A fierce political clash has erupted in The Bahamas over a potential parliamentary salary adjustment, with the opposition Free National Movement (FNM) calling out Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis for a dramatic reversal of his decade-old stance on the issue. The confrontation unfolded during Senate debate on a routine resolution thanking the Governor General for the annual Throne Speech, bringing simmering tensions over economic equity to the surface of national politics.
FNM Senator Elsworth Johnson opened the attack on Wednesday, pointing to stark contradictions between Davis’ current support for a salary review and his 2017 comments as opposition leader. At that time, then-Prime Minister Hubert Minnis had argued that sitting members of parliament could not make ends meet on their existing pay, a claim Davis publicly derided. He urged Minnis to “put himself in the shoes of the thousands of Bahamians who live from hand to mouth” back then. Today, the Davis administration has confirmed it is drafting legislative amendments to facilitate parliamentary pay adjustments, with the prime minister arguing the review is long overdue. Davis has defended the push by noting that Bahamian lawmakers earn far less than their regional peers on average salary scales.
Johnson was cut off before he could fully lay out the opposition’s full case, but he made clear the FNM rejects any pay increase at the present moment. His position received immediate backing from fellow FNM Senator Rick Fox, who framed the timing of the pay discussion as tone-deaf to the struggles of ordinary Bahamians. Fox noted that the Throne Speech itself centered heavily on addressing the country’s soaring cost of living — a key campaign issue the ruling Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) ran on just months ago, when it pledged to fight for livable minimum wages that match household expenses.
“Any statements we make about supporting Bahamian people through the cost of living crisis have to align with our actions,” Fox argued. “Right now, this conversation sends the wrong message: it suggests politicians are prioritizing their own paychecks over the needs of the public, when that should be the opposite of what we do.” While Fox acknowledged that Bahamian parliamentarians currently sit at the lower end of regional salary scales, he stressed that the timing of the review risks eroding public trust in elected officials.
Attorney General Wayne Munroe, the ruling party’s lead respondent, pushed back against the opposition’s claims as factually misleading. Munroe pointed out that rank-and-file public servants across the Bahamian civil service have already received salary adjustments in recent years, while elected parliamentarians have gone without any increase. He also shared a little-noted structural detail of Bahamian government pay: top civil service posts often outearn the elected officials they serve. “The cabinet secretary earns more than the prime minister. My own permanent secretary earns more than I do. Senior lawyers in the Attorney General’s office earn more than the Attorney General,” Munroe said. “That is the context for this review.”
Munroe also clarified that the draft legislation is still in development at his office, has not been released for public consultation, and no final details of the proposal have been settled. The debate ultimately came to an abrupt end when Senate President Mrs Adderley ruled the discussion out of order, noting that the Throne Speech contained no mention of parliamentary salary increases and no formal legislation has been tabled before the national legislature. “To my knowledge, there is no section or paragraph in the Speech from the Throne that addresses increasing parliamentary salaries,” Adderley said. “We have already wandered far down this path without any mandate to do so.”