The comment sparked a strong reaction from Montagu MP Brent Symonette.
Mr Smith, who is also head of the BEST Commission, said the time had come to take a very careful look at the Trust and the things it stands for to ensure it carries out its duties.
Benefits “In doing that, it is important for us to be sure that we have the right people who serve on the Trust and to be sure that those people understand the importance of what we have when we speak of the benefits that we seek to get by giving people the opportunity for tax exemptions coming out of certain jurisdictions,” said the Mount Moriah MP during the debate on amendments to the International Business Companies Act.
Mr Symonette objected to Mr Smith’s remarks, saying they were unfair because Trust employees were not in the House to defend themselves. Mr Smith accused him of holding a brief for a BNT employee.
Said Mr Symonette: “Mr Smith said you need to make sure you have the right persons running the National Trust. They are not here to defend themselves. We are talking about IBC’s, not attacking members of the National Trust, of which I believe (Mr Smith) is on the executive council.”
Mr Smith said his comments were relevant because the proposed amendments opened the market for the country to tap into resources outside the Bahamas.
He maintained his point that the “right people need to be running the Trust”.
Mr Smith said he is on record in the House on the topic of the BNT. Objections He urged Mr Symonette to say who he was trying to protect through his objections and claimed that “whomever the cap fit they could wear it with shame or pride, as the case may be”.
He refused to withdraw the comments, adding that those persons to whom he referred know who they are.
“If they do not know how or do not have the creativity to know where to find the kind of funding to protect our environment then they are not the right kind of people, and this bill allows us another market. This is why I applaud the Minister of Financial Services and Investments, Allyson Maynard-Gibson, for bringing this bill to the House because I was an environmentalist before I was a politician,” said Mr Smith.
“I stand on that foundation and I have every right to speak on every platform I have, to speak loud and clear on protecting the environment.
“And if I have to tap up some people who are not doing it right that is my duty and I stand unashamedly to do it.”
Mr Symonette insisted that he was not holding a brief for anyone in the Trust but wanted to be clear if Mr Smith was saying, in his capacity as Ambassador for the Environment, that the wrong persons were running the Bahamas National Trust.
Accusation Mr Symonette said he resented the accusation that he was holding a brief for someone in the Trust because it implied he was a liar. He demanded a withdrawal and threatened to take the matter to the “next level”.
Mr Smith refused to withdraw the comment until the Speaker of the House directed him to, saying that the comments did not insinuate that Mr Symonette was a liar.
He eventually withdrew the remark but refused to withdraw his statements about the “right people working” at the National Trust.
During a House debate to establish an authority to manage Clifton Cay as a heritage site, Mr Smith criticised the Trust’s executive director, Gary Larson.
Mr Smith believes the amendments should be encouraged, as it would benefit organisations and agencies like the Bahamas National Trust.
“When we see organisations such as the Bahamas National Trust, that need an ongoing set of contributions to ensure that it is benefited and the environment is safeguarded and conserved, it is no doubt that if we are able to encourage this new financial product to be utilised from the Bahamas we would have an opportunity to encourage the people who come here for the benefit of international business to be able to contribute to organisations such as the National Trust and other Bahamian institutes,” he said.
By Cara Brennen, The Tribune
