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Prime Minister Stuart To Go Where No Prime Minister Has Gone – Prevention Of Corruption Bill Coming

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Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart

The news that the Prevention of Corruption Bill is back on the Order Paper of Parliament or soon will be is good news. The fact that it is has taken so long to come is to be regretted. What BU has gleaned from the statement issued by Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart is his commitment to deliver anti-corruption/transparency legislation. To those who will predictably howl at the position BU has taken, it is an opinion which the BU household is entitled.

Not many Barbadians will disagree that Prime Minister Stuart possesses a few endearing qualities, those that engender trust, honesty and integrity easily come to mind. If he says he will deliver the Bill under his watch before the next general election, how can he not deliver?

It is interesting to note Opposition Leader Owen Arthur’s  response to the issue – Bring it on! Arthur has been labelled a Master Tactician on BU and one must admire his attempt to wrestle the anti-corruption agenda from the Democratic Labour Party (DLP). While delivering a speech on the weekend Arthur referred to the time when he and Mia Mottley ‘declared’ their assets. He ridiculed the fact that ‘not a boy’ from the government side mirrored their action. BU opined at the time Arthur and Mottley’s action was a gimmick to win goodwill from the electorate. How can any member of parliament  declare assets when there is no framework implemented to assess the accuracy of the submissions?

The government to its credit is getting back on track by proclaiming it will deliver transparency legislation before it’s term expires. Given the Opposition’s fleeting mention of transparency legislation in the last four years, it is highly likely were Arthur to return to government transparency legislation would not see the light of day.

The Prime Minister’s announcement has also served to remind the traditional media about the issue. Social Media never stopped championing the need to enact transparency legislation. In the weeks ahead BU will join other Barbadians to witness Prime Minister Stuart go where Prime Ministers before him failed to travel.

When Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart delivers transparency legislation his legacy will be assured win lose or draw.

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182 responses to “Prime Minister Stuart To Go Where No Prime Minister Has Gone – Prevention Of Corruption Bill Coming”

  1. integrity Avatar
    integrity

    you must be joking; are you tellingg me that Mr stuart’s legacy as a parliamentarian will only be measured by the implementation of the integrity legislation bill under his watch.? to mr Arthur and miss Mottley’s credit , they at least declared something or made the effort rather you surmise it as political grandstanding or not. it is not their fault that the much touted 100 days agenda inclusive of the bill was not in place.

  2. David Avatar
    David

    Any intelligent voter would have known tsuch legislation could not have been implemented in 100 days.

    BU agrees however that it should not have taken 4 years but when it is implemented Stuart gets the credit, not Adams, not Arthur, not Barrow et al.

  3. integrity Avatar
    integrity

    Mr arthur is no master tactician and balance as well as mr franklyn has already posited comments to show why he is undeserving of such a title.Mr arthur lost an election or rather gave away an election that he should have won because of poor tactical decisions. First of all, he called an election for which neither he or his troops were prepared.Master Tactician what.

  4. David Avatar
    David

    You judge his tactical ability based only decisions made in the election?

    You, balance and Caswell are entitles to your opinions.

  5. enuff Avatar
    enuff

    Listen he stood by as AG and allowed DT and the Cabinet to do a lot of sh***te. Integrity and honesty my ass.

  6. David Avatar
    David

    @enuff

    Do you admit that if he delivers he can wear it on his sleeve?

