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Integrity Legislation: The Devil Will Be In The Detail

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The buzz around town today was not when Barbados Labour Party (BLP) Member of Parliament supported the Democratic Labour (DLP) budgetary proposals. It was not even about when BLP Member of Parliament Rawle Eastmond when he ended his contribution to the debate by projecting a neutral position. The buzz was caused when Leader of the Opposition Mia Mottley, while in the glare of national TV, declared her assets for all Barbadians to scrutinize. According to reports in the media, Mia Mottley who is a member of the prominent Mottley clan is reported to have a personal worth of 3.5 million.

Several members of the BU family have sent us communication over time requesting us to share our views on the issue of integrity legislation dubbed ITAL by sister blog Barbados Free Press (BFP). It is now a matter of record that BFP has been a relentless advocate for the introduction of integrity legislation in Barbados.

We did touch earlier in the year on the need to rationalize our campaign financing laws.

Although the days when corruption by politicians was defined by cash changing hands for favours, it is our sense that this is not as prevalent in the present environment. Of concern maybe the influence which some individuals and companies have on politicians because they have ready access. So that corruption has now taken on a more subtle flavour. Implementing ITAL which will enable transparency in the apparatus of government and elsewhere will be the challenge.

We agree with the concept of ITAL, no problem there, but the devil is always in the detail. Two country models which we can learn from are Trinidad and St. Lucia, more so in the case of Trinidad. Junior Minister of Finance Mariano Browne has been reported in the media as expressing concern at the unwillingness of qualified individuals to serve in public office. The intimate make-up of our tiny islands and the ‘incestuous’ nature of relationships make the declaration of personal assets a dicey proposition. The stability of our democracy can be attributed in large measure to the integrity of our citizens and their willingness to serve in public office. Any act that will dumb down the quality of those individuals, who are desirous of serving in public office, may have a detrimental effect on the pillars which currently support our governance structures.

Regarding the revelation by leader of the Opposition of declaring her assets during the current budget debate, we are prepared to call it an act of political opportunism. Mia Mottley is smart enough to appreciate that if she does not play her cards right, a tainted legacy derived from the former government will ‘dog’ her tenure. Prime Minister David Thompson’s government has declared that his government is committed to implementing integrity legislation. A committee supported by a consultant has been mobilized to start the process. Mia Mottley tendering an unverified document which records her personal wealth at 3.5 million dollars is an attempt to generate the best earned public relations that she anticipated the Barbados media would have given her.

We find it interesting that none of Mia Motley’s DLP colleagues have followed her lead. We can read a lot into this non-action on their part if we wanted to.

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36 responses to “Integrity Legislation: The Devil Will Be In The Detail”

  1. Redds Avatar
    Redds

    well I will call you a liar because my beloved OSA just declared his

  2. Body Slam Avatar
    Body Slam

    It was the greatest BODY SLAM in Bajan politics!

    In one move, just so… BRAM!!!… Mia Mottley created history and made David Thompson and the whole DLP look like fools. No wonder the DLP yardfowls and lapdogs at BU and BFP are SULKING!!!!

    Everybody is talking about it!

    She declared her assets! No wonder the IDIOT David Thompson was so upset in parliament and kept grumbling and interrupting while she was making her response.

    David Thompson the LIAR and FRAUD deceived tens of thousands of Bajan voters by campaigning that he and his people would declare theirs IMMEDIATELY on assuming office, but after winning the elections all we heard was a whole lot of empty talk and no action. YOU DO NOT NEED A LAW IN ORDER TO TELL THE PUBLIC WHAT YOU OWN.

    MIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

  3. Wishing In Vain Avatar
    Wishing In Vain

    What an amusing day that unfolded, first we have Hammy Lashley being summoned to the leader of the opposition’s office because he aired his views and expressed the same opinion as 99 % of the other Barbadians, the result he was kept away from the final voting on the Budget.

    With regard to the declared assets issue , what a farace this was made out to be, When both mottley and arthur comically presented this nonsense between yesterday even their party members were heard to say to each other that this like it backfired you hear!!!

    When the Prime Minister is ready for them to declare their assets they will know about it and it will not be done in any half ass manner as these were pieced together to get newspaper coverage as this was a PR event.

