NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Former Prime Minister Perry Christie defended recent confidential settlement agreements, linking the secrecy to ongoing lawsuits against the government that he said could be impacted by the revelation of settlement awards.
Eyewitness News has reported that Financial Secretary Simon Wilson, Police Commissioner Clayton Fernander and Deputy Commissioner Leamond Deleveaux have received confidential agreements in the last year connected to the lawsuits they brought against the government.
Damian Gomez, the lawyer for former Bahamas Power & Light chairwoman Darnell Osborne, has also suggested that a settlement agreement for his clients will likely be confidential as well.
“I suppose one can say for most things in public life the public has a right to know and governments exercise their judgements, particularly if there are other such matters in the making,” Christie told reporters yesterday after viewing the body of former House Speaker Vernon Symonette at the House of Assembly.
He noted that former Environment Minister Kenred Dorsett has a lawsuit against the government over his criminal prosecution which was dropped in March.
“The government, I guess, being aware that there are other pending matters of that kind would have made the judgement that at this stage they would not want to influence any other development along similar lines of people who had been harmed and have a legitimate claim for damages,” he said.
“Governments make such decisions and in this case doubtlessly that is what influences them and I am sure they must know that nothing done in the dark ever misses coming to light and so they know that and Brave Davis as prime minister is fully aware of that.
“And so I have no doubt that in the fullness of time they are going to address the issues relevant to the prosecution of those political personalities.”
Christie’s comments mirror those of National Security Minister Wayne Munroe who said earlier this month that it is “unwise and not sensible” for the government to disclose settlement awards.
He said: “When citizens get money the state ends up paying costs.”
“The reason that when you settle a matter you don’t say how much you paid is because you have a line of people behind you wanting to know, ‘How much did you give Mr Rolle? If you give Mr Rolle $10,000 you can’t give me less than that.’
In 2018, however, Munroe told The Tribune that revealing settlement awards helps ensure accountability.
“The reason (to disclose settlement agreements) is it permits you scrutiny to see if there has been even-handed application of a policy. It also prevents politicians talking tough in public about somebody, then settling quietly behind the scenes,” he said.
“Disclosure will also tend to expose if a government or a politician is using public funds improperly either to benefit persons of a particular class, to give money to your boys or to discriminate against other persons and to make other people go through a lot of challenges.”
Loading ...
