The local media reported, 11 August 2023 that at a town hall meeting held on Thursday night (10 August 2023) at the Saint Gregory’s Anglican Church Hall, Opposition leader Hon. Michael Pintard revealed purported violation of citizenship law by the ruling government.

 

It is inexplicable that members of the leadership of the official opposition who have served in both the legislative and executive branches of government would be so remiss in discharging their official opposition duties.

 

Bahamians have every reason to be concerned that information released by the Opposition can be so easily and effectively rebutted by reference to the very same law (Nationality Act) that Mr. Pintard reportedly accused the current government of violating.

   

The Ministry of Labour and Immigration issued a statement on 11 August advising the general public that the country’s “nationality laws allow several categories of persons to become Bahamians without renouncing any other citizenship they may possess.  Exempted categories include (but are not limited to) the wives of Bahamian men and citizens of countries that do not allow persons to renounce”.

 

The statement went on to state that the “policies currently in force at the Department of Immigration concerning renunciations have been in place for over a decade without change or amendment. The present administration has made no changes to these policies”.

 

The statement concluded by reiterating the fact that “the granting of citizenship continues to follow the existing laws and policies governing the Department of Immigration”.

 

That would be the very same laws and policies Mr. Michael Pintard followed when he served as a Cabinet Minister less than two years ago.

 

The official behavior, the credibility and the reliability of the Opposition, a constitutional institution of the government, has to necessarily and reasonably be called into question by the public as the Opposition must also earn and build public trust through their public commentary.

 

The Westminster system of democracy assumes that the opposition serves as a legitimate and credible check on the powers and conduct of the majority government in the public interest. That’s its singular job. It appears that the majority government has to now concern itself with being a check on the conduct and the veracity of public claims being made by the publicly employed and paid Official Opposition…and run the country all at the same time.

 

This does not look good nor is it good for the Opposition.

 

Clearly this was never the initial intent of our system of democracy. Some unsolicited advice for Mr. Pintard in his official role: conduct proper research, exercise due diligence and seek expert legal advice before issuing misleading public commentary on matters of law and public policy. 

 

The practice of informational asymmetry (or trying to be clever by half) is not synonymous with the practice of opposition politics. When the public cannot trust what the opposition says and when the government has to continuously correct and checkmate the opposition, the public will soon tune you out and become dismissive of you.

 

A word to the wise on matters of law and public policy is usually sufficient.