    Simply put both of these documents are sadly lacking details ,I wonder why Mottleys shows no mention of her watersports joint venture with Foster and Straker, the Island safari jointly owned with Foster and Straker, or trhe two houses in Rendezvous?

    In arthurs case why has he not revealed what happened with the $! Million from the bribe paid to him for the TCP permission for PORTICO, lets start there.

    As the PM stated tonight when he does it there will be a lot more in depth searching and it will not be accepted and done willy nilly as these two pieces of trash are proven to be.

  4. Body Slam Avatar
    Body Slam

    As for Peter Wickham, you really exposed yourself on Brass Tacks yesterday with your idiotic and pathetic comments about Mia Mottley’s asset declaration.

    You said that what she did doesn’t matter because it is only the second asset declaration which is important because it shows the difference in the person’s worth since the first declaration.

    Well, idiot, how can you get a SECOND one unless you have the FIRST one to begin with?

    She has just put in her FIRST ONE, so just shut your mouth if you have nothing sensible to say.

    You came across sounding like a paid DLP clown.

  5. Body Slam Avatar
    Body Slam

    Wishing In Vain,

    When will Thompson the LIAR and FRAUD declare his assets?

    Does he need more time to prepare DOCTORED statements ?

    Yuh foolish joker!

  6. Redds Avatar
    Redds

    WIV, the only pieces of trash were on the DLP side how despicable, the people of St. Michael South should be ashamed, I knew if Freundel Stuart represented I would be.

  7. Body Slam Avatar
    Body Slam

    Wishing In Vain,

    Declaration of assets has backfired on YOU and the DLP DUMMIES.

    Fool!

    People in Barbados are laughing at you!

    BODY SLAM!!!!

  8. Wishing In Vain Avatar
    Wishing In Vain

    What an amusing day that unfolded, first we have Hammy Lashley being summoned to the leader of the opposition’s office because he aired his views and expressed the same opinion as 99 % of the other Barbadians, the result he was kept away from the final voting on the Budget.

    With regard to the declared assets issue , what a farace this was made out to be, When both mottley and arthur comically presented this nonsense between yesterday even their party members were heard to say to each other that this like it backfired you hear!!!

    When the Prime Minister is ready for them to declare their assets they will know about it and it will not be done in any half ass manner as these were pieced together to get newspaper coverage as this was a PR event.

    Simply put both of these documents are sadly lacking details ,I wonder why Mottleys shows no mention of her watersports joint venture with Foster and Straker, the Island safari jointly owned with Foster and Straker, or trhe two houses in Rendezvous?

    In arthurs case why has he not revealed what happened with the $! Million from the bribe paid to him for the TCP permission for PORTICO, lets start there.

    As the PM stated tonight when he does it there will be a lot more in depth searching and it will not be accepted and done willy nilly as these two pieces of trash are proven to be.

  9. Wishing In Vain Avatar
    Wishing In Vain

    Lets get real here this was nothing more than a gimmick for newspaper coverage but when one looks at these items it is nothing less than a laughable and comical, when this reporting is to be done we will have to have accountanmts and lawyers involved in this activity not by throwing piece meal numbers together for press coverage.

  10. Wishing In Vain Avatar
    Wishing In Vain

    No only two people were made to look stupid my friend, those were mottley and arthur, that was bear boo, we will need serious and real documentation overseen by an accounting firm not this piece of scrap paper.

  11. Wishing In Vain Avatar
    Wishing In Vain

    Did you listen to Mr Stuart demoralise the frauds of the BLP or you ran when he started to rev up???

  12. Wishing In Vain Avatar
    Wishing In Vain

    PM’s assets plan
    Published on: 7/10/08.

    PRIME MINISTER DAVID THOMPSON says his Government’s pre-election pledge of integrity legislation and a declaration of assets by MPs might have been “ambitious”.

    But he told the House of Assembly last night during the wrap-up of the three-day debate on the 2008 Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposals that proper procedures would be put in place for the scrutiny and investigation of such assets.

    The Prime Minister was responding to the surprise declaration of assets by Leader of the Opposition Mia Mottley last Tuesday night in which she disclosed assets of $3.5 million.

    “But that isn’t all,” Thompson suggested, “that is just the tip of the iceberg.”

    He added that transparent procedures would be set in train to ensure that the Governor-General would not be subjected to any “rum shop” type of document preparation.

