GOVERNMENT HOUSE, Mount Fitzwilliam – Former veteran broadcaster Mrs. Pakeisha Parker-Edgecombe will serve as Parliamentary Secretary for Information and Communication in the Office of the Prime Minister, Prime Minister, the Hon. Dr. Hubert Alexander Minnis said Monday.
Prime Minister Minnis said Mrs. Parker-Edgecombe will help to oversee the transformation of ZNS “from a State propaganda machine under the last government, into a properly functioning public broadcasting corporation” among other duties.
Other Parliamentary Secretaries sworn-in Monday, taking the Oath of Office and receiving their Instruments of Appointment included: Vaughn Miller, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development; Carlton Bowleg, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Marine Resources; James Albury, Parliamentary Secretary, Office of the Prime Minister, Abaco; and Travis Robinson, Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Tourism. Iram Lewis will serve as Parliamentary Secretary, the Ministry of Public Works.
“In 1992, the Free National Movement freed the broadcast media from state control. It is now time to liberate the state broadcast agency from political manipulation.”
Prime Minister Minnis said the modernization of Bahamas Information Services (BIS) will include greater use of social media to help inform younger generations of Bahamians.
Dr. Minnis also promised to transform how the Parliamentary Channel is currently being utilized.
“It is also my government’s intention to transform the Parliamentary Channel into a public information platform similar to C-SPAN in the United States of America,” Prime Minister Minnis added.
The Prime Minister said, as with his appointments to the Cabinet and the Senate, the appointment of the new Parliamentary Secretaries reflects the diversity found throughout the Commonwealth. Dr. Minnis said the Parliamentary Secretaries will help his government “to focus on the many challenges ahead.”
As with his other appointments (Cabinet Ministers, Ministers of State, Senators) Prime Minister Minnis mandated the Parliamentary Secretaries to be true to the Oath they swore to Monday.
“Fidelity to the oath you swore today is essential in order to provide the Bahamian people with a government of integrity,” Dr. Minnis said. “Good and open government demands transparency and accountability. Good governance demands being responsible for our actions.
“Accordingly, I will hold you to the highest standards of ethical conduct in the performance of your public duties. I look forward to working with you in a spirit of collegiality and collaboration in a government which adheres to collective responsibility,” Prime Minister Minnis added.