  7. An Observer.. Avatar
    An Observer..

    Prime Minister Stuart continues to demonstrate that he is capable of “keeping his head when all around are losing theirs ” and seeking to cast the blame on others. If he now promises to have integrity legislation
    enacted , it is a clear indication that he has CAREFULLY thought it through and fully understand and appreciates what obstacles will have to be overcome before such legislation could be enacted . It is clear to me that he knows he cannot be party to a similar charade like that presented by his opposite number who sounded off that he and Miss Mottley had declared their asset to the House and provided no plausible means by which the said declarations could be scrutinised . That was nothing short of a sham . But what is even more alarming is the fact that at this stage and against the background which Mr Arthur ” declared his assets ” he could , as recently as last Sunday ,vociferously repeat the statement and challenge members of the other side to act similarly .
    It should be clear to all by now that our Prime Minister has had very little exposure to acting ; he takes no delight in playing to the gallery and it is my firm view that this kind of maturity will redound significantly to the benefit of our Nation. THERE CAN BE NO BETTER PERSON IN OUR PARLIAMENT THAN PRIME MINISTER STUART TO INITIATE A DEBATE ON INTEGRITY LEGISLATION AT THIS TIME . When the noise has abated , and when the hurly burly is done , we shall wait to see what maturity other members can bring to this debate. The loud , emotional and empty ranting which I heard coming from within the bosom of the St Peter Constituency meeting last Sunday cannot advance us beyond the boundaries of Speightstown .

  8. ac Avatar
    ac

    an observer

    Well said!

  9. Caswell Franklyn Avatar
    Caswell Franklyn

    David

    I have another perspective about the reason for bringing integrity legislation four years after it had been promised. With few exceptions, the people who were elected to govern this country were a bunch of unemployed or under-employed paupers. They had no assets to declare. I suspect that it took four years for them to accumulate something worthy of declaring.

  10. Prodigal Son Avatar
    Prodigal Son

    The DLP really think Barbadians are fools. They fooled Barbadians in 2008, saying that they would implement integrity legislation in 100 days, all a trick to win votes.

    Since January 15, 2008, some 1504 days have passed, some 495 days since Freundel Stuart became Prime Minister and he really think that he can now come and fool Bajans a second time. He really think that Bajans would believe him if he introduce legislation that his ministers over whom he has no control would declare their assets. Can you imagine Freundel Stuart getting Donville Inniss, Chris Sinckler or nouveau rich Michael Lashley to declare their assets? Hell no!!! Even the accounts which are frozen in US banks??? Hell no!!

    Freundel, Bajans have wised up to the Damn Lying Party and will not fall for any of your lies this time around. The problem for you all is that you now have a record which you will have to defend.

  11. David Avatar
    David

    @Prodigal Son

    Let us agree it was a political gimmick this 100 days business. It is what political parties do, so what is new?

    Let us stick to the issue at hand, Tom Adams ‘tried’ to bring integrity legislation and failed.

    If Stuart were to deliver he will be immediately be elevated to a pedestal who none other has occupied.

  12. ac Avatar
    ac

    @Prodigal

    Sour Grapes!

  13. integrity Avatar
    integrity

    so are you mr david- and he would indeed deserve his credit but if that is all he has to do to be accorded a legacy speaks volumes about the level of our political intelligence and our criteria for achievment.

  14. WordSong Avatar
    WordSong

    Congrats to the Prime Minister for having the integrity and good judgment to bring integrity legislation back before the house at this period of utter turmoil in which governance is being severely questioned. I agree fully with Observer that Mr Stuart is the best person to put this before parliament. It will be the most important and lasting legacy he leaves. In this he has shown great leadership and my admiration and respect for him has grown. It takes a lot of guts to introduce this debate when the DLP and the deceased PM David Thompson are under such intense scrutiny. Mr Stuart is one of the old guard, who holds the flame burning high for traditional respect and honesty. He has the wrong team with him and a leader is never as strong as the team he has around him. Good luck Mr Prime Minister.

  15. ac Avatar
    ac

    Here is a man that none the likes of OSA can hold a candle to when it comes to integrity PM STUART wins hands down. The BLP paling cocks talking about the time period it took to bring the legislation to the table ought to keep their mouths shut afterall the BLP had 14years to implement such policy but didn’t .