    The Prime Minister acknowledged that Barbados had followed a model of assets declaration legislation used in a country – which he did not name – but which had caused problems in that country that would now have to repeal the legislation.

    “That is the genuine reason,” he added, in explaining the background to the delay in introducing the integrity legislation. “We have nothing to hide.”

    Thompson stressed that his new Administration would not follow the path of the previous Government, and in the six months it had been in office, it had not given out any new contracts for any major public works.

    He said the first and only such contracts had been put out to tender in the newspapers in the past week for units for the National Housing Corporation (NHC) in Marchfield, St Philip; Greens, St George; and Four Hill and French Village in St Peter on which work was scheduled to begin on August 1.

    Thompson added there had not been any major Town Planning decisions, but his Government was going to find transparent ways of moving forward.

    Responding to a charge by former Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Owen Arthur that the 2008 Budget did not contain a “Financial Statement”, Thompson submitted that the rules did not require such.

    The Prime Minister also said he would eschew a trend of the past where the wrap-up was used in a controversial manner, but he thanked people whom he said had given him information during the day such as files, copies of cheques and conveyances, among other things.

    He indicated that he would take comfort from the title of an analysis of the budgetary proposals by the international accounting firm, Pricewaterhousecoopers entitled Our Brother’s Keeper.

    That was a compliment, he added, because there had been a debate in which serious allegations were made by persons whom he said had an “accounting mentality”.

  13. The People's Democratic Congress Avatar
    The People’s Democratic Congress

    While we in PDC recognize the Opposition Leader’s gaffe of having “declared” the value of her “assets and liabilities” in the House of Assembly on Tuesday night in her Budget Reply, it is the TOTAL and ABSOLUTE lack of substantiation, reconciliation and legal sanctioning of the value of these “assets and liabilities” that has so far served to seriously significantly prove that the Opposition Leader did make a very gaping blunder – in her rush to upstage the Prime Minister on providing so-called leadership on matters of integrity in public life. Surely, this is some evidence of the level to which much of our politics in Barbados is further descending!!!.

    Yet, while we in PDC are NOT in ANY position to believe or NOT that Miss Mottley has really and truly managed to amass the amounts of “assets and liabilities” that she has so far claimed to amass – Assets worth BDS $ 3.5 Million and Liabilities worth BDS $ 1.5 Million, we are however very sure that the essential thrust of her political act – the convenience of leading by example – has starkly spectacularly failed to impact on the members of PDC and so many others in the country, by way of the fact that up to now in Barbados there has been NO Integrity and Anti-corruption legislation to which her so-called declaration can truly be made subjected to, even though she herself was for some time the principal legal advisor to the Government -Attorney General – of this country, and even though the former BLP government – of which she was a leading member of – was in governmental office for almost 14 years, and therefore should she and they have seriously enacted such legislation.

    In the meantime, what is causing us more consternation than ever more is the fact that in the Opposition Leader’s so-called declaration of her “asssets and liabilities” she has – in her bid to flaunt whatever she claims she is worth right before the public’s eyes – exposed an insensitivity and, indeed, a feeling of superiority of hers to the cruelties and iniquities of political and socio-economic life of the vast majority of the masses and middle classes of people of Barbados who have to suffer to make ends meet on a daily basis in this country. Surely, Miss Mottley’s gaffe expresses a kind of contempt for the long suffering masses and middle classes of this country, and at such a time when the “Budget Debate” really failed to address the astronomically high cost of living in Barbados that is substantially eating away the meagre incomes of these segments of people in Barbados!!!

    But, believe it though, such an act – as sickening as it was in this sense – can ONLY rightly serve to further support the strong belief of many of the masses and middle classes themselves that ALL of these parliamentary representatives – with the exception of Mr. Hamilton Lashley – are in active politics to mainly achieve money, wealth and asset aggrandisement, and to do so at the utter expense of the poor and needy in this country.

    Moreover, what she has in fact done is terribly consistent with the many ways in which many elites and pseudo-elites (middle classes) in this country like to ostensibly show off their huge hordes of money income/value and their great amounts of wealth assets to the propertyless and impoverished masses and to the debt-ridden and marginalized middle classes of the country – thus reinforcing the concept of there being higher classes/there being higher statuses, and there being lower classes/there being lower statuses in this country.

