Vexed Bermoothes

il Presidente was on the radio this morning proclaiming that the reason that some outspoken community members were cut from Government advisory boards (such as Stuart Hayward from the Sustainable Development roundtable) was an act of protocol rather than revenge because they spoke out in public instead of restricting their comments to private board meetings.

That’s a cop out and here’s why:

• the agendas of Government boards are not made public;
• their meetings are not announced and are not open to the public;
• neither minutes of the meetings nor recommendations of the boards are published; and
• longterm activists on a subject should not be muzzled simply by placing them on a board.

Dr. Brown is suggesting is that dissent is allowed as long as it remains in private where it can be managed or ignored. Sound familiar anyone?

If a tree falls in the forest, and no-one is listening, does it make any noise?

All Government advisory boards – including the so-called Saturday group – should be transparent and open to the public. The US has had a federal SunShine Act since 1976 that enforces this (in addition most states have similar laws at the local level).

Interestingly, the US SunShine Act act helped open the door for public broadcaster C-SPAN which airs virtually all significant hearings in Congress, as well as a great number of federal agency meetings. It also drove the growth i-government (such as Thomas and the Federal Register) where you can learn about scheduled meetings and later retrieve minutes.

It’s time for Bermuda’s governance to grow up. Our belt-busting budget demands more transparency and accountability.