  16. true to form Avatar
    true to form

    I May be wrong, but i would like to know how integrity legislation would help a government win the support of people who may or may not believe the numbers presented. The rumours or the truth may be more damaging than we know. People believe what they want to believe . Would Ministers have to declarte their assets to the eledctorate or a body? We have to understand that people must believe the tripe and if they dont there will be more questions than answers Think on these things

  17. Caswell Franklyn Avatar
    Caswell Franklyn

    Do you really expect that the mere introduction of integrity legislation would make Barbadian politicians tell the truth? Every candidate that runs in an election is required to declare how much money he spent in his campaign plus the amounts that he received as contributions. That being the case, can you point me to any candidate that has declared the massive amounts of money that was donated by CLICO or anyone else for that matter. Failure to make truthful declarations to the Supervisor of Elections is an offence. Has the Supervisor or the “independent” Electoral and Boundaries Commission ever investigated or prosecuted anyone for breaching that law? What makes you think that there would be any difference with the proposed Integrity Commission?

  18. enuff Avatar
    enuff

    @ac
    Many were saying the same thing about the late Prime Minister few months ago too.
    PM Stuart knew that CLICO funded the DLP election campaign to the tune of millions of dollars yet got up in the no confidence motion and defended that man as his friend and more rubbish talk. Watched DT fly all over the world on CLICO jet and not a word. How such acts can be seen as displaying honesty and integrity?

  19. David Avatar
    David

    @Caswell

    Those who want to serve the public and are shy about declaring their assets tell them to get outta Dodge. We can’t do any worst. No doubt some MPs will have to be dragged kicking and screaming through the process but do we care? It must be done, along with the good management of the economy improving our governance system is also important.

  20. balance Avatar
    balance

    it is bad analogy mr ac to compare Mr Arthur’s 14 year reign with Mr Stuart’s 2 years with respect to levels of corruption. no charges of corruption were made against Mr Arthur during his first and second terms. we do not know what will happen when mr Stuart is in charge for five 05 more years.

  21. Observing Avatar
    Observing

    @observer

    “and when the hurly burly is done , we shall wait to see what maturity other members can bring to this debate.”

    Little to none.

    I’ll say again, FS is a good man, with a good heart and a good philosophy. Changing those and the system around him is a gargantuan task.

    Passing this bill is the only hope in hell the DLP has of regaining the upper ground in next elections. The internal political fallout that will occur from it is left to be seen.

  22. ac Avatar
    ac

    balance why is it a bad analogy to compare one having to complete a task in more time than one having less time. my point being is that if the BLP wanted to they could have but ignore forming or presenting such legislation in the 14years of governance .i wonder why? Levels of corruption has been always in government it did not start four years ago as the BLP paling cocks would want the electorate to believe,

  23. enuff Avatar
    enuff

    @ ac

    “I will not lie, steal or cheat.”

  24. Observing Avatar
    Observing

    Did the bill actually come up today????

  25. ac Avatar
    ac

    @enuff
    PM Stuart did what the BLP ites thought was the unthinkable now that it seems to be a reality the kicking of the DT corpse up and down the street would be contimued by the BLP as a way to undermined PM Stuarts actions .

  26. enuff Avatar
    enuff

    @ ac
    You just don’t, and will never get it.

  27. Caswell Franklyn Avatar
    Caswell Franklyn

    David

    There must be more than one person who manages this blog and call themselves “David” because the one that just responded to me seems a bit naive. It is not a question of persons wanting to serve and not declaring their assets. The experience in Barbados is that they set up structures by legislation and then staff those bodies with very weak or totally loyal persons who refuse and or neglect to use their power as contemplated by the legislation. Can you tell me when the country has gotten any meaningful work from: the Public Service Commission or indeed any service commission; the Office of Ombudsman; and the Electoral and Boundaries Commission? Even the new Financial Services Commission is falling into that mode and refusing to carry out its functions.

    We have all the structures in place but that is all: they don’t function. If you want more examples, what about parliamentary committee that was supposed to investigate the alleged gun incident in the precincts of Parliament, and the Public Accounts Committee. With all these examples you are still holding out hope. If you are that gullible, I have access to some Executive Premium Annuities that I can arrange to sell to you.