    While we in PDC WILL NEVER be envious of the BLP leader for the BDS $ 3.5 amount in assets and BDS $ 1.5 million in liabilities that she purports to have, what we are stating is that this ugly gaffe of the Parliamentary Representative for St. Michael North East has surely indicated to us that there is a real need for serious and fundamental social, political, material and financial change, and for the better, in this country. Also, what Mottley gaffe has clearly shown the country is that, even after we have had the necessary introduction of free education, free health care and such like in the country, there are still these very massive disparities in income and wealth in this country, and in the rates and ways at which wealth and income are generated among the different social categories in the country, and that there has NOT been enough social integration and harmonization that has taken place in Barbados since the 1960s.

    Finally, what is even more exasperating about this very embarrassing political joke of the Opposition Leader declaring her “assets and liabilities” is that we in PDC can say that, “here is it that we – the vast majority of the masses and middle classes now, can see a little of the reasons why we are NOT becoming materially and financially better off as much as possible in this country – relative to the progress of the elite and the progress of a few within the pseudo-elite (middle class)”. And, that “this is substantially so because we have persons like the said Mr. David Thompson, Miss Mia Mottley, Mr Owen Arthur who are making sure that certain overtly wicked and evil social, political, material and financial systems – like THE TAXATION SYSTEM; THE INTERST RATES SYSTEM; THE WORK SYSTEM; THE POLITICAL ECONOMIC SYSTEM, etc – , remain in place in this country to suppress and oppress the vast majority of masses and middle classes, while at the same time they have received and continue to receive monetary and income benefits and rewards from the state and others – esp. the elite – for misleading these said masses and middle classes into believing that they and others and these systems are the right ones to really take this country further forward into the 21st Century”. Wow!! So, what another sick joke!!

    PDC

  14. David Avatar
    David

    Let us repeat that Trinidad and Tobago which has a larger talent pool to draw from and has had so many problems with corruption is experiencing great difficulty recruiting competent and qualified citizens to serve in public office.

    What is the reason? The have Integrity legislation. Currently it is being reviewed to ensure that it becomes a more effective document. Why should we rush headlong into implementing ITAL and create a worst system from what existed previously.

  15. The scout Avatar
    The scout

    The move by Mottley and Arthur whether you are partisan or not, has ruffled the DLP. They now have to respond, that’s the talk on the streets. Whether the documents were the full thing or not does not matter. The point is the DLP said within 100 days, that time has passed and it seem no attempt was being made to follow through. The oil crisis cannot be blamed this time. This is a bigfoot move on the DLP. This 5 year period is the made or break period for the DLP. They are the gov’t and should have the thrump cards to play if they know what they are doing

  16. Bush tea Avatar
    Bush tea

    David -all I want to say is NSC….

    Despite the ongoing rantings of BFP about ITAL and Declaration of assets, a little common sense tells me that these will NOT solve any problem.
    I do not need the experience of Trinidad to know that it will not make any meaningful difference.

    The crooks will just be a bit more creative. I guess they will stop taking cheques, stop using banks and stop buying assets in their own name.

    then what?

    There are two approaches to ITAL that make sense.

    1 – We ALL as a nation commit to strict standards of integrity in all our dealings and actually CHANGE the current national ethos in that regard…or

    2- We take the Credit Union approach and have the people, at elections (annually) elect a National Supervisory Committee of upright persons with appropriate powers and authority, whose ONLY duty is to monitor, report on and if necessary, intervene on matters of GOVERNANCE. Does this not WORK? Has it not worked for 50 years?

    …well, in Barbados, we can forget (1)

    Thankfully David,
    Unlike BFP who knows all the answers (just like owing did) you seem to understand the real challenge involved in legislating honesty, and you are willing to admit the weakness of the Trinidad model…
    …but as I said, one of our problems has been our lack of self esteem – we can only copy ideas from others and I guess that no out there has NSCs in government…..

  17. Bush tea Avatar
    Bush tea

    …and I also disagree with the approach outlined by the PM last night. He seems to want to go for a well designed method of investigating the accumulation of assets by those targeted for declaration.

    This is an improvement in the Trini model, in that information gathered is more relevant, HOWEVER the side effect will be to deter capable potential leaders from public service.

