Thursday, July 30, 2009

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Renewing government boards Government boards are an opportunity for citizens to serve the country and advise officials, lending their talents and energy to the business of government in a unique manner. These boards are examples of democratic vitality, with Bahamians participating in decisions affecting their fellow citizens. As the government gets set to reappoint a variety of boards we have a few observations and suggestions. Because of the statutory powers, influence and financial responsibilities of these boards, they require oversight and guidance. That guidance should include a commitment to transparency and accountability, requiring oversight by government, the general public and various stakeholders. Transparency: It is inexcusable for a Board to allow the institution it represents to be several years behind in its audited accounts. Whether this arises because of incompetence or even less circumspect behavior, this kind of laxness gives rise to suspicion and concern regarding how taxpayer dollars are spent. Thankfully, the many years of unaudited accounts by the former government are being brought up to date. Unfortunately, one of the boards both governments have failed to reform is The Bahamas Plays and Films Control Board, which appears to be trapped in a bygone era, lacking in transparency and accountability. While we will have more to say on this at another time, for now we urge the government to appoint a more diverse group of people to this Board, amend its controlling Act and institute a better review process which publicly announces films banned and allows for a transparent mechanism for appeals to such bans. Accountability: Earlier this year we reported on a potential conflict of interest regarding the activities of a former Chair of the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas who, according to its own minutes, pressed that Board to invest a portion of the Corporation's pension fund in a company for which he worked and a transaction for which he may have received a significant commission. Such conflicts and the appearance thereof must be avoided in order to secure the public's trust in a given institution. We urge the current administration to also avoid appointing individuals to boards on which they may have a conflict of interest. For example, individuals who may have personally benefited from their advocacy on a given issue should not be appointed to a board on which they previously lobbied on behalf of certain interests, which resulted in their being remunerated for their advocacy. We laud the fine men and women who serve on various boards, giving their time and talents to nation-building. While we understand that the government of the day will appoint many of their supporters to various boards, we urge that these boards also include as broad array as possible of our national talent, regardless of political affiliation. Further, because of our public duty we will work even more diligently to ensure that government boards are more and more transparent and accountable to the Bahamian people. Tuesday, June 30, 2009