Freedom of information legislation are rules that guarantee access to data held by the state. They establish a “right-to-know” legal process by which requests may be made for government-held information, to be received freely or at minimal cost, barring standard exceptions – Wikipedia
The excuse can be made that Integrity Legislation (IL) is a hard nut for the Barbados government to crack. The smooth implementation of IL is regarded as challenging for small countries like Barbados where nobody is a stranger. The same can’t be said for implementing Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation. Three years into its term the government of Barbados needs to deliver on FOI to be assured of some credibility before entering the gearing-up period for the next general election.
The benefit when FOI is implemented will be to arm the general public with the right of access to state data/information. There is an urgent need to replace vacuous commentary on the Internet, radio and wider society in Barbados. The cynics among us may hold the view that enforcing the legislation will prove to be another hurdle to overcome given the lousy track record of archive management in the public service. Last week BU was able to publish the list of entities who received monies from the Tourism Investment Relief Fund (TIRF). By making the names public some Barbadians were able to ask pertinent questions about the closure of the Silver Sands Hotel. Unfortunately the traditional media has not been able to determine whether the TIRF List is newsworthy.
Barbados participated in the hosting of CWC in 2007. The legacy of hosting CWC2007 was promoted by the former government as the major benefit to justify spending millions of dollars on the project. The jury is out on whether it was a good decision, in light of the current global recession, we may never know. CWC2007 may yet be recorded in history as the project which yielded minimal return on investment compared to all other government projects, the exception being Greenland!.
Many Barbadians may not be aware that Legacy Barbados Inc (LBI) was established in 2006 to pursue legacy opportunities associated with CWC2007. The original LBI Board was comprised of Peter Boos (Chairman), Chris De Caires, Stephen Alleyne, Lionel Weekes, Harold Hoyte, Margo Hewitt, Keith Miller, Peter Odle and Keith Marshall. BU recently reviewed information which highlights the pressing need for FOI to be proclaimed in Barbados so that Barbadians can see up close how tax dollars are spent. BU has to be guarded as always to protect our sources.
Until the information is made public we invite former Chairman of Legacy Mr. Peter Boos a few questions. Let the record reflect we have not accused anyone of wrong doing but it is the public’s right to know how tax dollars are being spent by public Boards!
- On what basis was Brenda Pope, a partner at KPMG at the time seconded by you (Boos) and paid BDS155,250.00 by LBI for the period Oct 2006 to Feb 2007? Can the public see the terms of engagement?
- On what basis did you agree to pay the London based company pmpLegacy the amount of BDS82,226.87 which was part of a larger contract? Our information indicates the agreement was signed off by you (Boos) and Peter Mann of pmpLegacy without the approval of LBI Board and before legal vetting was finalized by the Solicitor General’s Office.
It is reasonable to expect that a man of Boos background should be able to answer the questions posed without undue stress. BU congratulates him on his recent appointment as Chairman of the Barbados Entrepreneurship Foundation. We hope he is able to stay the course this time around which would contrast with his tenure at Invest Barbados and LBI.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.