if he is man enough to do that."

By Royston Jones Jr.

Guardian Staff Reporter

Pearl Island recently hosted a two-day job fair where managers of the project saw about 1,000 people on the first day alone, and hundreds more on the second day. (Photo: File)

A delayed opening due to operational setbacks has led developers to postpone a highly anticipated round of hiring by Pearl Island Bahamas.

Earlier this month, Pearl Island hosted a two-day job fair where managers of the project saw about 1,000 people on the first day alone, with hundreds more on the second day, all striving to fill an available 40 job positions.

Managing Director Henry Bain told Guardian Business yesterday that the opening would now be in May, a month after the original date.

He said that there were construction delays due to weather conditions. The roof of a bar on the island had collapsed, and "that is what is causing the delay."

"Also our shipment of our furniture and validating the staffing will all help clarify the date," Bain added.

A crucial aspect of the excursion experience is cruise ship contracts.

"No contracts have been confirmed because the island is not 100 percent completed, and the cruise lines need to see the final product," said Bain.

Pearl Island Bahamas - east of Paradise Island, and opposite Blue Lagoon Island - is an experience featuring a "beach day away" with bars and restaurants, plus a special events roster featuring a lighthouse.

The selection process for those that attended the job fair is still being finalized, Bain said.

As speculation surrounds the involvement of Opposition Leader Dr. Hubert Minnis and former Free National Movement (FNM) Chairman Michael Pintard with two "gang members" at the center of an alleged murder-for-hire plot, the Free National Movement (FNM) yesterday refuted any suggestion that it is in financial conflict with Pintard.

In a statement, the FNM said Pintard honorably resigned as chairman and from his Senate post following a "vicious assault by the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) of his reputation and that of the FNM".

The FNM indicated that the barrage of false aspersions has continued against its former chairman since his resignation.

"Despite having done the honorable thing and resigned, so as to address the rumors and innuendos in the public domain our former chairman continues to be the object of a relentless smear campaign, attacks and invasion of his privacy," the FNM said.

"Among the wide range of [untruths] and false innuendos directed at Mr. Pintard has been the lie about the FNM being in conflict with Mr. Pintard concerning financial matters. This is not so and there is absolutely no truth to this suggestion."

Canadian fashion designer Peter Nygard, along with lawyer Keod Smith have been named in an alleged murder plot against certain members of environmental group Save the Bays as a part of a writ filed in the Supreme Court. Nygard and Smith have denied the allegations.

Since then, multiple members of Parliament have accused Save the Bays of being a political organization that has used millions of dollars to destabilize the government, and the FNM is entangled in the plot. They also said in Parliament that Nygard's billionaire Lyford Cay neighbor Louis Bacon is the financier for Save the Bays. He is also named in the affidavit as a target of the alleged murder plot.

In Parliament last week, Marathon MP Jerome Fitzgerald charged that the background to the plot is that the FNM needs money to run its political campaign.

Court documents identify Pintard, who is affiliated with Save the Bays, as the individual who uncovered the alleged criminal conspiracy following meetings with two "gang members" who were allegedly paid to carry out the plan.

Minnis recently revealed that he met with one of the alleged gang members where he was told about a plot to set Pintard up. The revelation has fueled numerous questions in various circles about the FNM's involvement in the matter.

"By resigning, Mr. Pintard followed the honorable path, so as to ensure that the baseless allegations made against him by the PLP and others would not be a source of distraction for our FNM party as we seek to replace the PLP and create a new and better Bahamas," the FNM said.

"We fully expect that the vicious accusations against Mr. Pintard will in time be shown to be completely false and politically motivated."

The FNM pointed out that videos which accompany the court documents purport to show Nygard meeting with the "gang members" in which he asserts that he contributed millions of dollars to the Progressive Liberal Party's (PLP) 2012 election campaign with the expectation of certain promises being fulfilled.

Prime Minister Perry Christie again addressed the matter in the House of Assembly last week. He insisted that his conduct in all of the matters relating to Nygard "will speak for itself". He said that will be tested by the court.

By Royston Jones Jr.

Guardian Staff Reporter