Biography
The Hon. JoBeth Coleby-Davis has excellent knowledge of the legal system in The Bahamas, including the Petroleum Act and Regulations.
Minister Coleby-Davis earned an LLM in Energy Law and Policy at the University of Dundee in Scotland. She gained her dual Bachelor of Law degree with Business Management at Keele University, UK, and completed her bar vocational course at Nottingham Trent University.
She worked for the Bank of Nova Scotia as a contracted Compliance Officer for 5 years with Bank Lawyers and the Financial Service Commission (FSC) to ensure organizations adhered to laws and regulations. Her duties included responsibility for commercial customers of the Bank, carrying out due diligence, risk management and inspections of their operations for compliance with the financial policy of the FSC.
Mrs. Coleby-Davis was responsible for the compliance and risk management of Bahamas Petroleum licenses, government relations and she worked closely with the management team to advise on legal and commercial risks associated with day-to-day business operations. She also served on the board responsible for Real Property Tax Appeal Tribunal.
Minister Coleby-Davis was appointed and sworn in as a Senator in 2017. She served until 2021.
She was elected to the Elizabeth constituency on September 16 and sworn in as the Minister of Transport & Housing on September 22, 2021.
As Minister of Transport & Housing, her portfolio includes the following: relations with the Housing Commission, Bahamas Mortgage Corporation, The Bahamas Maritime Authority, the Air Accident and Investment Authority, ground transportation, road traffic management, motor vehicles, registration and licensing, drays and surreys, the postal service, inter-island passengers, freight and mail service, meteorology, ship registration, maritime affairs, ports, the government’s housing scheme and construction of medium and low-cost housing.
During a Cabinet reshuffle, Coleby-Davis was named Minister of Energy and Transport on September 4th, 2023. She is the first Minister of Energy.
As the Minister of Energy and Transport, Bahamas Power and Light was added to her portfolio, as she remains with the responsibilities in relation to The Department of Road Traffic, Post Office Department, Department of Meteorology and The Port Department.
Minister Coleby-Davis was born on July 17th, 1984, in Freeport, Grand Bahama. She is of the Baptist denomination and enjoys travelling, dancing and tasting cuisines.
Her civic activities include backyard and community gardening and volunteering with civil society.
She is married to Donavon Davis Jr. and is the mother of 1(one) child, a daughter, Bethani.
September, 2024