  28. enuff Avatar
    enuff

    One question: Whose name was attached to a government sponsored football tournament last year and is also touted to be part of another public funded sporting event the upcoming T20 cricket tournament?

  29. Checkit-Out Avatar
    Checkit-Out

    I would bet that either Mr. Stuart will be unable to get an Integrity Legislation bill passed at all or that he will get one passed that is so toothless that it will make little difference to the actual conduct of Ministers and Senior Public Servants vis a vis acting with integrity and will allow CLICO execs and their enablers to go free with their apparently ill gotten millions if one has to wait for its passing to prosecute any of the CLICO actors under its provisions.

    I say so because it is clear that, taking the David Thompson, Mara Thompson, Leroy Parris, CLICO issue, for example, Integrity Legislation that has adequate teeth to fairly evaluate and adequately punish the existence of fraud, misfeance, malfeance or other infelicities demonstrated in the unholy mix of facts coming out of the Deloitte audit, would not be in the best interests of the DLP in its bid to retain power.

    In addition, if one goes by the many rumours of serious infelicities that have been given currency on this BU board and that are alleged to have been committed by several current Ministers, the passing of integrity legislation that would have real teeth would be strenuously resisted by many of the DLP parliamentarians and some of the BLP ones. Stuart might not be able to have such legislation passed unless he could somehow convince his forces that it would not apply to them.

    This brings up the question of if activities or actions under the proposed act should be backdated. Imagine such an act that starts in, say January 2013, with no provision for bringing past defaulters to justice. Would the majority of Bajans want this even though It would be in the best interests of the DLP, and indeed may be the only way that it could actually pass muster?

    The current flurry of activity re. the integrity legislation could be another smokescreen and stage 2 activity by FS, aimed at some of the eager 11 if you will, and essentially being an excercise like Obama’s well watered down comprehensive Health Insurance Act that provides a legacy for him but leaves much of the absolutely necessary refinements for the public good to be effected in later amendments.

    I fear that, no matter if or when Mr Stuart’s integrity legislation is passed, the CLICO matter will have to be prosecuted under current fraud legislation, if Mr. Stuart is really serious about justice, legality and fair play.

  30. ac Avatar
    ac

    @enuff
    What is there to get another day another story .only this time it is about PM Stuart and that you got to wrestle with. I thought you had a lump in your throat. OSA said to bring it on. He really think it is a joke with his offensive remarks! Bring what on! this is serious business one that his administration didn;t have the balls to tackle . I wonder why!

  31. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ Caswell Franklyn | February 28, 2012 at 10:31 PM |

    Good one, Caswell!
    That was a bouncer, beamer, yorker, and googly all in one?
    No spin David, return to the pavilion!

  32. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    @ Checkit-Out | February 28, 2012 at 10:34 PM |

    Excellent piece.

  33. G.C. Brathwaite Avatar
    G.C. Brathwaite

    David, it seems that you are another one caught up in the strategic trance that the PM has found himself in. After almost 2 years, he has come to the realisation that he indeed is the Prime Minister of Barbados. Moreover, I have recently been making record of his each and every political discourse; for every 100 words he uses, 95 % are repeating the same message that the other 5 % is saying. In addition, he has been getting his history mixed up; I would hate to say it is the ageing process since I know others around the same age who are intellectually much sharper, clearer, and are able to communicate without appealing to the magic of abracadabra or insulting Bajans by saying they have pigtail mentalities; but for what it is worth, I am a BLP fool but I refuse to let FS fool me; so much emptiness in many of the things he has found the energy to say. For example, we all know that the PM is the one who calls the election when he thinks it most appropriate (a pity David Thompson lost that chance that rests with the Office of the PM); but pray tell me, has not history revealed that prime ministers can be cajoled into calling the election at times when it is definitely not in their interest? Let us wait for the integrity legislation and while he is at it, let us see if he will make his good friend and buddy pay the ultimate price for his role in the shenanigans that took place under his directorship. Let us see if the innuendoes that were used to discredit the last BLP administration amount to the corrupt and disdainful acts of malfeasance that courts the friendship of dead and living Prime Ministers to the point that they get to become Chairman of the lone nationally owned TV station. Integrity? How about some good plain old morality and ethics in public service and representation. I say no more for now, but I am watching, waiting, and I shall say what I have to say at the appointed time. To hell with those who rob poor Bajans!

  34. Fractured BLP Party Avatar
    Fractured BLP Party

    Enuff,

    I know that you and other BLP wishy washy people are running scared since PM Stuart sound the warning bell that ITAL & FOI coming .

    Owen Arthur will get another opportunity in Parliament to tell Barbadians what transpired at the Pegasus Hotel in Jamaica when a big capital works project was being negotiated for Barbados while he was PM.

    PM Stuart already indicated to Arthur during the last Budget debate about the Pegasus story…yet to be revealed to Barbadians !

    And just like the whopper $$$$ cheque saga….Owen kept silent.

    Do not worry I was there in the room……the tape will fly at the right time.

    By then I hope Owen Arthur is really genuine about his call for ITAL & FOI.

    We shall wait and see .

  35. true to form Avatar
    true to form

    How do you judge integrity? It is not what you say it is what you do . It is when you give your word you can live by it. Fruendel said that he jwould have named a GG by the end of January , Where is the GG? He said that if there is a coup heads wiil be poppped . Who has gone so far? When dealing with the Alexandra imnpasse the PM dealt with one side Where is the integrity in that? Integrity implies that your word is your bond . I will be on to phase 2 with dispatch. Where is the dispatch ? where is the integrity?. You can believe what you want . We all want honest politicians. We want people whose word we can trust and who do not benefit at the expense of poor people . Do we have any one in the DLP who would have done that ? I DOUBT it. These men and women are squeaky clean and would not lie cheat or steal. I say bring on , pardon Jeff. Think on these things;

  36. Paradox Avatar
    Paradox

    David, BU:
    Don’t count your chickens…..! IT is not ‘LAW’ yet! IF it happens, is just to high-jack someone’s ideas with an ideology he doesn’t really believes in.
    Prime Minister Stuart was around for some time, in the lower and upper houses and I don’t recall him alluding to the idea.
    If it happens, it would have been forced by the people and not his will. This is where people power can be effective in bringing about change.Here we can use this as a tool to force politicians to do the work which they have promised.

  37. Mario Avatar
    Mario

    I really must shake my head at some of your commenters. Some people are so tainted and pre-disposed to disliking someone that they refuse to acknowledge a point of logic when it is presented. Regardless of how you feel about Freundel Stuart or the Democratic Labour Party, should PM Stuart introduce Integrity Legislation, he will be beatified forever alongside Errol Barrow. That is simple, unadulterated LOGIC.

  38. Checkit-Out Avatar
    Checkit-Out

    Mario; Errol Barrow introduced Free Secondary Education. That (and a few other accomplishments) has propelled him to the beatified status he has today in Barbados. Free Secondary Education has demonstrably worked for the majority of Barbadians. It is objectively verifiable. It is quite reasonable that Barrow should have been beatified for that piece of legislation that has perhaps more than anything else, been responsible for the upward mobility of most Barbadians today and over the last 5 or 6 decades.

    For Stuart there is the possibility that he might indeed introduce and pass Integrity Legislation. However, that legislation does not carry the beatification points of a free Secondary Education act. As Caswell has hinted, Such legislation is not likely to guarantee integrity in Politics or Governance in Barbados. The Law will not make Politicians or even senior Public Service officials honest or replete with integrity. It is true that, if properly formulated and implemented, it should help to reduce the incidence of dishonest ones, but the law, of itself, will not make a serious dent in the incidence of problems like the CLICO situation.

    I don’t think that Integrity legislation and beatification will compute.

