|
|
|
|
Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
 Nassau, Bahamas - Communication By The Rt. Hon. Prime Minister & Member For Centreville To The Honourable House Of Assembly
11 November, 2015 on The National Honours Bill, 2015:
Mr. Speaker, it gives me much pleasure to introduce in this Honourable House the National Honours Bill, 2015.
Mr. Speaker, Members would recall that in 2007, my Government enacted two separate pieces of legislation to provide for the conferment of honours and awards, namely, the National Honours Act, 2007 and the National Heroes Act, 2007.
The Bill laid before this Honourable House today will repeal and replace both of those Acts (which were never brought into force), the substance of which is now contained in this single piece of legislation, which will be called once passed, the National Honours Act, 2015.
Mr. Speaker, I want Members to be aware that my Government has, in the preparation of this Bill, sought expert advice and guidance from the British College of Arms, the agency responsible for registration of heraldic emblems and mottoes, and details of honours issued in the United Kingdom, and in territories overseas, including some former British Colonies. Additionally, Mr. Speaker, consultations have also been undertaken between the Office of the Attorney General and Charles Russell LLC, legal advisors to the Government of The Bahamas.
Flowing from these consultations, FURTHER ideas and concepts were developed which took into account the particular needs of The Bahamas and our achievements as a country and where we are today. In that context, the existing honours awarded to Bahamians over the years have also been examined, with a view to ensuring that the new system provides for parity alongside those honours.
Mr. Speaker, the draft Bill is the result of further study of honours systems established in several countries of similar development, namely, Jamaica, Trinidad and Barbados. It is critically important that the honours are understood and accepted nationally and internationally.
Unlike the 2007 Acts, this new Bill provides for the establishment of six separate Orders comprising the Societies of Honour, namely:
(a) the Order of National Hero;
(b) the Order of the Nation;
(c) the Order of The Bahamas;
(d) the Order of Excellence;
(e) the Order of Distinction;
(f) the Order of Merit.
Mr. Speaker, the Advisory Committee shall be responsible for making recommendation to the Prime Minister of persons fit to be conferred with an honour, consulting with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition on honours and will also consider nominations from the general public. It shall also be the responsibility of the Advisory Committee to investigate persons to be honoured and to report the results of such investigations to the Prime Minister.
Appointments to the Order of National Hero will be made by the Governor-General , who will serve as Chancellor of the Order, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition and after consideration of the report
of the Advisory Committee.
This Order of National Heroes, as I have said before, by nature, will be exceedingly small – the rarest of the rare, the greatest of the great. And it must remain so if the term “National Hero” is to retain its legitimacy.
This status is really only intended to be conferred on those citizens of The Bahamas who have fundamentally influenced the course of Bahamian history or who have given service to The Bahamas by outstanding leadership, extraordinary achievement or heroic sacrifice of a truly transformative kind.
Mr. Speaker, the Bill by virtue of clause 9 will recognize the second Monday of October as National Heroes Day, which shall also be recognized as a public holiday.
Mr. Speaker, as I would have mentioned before, there are a great many persons in our society who may not be worthy of elevation to the highest rank of honour - the Order of National Hero - but who nonetheless are deserving of state recognition in one of the various societies of honours namely, Order of The Bahamas, Order of Excellence, Order of Distinction and Order of Merit.
The Bill also introduces the Order of the Nation, which is an honour which is reserved for and bestowed upon all persons who have served as Governor General and Prime Minister of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
Mr. Speaker, draft Regulations have been prepared in respect of the societies of honour and will deal in more detail with the assigned specific mottoes and regalia. The purpose of the motto is to allow persons awarded the honours to have a uniting purpose or aim, and also to maintain a sense of pride in the Order to which they are joined.
Like mottoes, regalia provides distinguishing symbols of rank, office, and society. It also serves as a symbol of achievement and success toward which others may aspire, and it represents the gratitude of the nation for the exemplary gifts provided through service.
It is our intention to request the appointment of a Select Committee of Parliament to consider these draft Regulations and to report to Parliament. The system of National Honours should be understood and have wide acceptance. Accordingly, this Select Committee will have the usual wide powers to call for persons and papers and to sit from place to place.
Mr. Speaker, it is important to note that the honours to be conferred under this Act differ from the awards presently given by the Defence and Police Forces which are empowered by the respective laws which cover those agencies.
In closing Mr. Speaker, the Bible in Ecclesiastes 3:1 says: “There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under the heavens”. We have over the past few years been naming buildings, Defence Force vessels and roads after national heroes. We want our children to understand their noble heritage. We want our young men and women to understand what it means to stand on the shoulders of Pompey, Stephen Dillett, Clarence Bain, Milo Butler, Georgiana Symonette, Dame Doris Johnson, Rev. Dr. H.W. Brown, Clement Bethel, Amos Ferguson, Winston (Gus) Cooper, Sir Lynden Pindling and hundreds others. This journey is continuing as we fund persons at the University of The Bahamas and elsewhere, to record permanently and tell our stories. We must tell our stories. The tale of the hunt is very different when told by the lion rather than by the hunter. Today will be recorded as a time when we, the representatives of the people came together in this Parliament to unite our people in joyful celebration as we “march onto glory our bright banners waving high”.
© Copyright 2015 by thebahamasweekly.com
Top of Page
|
|
|
|