    We already have a situation where our best brains hide from the cut and trust of politics – to the national loss… now who will want all their, and their family’s business exposed?

    …next thing you know Gline Clarke is the only one running…

  18. JC Avatar
    JC

    Bush teas dah one bad ha ha ha ah.

  19. David Avatar
    David

    Since posting this blog we all know that former Prime Minister submitted some numbers which we are still trying to discern. But for the record both Arthur and Mottley have drawn first blood on the issue of ITAL with the political opportunism which both have decided to engage. How Thomson responds will be interesting.

  20. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Scout

    It seem nothing the DLP do could satisfy you.

    You find estwick should be more diplomatic at the QEH, you find the board at the sanitiation should resign,now you find that the bit of theatre by mia and arthur in putting an unsigned piece of paper out saying it is a declaration of assets is a master move..

    You know if the 2 of them were politicians in a developed country they would be laughed to scorn and ripped to shreds?

    Let’s face it whether you are a member of the blp or not a member – the BLP’s action has set back barbados at least 50 years.

  21. J Avatar
    J

    Did I hear correctly on VOB this morning that the PM said that the promise of declaration of assets will is turning out to be more ambitious than he expected?

    Please tell me that I hear wrong.

    It ain’t than complicated.

    All 30 members of the House filed an income tax return by April 30th, 2008 didn’t they? Well we can start there. They can write to Inland Revenue and ask Inland Revenue to release their last income tax return for public inspection.

    All those who have served more than one term can ask Inland Revenue to release all returns from the time they entered the House. I know that Inland can have those ready in one work day or less.

    All 30 MP’s paid some debts last month, didn’t they? Then we know that they already have a statement of balance due. I know that my bank can email be a statement of what’s due on my mortgage 1/2 an hour after I request it. It ain’t rocket science.

    I know that my mutual funds sends me a certificate once a year. I am sure that their’s does too. Well let’s see the most recent certificate and for those of you who have been in the House a long time, let’s see all of your certificates. I now that you or your accountant keeps them on hand.

    My pension fund sends me a statement once a year. I have on hand all statements for the past 31 years, they occupy one slim brown $2.00 file. I know that our MP’s have theirs on hand too. Well let’s see them.

    Land Tax sends me a statement of the value of my properties and the balances due each October. I know that our MP’s gets this valuation and tax demand notice too. I have mine on hand for the past 30 years. They occupy one slim $2 brown file. Well let’s see those.

    All these documents can be ready by next week that time. Don’t try to fool us that it is “ambitious” or complicated. It isn’t.

    The complicated stuff can be ready in 6 months and if in January the MP’s had been told to get them ready they would be ready by now. After all 6 months is almost up since we elected them.

    And as for this business of releasing only her assets in Barbados. Who does Mia think she is fooling. We want to know about all assets. ALL. Those in the U.K. and the U.S. and Cayman, and Switzerland and ALL other places.

    Otherwise we know that you all only trying to bull s@#t we.

  22. Trained Economist Avatar
    Trained Economist

    But surely the key critical point in terms of governance is that a declaration of assets that is not independently verified is essentially useless.

    The BLP may well score some political points on this, but how unsubstantiated declarations of assets helps governance is far from clear to me.

    Quite frankly I find Owen’s declaration incredulous!

    The key iss

  23. Wishing In Vain Avatar
    Wishing In Vain

    Trained Economist
    July 10, 2008 at 12:37 pm
    But surely the declaration of assets by Mia and Owen are essentially meaningless if it they are not verified by some independent body

    Not a lot said in your comment but more importantly what is said is the issue.

    Of course you are right this can be seen as a PR stunt that BACKFIRED BADLY on mottley and arthur.

    They cannot pull together bits and pieces of scrap paper with nothing numbers on it and expect people to take them or their numbers seriously.

  24. Knight of the Long Knives Avatar
    Knight of the Long Knives

    Owens numbers are bullshit. We all saw Bas get locked up for his British bank account. Overseas assets must be declared.

  25. Wishing in Vain Avatar
    Wishing in Vain

    There is more about mottley not listed than what is listed, what a stupid poor piece of publicity stunt that went way wrong.

    Even her own members made the statement boy this thing like it backfire on us boy!!!!!

    When we are ready for her it will not take the form of loose notes it will be by a formal reporting and checked method.