    Barbados may possibly become a better place in a few decades from now but that betterment will not be traceable to Stuart’s integrity legislation bill imho. I think it will more likely be traced to a mix of bills and initiatives coming out of the horrors we are likely to be facing over the next few years if the leaders have the foresight to act decisively and with dispatch on a number of issues facing us today and if Honest and farsighted individuals in strategic places like the Police Force, the Law Courts, the Central Bank, the FSC, Parliament, the Unions and the Private Sector can move away from the current culture of relative ineptitude and do what they know is the right thing in the situation we now find ourselves in.

    I heard Donville Inniss today talking the talk fearlessly. He has the intelligence, Spirit, guts and I think foresight to lead Barbados in these times. Stuart has not demonstrated to me that he has those aptitudes and abilities. Perhaps he has. Only time will tell.

  39. millertheanunnaki Avatar
    millertheanunnaki

    Mario | February 28, 2012 at 11:33 PM |
    “Regardless of how you feel about Freundel Stuart or the Democratic Labour Party, should PM Stuart introduce Integrity Legislation, he will be beatified forever alongside Errol Barrow. That is simple, unadulterated LOGIC.”

    So too was the “Divine” David Thompson until, like Lucifer, he was cast out of Heaven to rule the world of infamy and disgrace.

  40. David Avatar
    David

    @Caswell

    So we have working committees of parliament that don’t work or can work better.

    We have public agencies that don’t work or can work better.

    Because of the above we should not attempt to implement a framework to manage good governance in this land?

  41. David Avatar
    David

    @checkit-out

    Amazing that such legislation would be decried before it is proclaimed. Have you not read the draft bill and agreed with many that it is a tight in the language?

    A pity that such legislation thought to be innocuous have eluded all of our parliaments since 1966.

  42. An Observer.. Avatar
    An Observer..

    @ David
    I agree with you that no intelligent observer would hold any Government to a promise of implementing integrity legislation within one hundred days ; it must be seen as no more than an ideal target , subject to all the hickups that legislation of any kind is exposed to . The Tom Adams Government started the debate about integrity legislation and the declaration of assets as far back as 1976 and I remember very well Mr Adams during an early press conference , when asked about the promise of having his Ministers declare their assets before taking up office , said that they had declared them to him . The last Arthur Administration also paid lip-service to the same thing . Well we know what turned out : the Arthur / Mottley fiasco that was as transparent as a strip of silver foil . But I must admit that having read some of the criticisms being thrown here at the present Prime Minister Stuart I am totally flummoxed : what do some people want from this Prime Minister ? A confused ” true-to-form ” for example sees a failure to appoint a Governor General or settle the Alexandra dispute, maybe without the appropriately careful thought , as lacking in integrity . And this writer publishes that drivel with unabashed alacrity . We must however not lose hope . Prime Minister Stuart is first of all an educator and has not been letting slip any opportunity of playing the active role of the educator WHENEVER HE SPEAKS . Maybe the greatest legacy he could leave is the fostering among the populace the art of critical thinking ; the kind of thinking that will deter that level of fanaticism that encourages our politicians to eschew every attempt to rise above the basic and the mediocre . Prime Minister Stuart is better equipped than any member of the present Parliament to do this and I wish him well in his efforts .
    Finally , I must say that whether that integrity legislation comes within one hundred days or two thousand days , whichever Government completes the task of putting such legislation on our Statute books will do our country a great service .

  43. Checkit-Out Avatar
    Checkit-Out

    David; I understand your fixation on FOIA and IL and I agree totally that the legislation should be properly formulated and passed with dispatch. However, I agree with Caswell that FOIA and IL of themselves will not magically transform the integrity index in Parlament or anywhere else in Barbados of themselves. The legislation must be passed but along with it there must be an awakening in the minds of influential individuals that things must be made to work and that penalties in the legislation (and they must be punitive) will be strictly and evenhandedly applied.

