The Bahama Journal is revealing that Senator Cyprianna McWeeney will submit her resignation to the Governor General and the President of The Senate within the next few days, if she has not done so already.
Senator McWeeney was scheduled to make the announcement in the Senate on Wednesday, but decided to put it off. Her colleagues now expect her to make that announcement when the Senate meets again on March 30.
In 2002, Mr. Christie, against great objection from Senator McWeeney, insisted that she become one of the female Senators of the Progressive Liberal Party.
Sources said that the prime minister has offered Mrs. McWeeney an office to coordinate special events for the government, including the upcoming independence celebrations.
As a former President of the Miss Bahamas Beauty Pageant Committee, she has a tremendous amount of experience in organizing national affairs.
Senator McWeeney, who was crowned Miss Bahamas in 1973, has also worked extensively as a casting director and location scout for major motion pictures and documentaries produced in The Bahamas.
In recent times, she had to contend with the illness of her husband, former Attorney General Sean McWeeney, who had heart surgery, but is now recuperating.
Mr. McWeeney served as a PLP Senator from 1985 to 1992.
Mrs. McWeeney is expected to soon reveal to her colleagues exactly why she is stepping down from the upper chamber, which only meets several times a year under the new government.
Her departure from the Senate is not expected to be contentious or create the kind of furor that came with the resignation of the Abaco Senator Edison Key last year, who created a firestorm when he resigned.
At the time, he said he was very disappointed in the government and its leadership. In fact, Mr. Key said on a scale of one to 10, he would give the Christie Administration a three for performance.
Mr. Key soon resigned from the PLP, days after saying that he had planned not to. It would be October before Prime Minister Christie appointed Grand Bahama community activist Caleb Outten to fill the seat left vacant by Mr. Key.
The prime minister indicated that the new senator was a symbol of hope for the future and a representation of all that is good in Bahamian youth.
Many of Mrs. McWeeney’s colleagues are now left to wonder who will fill her seat in the Senate. Some in government, meanwhile, are hoping that the prime minister would not take another eight months before filling the vacancy.
The length of time he took to fill the seat left vacant by Mr. Key drew strong criticisms from detractors, who have accused him of taking too long to make decisions.
When contacted by The Bahama Journal on Thursday, Mrs. McWeeney did not confirm her plans, but she did not deny them either. She said only that she had no comment on the matter.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Perry Christie had anticipated the announcement from Mrs. McWeeney, who was appointed to the Senate on May 21, 2002.
She is the daughter of the late entertainer and civil rights activist Freddie Munnings and his wife, Winifred.
The Bahama Journal
