ORG Executive Director: Trust Requires Transparency

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Executive Director of the Organization for Responsible Governance, Matt Aubry says ORG has been pushing for campaign finance regulation for years.

Both the Free National Movement and Progressive Liberal Party have promised campaign finance legislation in the past.

In 2020, Philip Davis, then opposition leader, criticized the Minnis administration’s lack of movement on the issue.  

In the PLP’s 2021 Blueprint For Change, the party committed to implementing a slew of transparency and accountability related acts.

Some have criticized the lack of movement on these issues since the Davis administration entering office three years ago.

Fast forward to the present, the prime minister reiterating Thursday that the Freedom of Information Act is not a priority for his administration because of more pressing issues in the country.

However, Aubry says it’s all connected.

He said fixing crime and fixing cost-of-living and fixing the education system, these are not gonna be quick things,” Aubry said

“So we have to do some immediate things, like the prime minister is talking about, but we also have to really put a pin in what are the things are gonna change in the long term.”

As for the  prime minister’s concerns that regulations would lead to the public purse being used to fund campaigns, Aubry said campaign finance laws are actually a very broad term, and they mean a lot of things.

“They can start from very simply just requiring that there is some mechanism of reporting of how monies are given to a campaign, or requirements of how those monies are given, or caps on the amount to be able to be spent on certain things,” Aubry said.