    Caswell mentioned a number of pieces of legislation that, taken at face value, should have revolutionalised the Public Service but have so far done no such thing. Having retired from the Public service over ten years ago, when Caswell mentioned in the AX discussion that the new Public Service Act allowed PS’s and Principals to interdict Officers/teachers who had demonstrably transgressed, I was heartened that things were now on the right track as while I was at work a PS or Principal had responsibility but no authority whatever in dealing with personnel and indeed with several other matters. But Caswell went on to explain that things were even worse now than in my time in the public service because even though an enabling act had been passed, the culture and other aspects of the service did not allow for the proper implementation of the new powers.

    So it well might be with the new FOIA act. A lot more has to be done to ensure that it is not just another piece of meaningless paper.

  44. David Avatar
    David

    @checkit-out

    Agree that the legislation on its own will not suffice but the framework needed to achieve the kind of governance we want will not happen without it. It is a process, the people through the many NGOs and other organizations that makeup civil society by demanding accountability become important stakeholders in the process.

  45. Sargeant Avatar
    Sargeant

    @Caswell

    The general thrust of your argument is that passage of an Anti Corruption/Integrity law does not guarantee that offenders will be prosecuted, which is a curious argument to make because everyone who breaks the law is not prosecuted, but hopefully they will be prosecuted if/when they are caught. I break the law everyday as I drive way above the speed limit fortunately I have been lucky and received only one speeding ticket in the last five years. If I am caught I know that I will be penalized with a fine and increased insurance rates.

    Someone had to introduce this kind of legislation if not Stuart who? If Arthur was at the helm and he introduced similar legislation the same comments would be made from the opposing camp. Wasn’t everyone clamoring for an Anti corruption/Integrity law not to long ago? A country gets the leaders it deserves and if we keep telling ourselves that things will not get better no matter who we elect, it becomes a self fulfilling prophesy.

    I think that everyone should calm down and wait to see whether the proposed legislation has any teeth but as far as I’m concerned it’s better late than never.

  46. robert ross Avatar
    robert ross

    And the election is when?

  47. Amused Avatar
    Amused

    @David. Excellent. And although I know it is motivated purely and solely by the desire to give credit where it is due, it seems to have put the underwear of all the BLP-ites through the wringer. So, therefore, maybe the electorate DOES view anti-corruption legislation as being of tremendous importance.

    I agree that if Stuart does enact the legislation, he will have secured a very prominent place in the history of Barbados’ prime ministers. I have great respect for Prime Minister Stuart – his record is that if he says he will do a thing, he does it. His integrity is not questionable – but, for the man-in-the-street, the PM’s popularity would be greatly enhanced if he were to keep all a little better informed as to his plans. After all, given the question marks about the integrity of a certain former PM(s) the Barbados electorate is, understandably, cautious.

    There have been a lot of comments about the declaration of worth of OSA and Mia. Your comment that this was mere window-dressing because the official mechanism was not in place for proper verification, is correct.

    It is noted that if you go to the Registry and ask to see (or have certified copies of) the PUBLIC DOMAIN file in the matter of the divorce of OSA and Beverley Arthur, it has been “lost”, “misplaced” or is “with the judge”. This has made it impossible to verify or disprove the allegation that OSA paid Beverley $6 million (denomination unknown, but she lives in New York) as a divorce settlement. If at any point the Registry “finds” this file and the allegation is supported, it will be most interesting to discover from what sources the money came. The fact that the DLP has not used this information to attack OSA can, of course, argue that the allegation is not true. But equally it might be argued that the file with this information has disappeared so as to not be available. I would be most interested to get to the bottom of that allegation.

    If the integrity legislation is made retroactive, the answers to those questions might be enforced.

    We live in interesting times.

  48. Baje Avatar
    Baje

    I will wait on this to see because the amount of time Mr. stuart said he would do things and they have not been done is too many to count

  49. balance Avatar
    balance

    mr observer when challenged about writing policies in contravention of the of the order of the supervisor of insurance mr parris was reported in the press as saying that he had spoken with the minister of finance at the time.

  50. David Avatar
    David

    @balance

    It should not matter if he spoke to the PM at the time, the law is the law.

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