Prime Minister Phillip Davis has defended his embattled Education Minister, Glenys Hanna-Martin after the main opposition Free National Movement (FNM) called for her resignation after she publicly expressed opposing views to the Royal Caribbean project approved by the government.
“In recent days, there has been anxious and mischievous commentary, concerning comments made by the Minister of Education, Hon Glenys-Hanna Martin in relation to the draft deal with the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL),” Davis said in a statement issued late on Sunday night.
“All Bahamians will have shared my experience of Minister Hanna Martin that, in her long and valued career in politics, she has always advocated powerfully, passionately and with integrity, on behalf of the Bahamian people. In this instance, she has behaved no differently, when she reiterated her previously publicly expressed views regarding the pending RCCL application,” he added.
The FNM said the Education Minister had no option but to resign under Cabinet rules if she was unwilling to stand united with her colleagues.
Last Friday, Hanna-Martin said her views have not changed on the US$110m beach club project on Paradise Island, saying she did not support it during the Minnis administration and her opinion remains the same.
In 2021, Hanna-Martin, while in opposition, called the proposal “hare-brained” accusing the then Minnis administration of “kicking a Bahamian developer to the curb” in favour of the cruise line.
FNM and Opposition Leader, Michael Pintard called for the resignation of the Education Minister, saying her public opposition to the project exposed the dysfunction of Davis’s Cabinet.
“Minister Glenys Hanna Martin’s public comments regarding her personal position on the Royal Caribbean Paradise Island project matter once again exposes the dysfunction of Davis’s Cabinet.
“It is a well-known and universally acceptable principle of Westminster governance that Cabinet shares collective responsibility for all decisions of the Cabinet. Regardless of the personal position of a Minister, he or she must publicly support the decisions of Cabinet or leave the Cabinet,” Pintard said, adding that the embattled minister must publicly support the decisions of Cabinet regardless of their own position on the matter or leave the Cabinet.
But in his statement, Davis said that project is still under review, pending the outcome of the Environmental Impact Assessment.
“This is an important component of the final decision, as we remain committed to ensuring that any decision we make is in the best interests of our country and its people, while also protecting our natural resources for future generations,” he said, adding “as such, it is my clear view that she has not violated the Ministerial Code”.
Davis said the Education Minister continues to make contributions to national development and has his full confidence to continue doing so.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism Chester Cooper, said the proposed “project will cover 17 acres – of which 13 acres represent privately held land and some four acres of Crown land that was included in the lease to RCI by the former administration”.