  26. Bajantease Avatar
    Bajantease

    Persons will never be satisfied.. People are happier believing that all police and politicians are totally corrupt, indeed all Bajans are. Rather than what I believe is a fact that most are good, honest and have the best of intensions for this country and the people; its the few that do such a great job of messing stuff up.

    Mad boys set up a shop in town.. recall that song.

    I support ITAL Mia and Owen have met the bar thus far only spoken about by the DLP, for what ever people may think of it, they have disclosed. Thompson has correctly stated that people want to know how much you entered with and not what you leave with. Members of the DLP Thompson included have entered and now run the government for 6mths+ and promise to have some form of ITAL no longer immediately but sometime in the future near end of year, early next year.. what would or could members of the party have gained in this time frame. The People do not know what members of the DLP have entered power with.

    Marlon Samuels comes to mind, no cash was passed but the WIBC & ICC have correctly determined that he received some benefit even if non-financial.. free hotel room stay.. placed him in breach.

    Hummm. Would say flights on a jet, loaned by a “friend” who receives positions on boards count as a breach under ITAL..?? Was it free, if not who paid and how much??

    At the minimum the two top persons including Thompson on the DLP side should also declare their assets. The others can perhaps wait for however long until ITAL is drafted, debated and finally passed, but this example must be made.

    After its passed All members including those that have submitted previously must provided updated information and swear it is true bla bla. If they are later found in breach deal with them.

    In the future however I do believe that disclosures should be made to perhaps a shared committee of two including the GG and maybe the ombudsman, in a private.

    We do not need to know, like no one else needs to know how much is in your bank a/c even the person that pays you. and we “the people”pay them.

    Only when a breach is found would the specific information relating to the breach enter the public domain, as i guess it would be some sort of criminal breach, they would have to prove their innocence.

    People love gossip not the truth it doesn’t sell papers, let the suggestions of dirt everyone is interested. If a man/woman says I have only a dollar when they know they can get some prision time if it is not so then let them suffer the result. But to sit and say I don’t believe you , particularly when I’ve not declared my own interests. says a lot about who you say you are and you supposed values. Mr Innis is not interested in that or so he said in the paper.

    At the minimum the two top persons including Thompson on the DLP side should also declare their assets. Otherwise they should have nothing else to say and questions as to how much do they have, where do they get their money and importantly why can’t/don’t want to tell.

    We have heard NOTHING about the DLP members finances. NOTHING. Yet people are what arguing that what Ms Mottley has submitted is incomplete? Don’t be so simple.. If nothing is forth coming the ones upon whom this had backfired will be the DLP who would have failed to live up to their promises.. isn’t that something that should concern us.

    Lets not excuse what has gone before, but sure as hell don’t let it blind us to what we want going forward from our government. To keep their promises and act in the best interest of the country’s present and future.

    That is all we can really want and truly need as a people.

  27. Someone said the 'BLP Stalwart' Avatar
    Someone said the ‘BLP Stalwart’

    Looks to me that Mia and Owen are more forthright, honest, and willing to follow through with action that the whole bunch of DEM sitting like a Clumsy Labour Party in Government. Who is willing to take the bet, besides Thompson of course. The Dems will not make five years, three at most.

  28. queen Avatar
    queen

    Body Slam

    There’s none so blind as he who will not see. Mia Motley has been a minister for 14 years. Her salary alone as minister, even with bad spending would still put her assets way past $3m. For Pete’s sake, do the Maths – you are an adult. What Mia and Owen needs to do is to be totally honest but then again, they cannot – it would surely cause a riot among the people when the populace realise that their families became poorer so that Mia and Owen could become and remain rich. Things get a little easier once you understand.

  29. The scout Avatar
    The scout

    Anonymous
    I’m not a member of any political party in B’dos. In my younger days I used to support fully the DLP. I’ve learn not to be lead down a partisan line unless you’re looking to benefit from it. That’s why I decided to stay on the fence and watch with both eyes how things transpire. I’m on record as saying that the BLP had lost interest in this country and a DLP party that seem to have solved or muzzled their problems should take over. There are some good which this party has done since elections and by the way, I though Dr. Suckoo’s presentation was great whether first timer or not but when I see what is not in the interest of this country I would speak out. I complimented the P.M for bringing to the attention of the Caricom leaders the problem of immigration in barbados. Thank God that I’m able to see through unbias eyes.

