Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper yesterday brushed off criticism from the opposition over the prime minister's decision to advise the governor general to prorogue Parliament.

"There's a reason why Pintard is in opposition and we are in government," Cooper said when asked to respond to Opposition Leader Michael Pintard.

"We are in government. We are the government of the day and we will lead as we see fit.

"The prime minister has made a determination that we are going to reset. We are going to return on October 4 and it is what it is.

"We've accomplished more than 100 pieces of

legislation, passed in the House of Assembly.

"We have a great agenda lined up for the future and we are going to stay focused on the mission."

On Saturday, Commissioner of Police Clayton Fernander, acting in his capacity as provost marshal, read a proclamation from Governor General Sir Cornelius A. Smith on the steps of the House of Assembly proroguing Parliament.

Reading from a separate proclamation, Fernander declared that the next session will start on October 4.

Both decisions were made on the advice of the prime minister.

The prorogation of Parliament brings an end to the current session. This means the agenda of the House has been wiped clean.

Pintard called the prorogation a "desperate and feeble attempt" by the government to evade the "undeniable truth" that it has failed the Bahamian people.

"The Davis-Cooper administration can try to wipe the slate clean, but the people of The Bahamas deserve answers," Pintard said in a statement.

"They deserve accountability. They deserve leadership that doesn't crumble under pressure and doesn't buckle under the weight of its own promises."

He said the "Progressive Liberal Party openly acknowledges their inability to fulfill even the most basic promises they made during their five-year agenda".

"It is a clear admission of guilt, an admission that they have let down the very people they were elected to serve," he said.

"From the towering burden of energy costs to the unrelenting surge in food prices, the PLP's administration has shown a remarkable knack for pushing the Bahamian people further into economic distress."

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