It was not long ago that an MP mistakenly referred to the Parliamentary “Public Accounts Committee” (or PAC) as the “Private Affairs Committee”. Times change, and the PAC has unanimously voted to open its meetings to the public. This is a very positive move. The PAC is currently chaired by the UBP’s Bob Richards. Other [...]
Entries Tagged as 'Accountability'
Bermudironic 2
May 7th, 2010 · Comments Off · Accountability, Transparency
The Premier made a statement in Parliament this morning about the introduction of the PATI (public access to information) law. UBP MP John Barritt then posed a question about several outstanding Parliamentary Questions that Government has so far chosen to ignore, relating to the controversial expansion of the Stonington/Coco Reef lease as well as the [...]
More of the Same
April 27th, 2010 · Comments Off · Accountability
The revelation that Coco Reef’s lease has now been extended to 120 years is stunning. The original tender was to operate the Stonington Beach hotel for 21 years. This was quietly renegotiated into a 50 year lease, and an SDO was later granted to develop 66 “leaseback villas” in several towers on the site. Now, [...]
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PATI
March 11th, 2010 · Comments Off · Accountability, Transparency
Dr. Brown has again promised that PATI (freedom of information) legislation will be tabled before the House of Assembly this year. Let’s hope it incorporates the substantial feedback that was provided by both Bermudians and international experts in public access laws. Meanwhile, the Cayman Islands Information Commissioner has launched a new website on their PATI [...]
Anti-Corruption Update
March 5th, 2010 · Comments Off · Accountability
The Premier was on the news the other day downplaying accusations of corruption and stating something to the effect that “there is no-one who will ever be able to unearth any corruption that is linked directly to me, and if they do, they put it there.” What a careful choice of words. The newscaster dryly [...]
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Broken Systems
February 24th, 2010 · Comments Off · Accountability, Bermuda Politics
There has been some debate recently on Government’s affection for the negative resolution. That is, they embed in a law the ability for a Minister to amend the law directly. The idea is that rather than schedule a full blown debate on amendments by routine, the Minister can table the proposed change in Parliament. If [...]
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Spending Like a Drunken Sailor
January 27th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Accountability, Bermuda Politics, Economy
The Bermuda Government under the PLP provides a constant circus of conflict, allegations, and political machinations. That’s bad for Bermuda. It’s good for the PLP though, because it keeps people focussed on the scandal-du-jour instead of seeing the big picture. And that big picture is not pretty. Larry Burchall points out that Bermuda’s Net Public [...]
Tags:Budget
Reform the House
January 26th, 2010 · Comments Off · Accountability, Transparency
Last week, MP John Barritt wrote in the Royal Gazette about some changes proposed to the “standing Orders” of the House of Assembly that have been proposed by he and Deputy Speaker Dame Jennifer Smith. The MPs have had the draft since the House broke for summer recess last year, and one hopes the House [...]
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Leadership and Budgets
January 22nd, 2010 · Comments Off · Accountability, Bermuda Politics
I am sadly amused by the public opinion polls in the Royal Gazette last week: the Premier’s rating is in the basement, while the Minister of Finance receives a solid positive rating from the public. Sure, Paula Cox is dignified and well-liked … but let’s not confuse that with job performance. I suspect that her [...]
Tags:Budget
Goes Both Ways
January 6th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Accountability, Bermuda Politics
Well that didn’t take long. Just days into 2010 and we already have a road fatality and an execution style murder. Not much word from Dr. Brown on Bermuda’s sudden violence, furthering his reputation of only stepping in front of the cameras when there’s good news to spin. However, Col Burch is finally saying the [...]
Tags:police