Members
Parliament
Transparency
Dr. Douglas De Couto, JP, MP

Dr. Douglas De Couto, JP, MP

1768
Speeches
616,883
Words Spoken
69
Sittings Active
2 Mar 2026 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
102 words
Yes, g ood morning, Mr. Speaker and listening audience. Will the Honourable Minister please provide this Honourable House with a list of Senators and Members of the House of Assembly who are currently receiving or have received any form of remuneration or compensation over and above their parliamentary or ministerial salaries for any work or services performed or consultancy or …
2 Mar 2026 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
7 words
Mr. Speaker, P oint of O rder.
2 Mar 2026 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
24 words
Well, the point of order is that the Minister is misleading the House, Mr. Speaker. Zero is not a remuneration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
2 Mar 2026 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
5 words
Yes, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
2 Mar 2026 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
1 words
Zero.
2 Mar 2026 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
4 words
Yes. Supplemental, Mr. Speaker.
2 Mar 2026 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
73 words
My understanding from the various government statements on this digital transformation is that this was supposed to be a cross -ministry, cross- government initiative. Are we to understand from the Honourable Premier's s tatement that, in fact, this is not a cross -ministry initiative, and it is up to each Ministry individually to be in charge of their digitisation ? …
2 Mar 2026 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
49 words
—and not a question that the Cabinet Minister and the Minister for Digital Transfor-mation was unable to answer . Should we take it to believe that each Minister is, in fact, in charge of the digital transformation of their own Ministry? Hon. E. David Burt: Mr. Speaker, Mr. Speaker.
2 Mar 2026 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
22 words
Mr. Speaker, shall I wrap up my question succinctly? Hon. E. David Burt: It's not . . . It's out of order.
2 Mar 2026 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
183 words
Is it the case that the Minister of Digital Transformation is overseeing transformation across multiple ministries, or is it the case that each Minister is in charge of the digital transformation of their own specific Ministry? Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, the simple answer is that the digital transformation is across all of government. …
2 Mar 2026 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
54 words
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Will the Honourable Minister inform us if additional resources are required or will be required , or have already been obtained , to assist in this reform project? Thank you. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: I guess the answer is yes. To both questions, he asked in one question.
2 Mar 2026 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
165 words
Yes, thank you, Mr. Speaker. Could the Minister inform this House of the details of those resources? Thank you. Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, we have additional funding that was allocated during the mid- term supplemental, which was already articulated in this House back then, so it is in the public domain, what those funds were going to …
27 Feb 2026 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
49 words
Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Much appreciated. First of all, many people may know that one of Bermuda's international cyclists, Kaden Hopkins, suffered an accident overseas where he is based and competes, so I want to send him a speedy recovery so that he may get back — [Inaudible interjections]
27 Feb 2026 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
178 words
Yes, and associate the whole House with, Mr. Speaker. I would also like to congratulate Dr. Shangri -La Durham- Thompson on the release of her new book. Renowned author and educator, Dr. Durham- Thompson, on the release of her new book, Live to Make a Difference, about Reverend Lloyd E. Dees . And I'm sure the previous speaker could probably …
27 Feb 2026 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
4 words
Good afternoon, Mr. Speaker.
27 Feb 2026 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
1,309 words
Good afternoon, listening audience. Mr. Speaker, we are here today to address the Budget, Bermuda’s economy, and dollars and cents. But we cannot forget that behind every dollar are Bermudians, and this Budget must answer one question: What does it mean for them? Consider the challenges of the middle- class Smith family , Mr. Speaker. They have two children in …
27 Feb 2026 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
142 words
Mr. Speaker, a review of the latest economic statistics shows that Bermudians continue to face economic pressures, despite the successes of the international business sector. Regrettably, this story remains the same year after year. The revenue increase in the Premier’s budget come from CIT windfalls, inflation- driven gains, and IB payroll contributions, not real G overnment -led reform. Under the …
27 Feb 2026 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
503 words
We have seven years of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data to measure the perfor-mance of Bermuda’s local economy under the PLP Government from 2017 to 2024. Focusing on the lived experiences of Bermudians, setting aside the results of international business, and looking at “real” GDP adjusted for inflation, the numbers are stark. Mr. Speaker, under the PLP, local GDP remained …
27 Feb 2026 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
191 words
Turning to r etail sales, despite occasional small shoots of growth, the Retail Sales Index [RSI] has been essentially flat following the steep drop after COVID -19. After stabili sing in 2023, the Retail Sales Index has seen no material growth over the two years to 2025. Bermudians already see this in empty storefronts in Hamilton. They see it in …
27 Feb 2026 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
125 words
Shipping volumes remain one of the clearest real -time indicators of domestic economic activity. In real terms, you can’t sell what you don’t import. According to data from Stevedoring Services Limited, container volumes remain significantly below pre-COVID -19 levels. The five -year average of container volumes from 2021 to 2025 is 7.5 per cent lower than the three- year pre- …