Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Leader Branville McCartney said the "political garbage can" that caused quite a stir recently this month "could be very detrimental for foreign investors who may want to come to The Bahamas and invest in this country".
McCartney was referring to comments made by Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald on Tuesday, when he told reporters outside of Cabinet that he got private emails of several Save the Bays members from his "political garbage can" as he threatened to release more information if the group makes further attempts to "destabilize" the Progressive Liberal Party government.
McCartney said in a recent interview that politicians and those with leadership positions in the country must be very careful when it comes to handling information from their "political garbage can".
"I think that's a very dirty trash can that the education minister spoke about," McCartney said. "We have to be very careful as leaders that the information that is used is brought about in the proper way".
However, the DNA leader said he thinks Fitzgerald's political garbage can story is "a bit far-fetched" and asserted that he is not convinced that the minister is being completely open about the origin of the emails.
"I think the trash can story is a bit far fetched but that's the government's story and I guess they're going to stick to it," he said. "The only problem with that is the international market is also looking at the leadership of this country and I can assure you that they don't think that trash can smells too good, so the government has to be very careful with that for the sake of the country's economy."
McCartney said he believes the idea of a "political garbage can" being dumped out in the House of Assembly is a sign to foreign investors that their privacy is not respected in The Bahamas.
"The thing is persons don't want to know that their political leaders would be able to see their private emails and private business," he said. "Privacy is not respected in the country and its deterrent for investors and if they feel that any person can go out and get their information, that's cause for concern."
Data Commissioner Sharmie Farrington-Austin previously told The Nassau Guardian that the tabling of private correspondence in the House of Assembly is a "dangerous trend and opens the society up to chaos".
Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian
