MP fires back in row over report

Mon, Feb 20th 2017, 12:13 AM

St. Anne's MP Hubert Chipman said yesterday his letter to Speaker of the House Dr. Kendal Major, in which he claimed that the boundaries report he signed was not the one tabled in Parliament, was "misinterpreted", and fired back at Deputy Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis for criticizing his absence during debate on the matter in the House of Assembly last week.
But Chipman -- the opposition's representative on the Constituencies Commission -- insisted yesterday that he stands by his letter.
The letter sparked uproar in Parliament last week after Major, who is chairman of the Constituencies Commission, read it into the record of the House.
Chipman, who was contacted by The Nassau Guardian, said, "I was very, very surprised that it got the reaction that it did. As a matter of fact, I believe the letter was misinterpreted, to be honest with you. But again, I will deal with that."
Chipman would not elaborate on what he meant about the letter being misinterpreted, insisting that he intends to deal with the matter in the House of Assembly on Wednesday.
In the letter, the MP expressed "extreme displeasure at the complete and utter variance between the contents of the document shown to me and the document actually tabled in Parliament".
He said, "The document I signed is not the same document tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, February 8, 2017.
"In particular, as mentioned during our telephone conversation of Friday, February 10, 2017, I had no prior knowledge of the changes relating to Montagu, as announced by the Right Honorable Prime Minister, when the draft report was tabled in the House of Assembly on February 8, 2017.
"Therefore, I am bound to express my profound disappointment that the document produced to me withheld material contained in the actual draft report laid in the House."
When he contributed to debate on the report, Davis suggested Chipman's priorities were not well ordered.
Chipman was not present for the debate because he was attending a CARICOM heads of government meeting in Guyana on the invitation of Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell.
"I was very, very disappointed to hear my priorities were misdirected or he (Davis) was disappointed," Chipman said.
"When I was asked on Wednesday prior to leaving the country by the minister of foreign affairs whether I would join him at a CARICOM [meeting] in Guayana, I thought it was a privilege. I accepted it.
"I did not know at the particular time that the debate would have been going on the next week, because I would tell you, Parliament is not ordered in such a way that you can plan your life around it... so I thought it was appropriate that I accept.
"The government of The Bahamas invited me to go to CARICOM, Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell, and I accepted it.
"How can [my priorities] be wrong to not represent my country?"
Asked to respond to Davis' claim that the report was late due to the change to the opposition's make up on the Constituencies Commission, Chipman said, "I don't think the change in membership had anything to do with the report coming forward."
Fort Charlotte MP Dr. Andre Rollins and Montagu MP Richard Lightbourn have initiated a legal action challenging the constitutionality and legality of the report, which they submit violates a provision in the constitution that states that a report shall be completed once every five years.
A Supreme Court judge is expected to rule tomorrow whether a judicial review into the matter will proceed.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian

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