  30. Someone said the 'BLP Stalwart' Avatar
    Someone said the ‘BLP Stalwart’

    To ‘The Scout’ it is very interesting that the P.M. brought “to the attention of the Caricom leaders the problem of immigration in barbados,” because it added nothing new in terms of identifying any problems or offering solutions. If you fish for red herrings you will find red herrings among other things. Moreover, is Barbados planning on managing its borders by adapting similar rules and regulations that are being used by the developed world to bar entry to people from the developing world? If this is so, tell the P.M. that he cannot in good faith be encouraging persons to take advantages of those opportunities within CARICOM as he did in his budget speech. There is a paradox and sooner or later, he will trip on his tongue and it is us Barbadians that would be made worse off. Just something to think about.

  31. JC Avatar
    JC

    You should be shame! You have now recovered and have found your tongue!

    two thirds majority my ass

  32. Barbados » IMG_BTA_NaturesTrail

    […] Integrity Legislation: The Devil Will Be In The DetailThe buzz around town today was not when Barbados Labour Party (BLP) Member of Parliament supported the Democratic Labour (DLP) budgetary proposals. It was not even about when BLP Member of Parliament Rawle Eastmond when he ended his … […]

  33. J Avatar
    J

    But both Mia and Owen are grossly obese and neither of them will live long enough to spend the money that they t’eif. So what’s the point????????????????

  34. Brutus Avatar
    Brutus

    David said:

    Let us repeat that Trinidad and Tobago which has a larger talent pool to draw from and has had so many problems with corruption is experiencing great difficulty recruiting competent and qualified citizens to serve in public office.

    What is the reason? The have Integrity legislation. Currently it is being reviewed to ensure that it becomes a more effective document. Why should we rush headlong into implementing ITAL and create a worst system from what existed previously

    _____________

    David, why have you accepted without question that Trinidad has had difficulties recruiting competent and qualified public servants, and furthermore that this is because they have Integrity Legislation?

    Is it possible that it is difficult to recruit public servants in Trinidad because high flyers can get paid much more in industry? (I am only speculating here).

    I thought that part of the argument in Trinidad was that disclosure of assets might make public officials more susceptible to kidnappers. However my understanding is that the declarations of assets, etc is NOT public information. (If they are, them someone tell me how much Patrick Manning is worth?) Would this be an issue in Barbados?

    Isn’t it significant that this legislation was used in Trinidad to prosecute a former PM? That sends a very strong message.

  35. David Avatar
    David

    Brutus you raised a query and then you answered yourself. A search of the Internet regarding this matter will support the point that Trinidadians in the private sector have been scared off by integrity legislation. This is an observation which Junior Finance Minister Mariano Browne was reported to have made recently.

  36. My view Avatar
    My view

    There is something missing from this debate and how quickly we forget.

    Owen Arthur started out in 1984 only owning a house on a plot of land at West Terrace on which he built a modest house. He bought it when he was a BLP MP!

    He then acquired the lot next door as Prime Minister from the government owned NHC – overlooking the West Coast – from the NHC at a price less than that paid by normal purchasers! The valuation was done by government’s valuer – an officer under the jurisdiction of the Minister of Finance! Who was Minister of Finance? Owen Arthur.

    Let us start there!

    I am all for ITAL. But it must be done properly and with clarity. Having a UN Declaration signed by Louis – who laundered money for Trevor Millar for years – was also laughable. When I heard Owen Arthur say that I almost dropped off my seat.

    One more point: did Mia declare the properties that she bought with Dean Straker et al and obtained Town and Country Planning permission for? With no parking? And no setback? Who approved these? The Minister of Town Planning Owen Arthur…

    There is so much more.

    That is why ITAL must be done properly!

    Those who support what Mia did are jumping on a bandwagon.

    Adrian, in particular, you know better because you read widely and are alert. How can you believe that a government can pass its own ITAL legislation, without consultation and without setting up the systems of inspection that are transparent etc.

    I think the Dems have gone about it the right way. I have innate trust and faith in David Thompson.

    Many things have been said about him in his long time in politics, but no one ever accused him of being corrupt. And why should be be? Does he need the money?

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