While the specific role of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) in the fight against crime remains obscure, the government has maintained its budget allocation for the unit in 2017/2018.

The Christie administration allocated $32,000 for the NIA in 2015/2016. It budgeted $90,000 for 2016/2017.

The Minnis administration has pledged to legislate and set a clear mandate for the NIA. The current government has committed $90,000 to the unit for the upcoming fiscal year.

The agency was touted by the Christie administration as a unit to "gather intelligence" in an effort to prevent new threats.

The former government also claimed the NIA acted as the nation's "eyes and ears" on regional and international levels.

But the NIA remains a sore spot for the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) with repeated criticisms from the then opposition Free National Movement (FNM) that the unit was operated for five years without legislation to govern it.

The FNM questioned why the NIA was being funded with thousands of dollars with no legal foundation or proper oversight. The FNM also accused the former government of spying on Bahamians, an assertion that was strongly rebuked.

The Christie administration repeatedly promised to legislate the NIA, but failed to do so.

FNMs called for the agency to be shut down in the absence of law to govern it. Just over a week ago, Attorney General Carl Bethel said he requested the NIA bill the former government drafted, but had not yet seen it.

This comes as the government sets about reviewing and auditing government ministries and departments.

When asked outside the House of Assembly last week about what he had learned of the NIA since assuming office, Minister of National Security Marvin Dames suggested the unit was overstated by the former government.

Last September, former Minister of National Security Dr. Bernard Nottage said the draft NIA bill had to go back to Cabinet for "further refinement".

The NIA legislation was never tabled. In May 2016, then Attorney General Allyson Maynard-Gibson said the NIA bill would be tabled that month. But that never happened.

In April 2015, Maynard-Gibson said concerns regarding legislation to regulate the NIA had been addressed and the proposed bill would be presented to Cabinet soon. Maynard-Gibson never divulged what those concerns were, but said the proposed legislation had been reviewed.

While the FNM government has said it will set a clear mandate for the NIA, the government has yet to expound on what that mandate would entail and how it envisions the unit contributing to the crime fight.

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