Remarks by Rt. Hon. Hubert A. Ingraham, Prime Minister
at the Swearing-in of he Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs

Government House, 23 November 2009

Your Excellency Governor General
Colleague Ministers
Senators
Members of Parliament
Secretary to the Cabinet
Senior and other Public Officers

Ladies and Gentlemen: 

I thank His Excellency for acceding to my request to appoint John Delaney to the Senate and for so graciously presiding over this ceremony and for administering the oath of office and the oath of allegiance.  Thank you, Sir. 

I should also like to thank my colleague, the Hon. Brent Symonette, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, for having ably held the portfolio of Attorney General since the resignation of Sir Michael Barnett.  

Once again it gives me great pleasure to welcome to the Upper House of Parliament and to my Cabinet another accomplished Bahamian professional, one who has already demonstrated his willingness to render public service to his country and who is willing to do so at considerable sacrifice to himself and his family. 

John Delaney was born into a well-regarded Bahamian family and is the seventh of eight children of the late John F. Delaney and Mrs. Remona Delaney, formerly Burrows. 

He received his early education in Nassau at Palmdale Primary School and St. Augustine’s College before going abroad to pursue studies in his chosen profession of the law.   

He excelled with an LL.B. with honours from Birmingham University, a Master of Laws from the University of London, and qualified professionally at Lincoln’s Inn. 

He was called to the Bar in 1987 and has been practising law with the firm of Higgs & Johnson, of which he has been a partner since 1994.   

John has specialized in commercial litigation and financial services law.  Having written extensively in both fields in various publications he is recognized internationally as a leader in the field.   

You will have noticed that in addition to the usual portfolio items of Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, I have added to his responsibilities the Promotion and Development of Financial Services, though not its regulation, and relations with the Financial Services Industry and the Bahamas Financial Services Board. 

Because of his considerable experience in the area of financial services, I am confident that he will assist in the ongoing development of this important industry so that it benefits our economy while adhering to evolving international standards.   

I believe that he will bring great creativity and insight to the promotion of this pillar of our national economy, both at home and abroad.  

I mentioned earlier that John has demonstrated his willingness to render public service.   

In addition to having previously served as a Senator, he has served on a number of public entities including the National Insurance Board, the Bahamas Financial Services Board, the Road Traffic Authority and the Bahamas Trade Commission where he was Co-Chair.   

He also found the time in years past to offer his services as an evening lecturer at the College of The Bahamas. 

I am confident that with the support of his wife, Daphne, and his children, Amorae, Dana and Maya, John will be an invaluable member of my Cabinet and that he will serve the Bahamian people well in this capacity and as a member of the Senate. 

Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

Our new Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs assumes responsibility for these important offices at a time when our people are rightly concerned about the rising incidence of crime, especially violent crime, in our country.  I recall again the ancient declaration of Cicero to the authorities of his day that “the safety of the people shall be their highest law”.  

And so, our whole society must be held up to examination.  In the weeks and months ahead, my colleagues and I will be addressing the Bahamian people on different occasions, by different means and in different forums, about the complex challenge of violent crime and our response to that challenge as a Government and as a people. 

While governments are responsible for national security, including combating crime, we are all responsible for combating and reducing those conditions and attitudes which foster crime in the first place. 

We are responsible as parents and teachers, as clergymen and civic leaders, as role models and citizens.  The fight against crime, if it is to be successful, cannot simply rely on the newest technologies and equipment, though these are important.   

As importantly, we must engage the hearts and minds, the consciences and will-power of all Bahamians as we transform those mindsets which often lead to violence as a means of settling differences, or taking what is not ours whether from our places of employment or elsewhere. 

We must have no tolerance for violent crime. And we must also not tolerate petty criminality and other anti-social behaviour which may suggest to would-be criminals that we are a society tolerant of such behaviour. 

Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

Again, just as the causes of crime do indeed constitute a complex challenge, so too must the responses to crime be multi-faceted and sustained at all levels of our society.  Just as there is no one cause for crime, there most certainly is no single response.  

My Government’s ongoing response to crime and criminality includes crime prevention and detection measures through the Royal Bahamas Police Force and other agencies on the frontlines of our national security efforts. 

Our response includes providing all relevant crime-fighting and prosecution agencies with the leadership, manpower, conditions of service, tools, technology and powers needed to combat crime and violence.  

We are providing the Judiciary with the resources to engage judges and improve facilities and other resources needed to ensure that our criminal justice system is able to conduct more timely but fair trials so that crime victims and their families, as well as accused persons, are afforded a greater degree of justice.  

Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen: 

My Government has an integrated short-, medium- and long-range national strategy to fight crime and reduce criminality, using all possible means, within the law, including changes to a range of legislation, some of which have already been enacted, and others that will be presented in due course. 

We are a nation of laws.  We are bound by our own laws and, in some cases, by international law.  So my Government will not condone mindsets and actions that want to dispense with the law when it is convenient, but at the same time seek to impose that very same law on the criminal behaviour we are seeking to punish. 

Justice is a noble taskmaster whom we must all respect if we are to enjoy its privileges as well as its protections.  Our democracy and our constitutional rights and privileges can only remain safe with a strong and independent Judiciary.   

Because of his training, his experience and his commitment to justice for all Bahamians, I am certain that our new Attorney General will acquit himself well in his new office. 

I am also certain that Attorney General Delaney will lend his considerable talents and energy to my Government’s efforts to strengthen significantly the Judiciary as well as to combat crime within our Bahamas. 

Again, I thank him for his willingness to serve, and I thank His Excellency for his hospitality and for having administered these solemn oaths of office.