What is the DLP doing with its bevy of lawyers who are members?
What is the DLP doing with its army of lawyers in the ranks?

David Blogmaster

I might pose in a similar rhetorical manner, “What are the GoB lawyers doing re the ICBL affair”?
While the actionable answer is nothing, they are all vested members of the Club. It is against Club rules to bring any such action, though speaking out is permitted once an election has been called. The Senator, given his refusal to enter the electable fray, is not a full member. He has visitor privilege. It is understood any form of negative or challenging objection is good for the Club, it gives non-members the distinct impression there are opposing forces within the Club.

BU Commenter – NorthernObserver

The two questions posted by the blogmaster to Prime Minister, Caswell is no Lawyer but … submission were in response to a commenter who lauded Senator Caswell Franklyn for taking the government to court by challenging the legality of the Emergency Management (Amendment) Act 2020. NorthernObserver (another commenter) chimed in to remind readers there is a way business is done by the Club in Barbados sometimes referred to as the political class.

The blogmaster extends best wishes to Senator Caswell Franklyn who has been the most strident dissenting voice in Barbados in recent years. It shows what is possible if the objective of citizens is to unswervingly and selflessly serve the public. What cannot be refuted: Senator Franklyn has single-handedly eclipsed the meek voices of traditional political parties including the Democratic Labour Party (DLP). The irony, he has expressed no interest in formally presenting himself to the Lower House.

In a post-2018 general election period a relevant dissenting voice is critical to safeguard the interest of the people in the type of democracy practiced. Long before the Mia Mottley led Barbados Labour Party won the 2018 general election 30 zip, there was heightened concern expressed in this space and elsewhere the suffocating influence the Club; duopoly, political class has been exerting on the social and economic landscape of Barbados. We need more citizens of Caswell’s ilk to commit to public service. For our democracy to be fit for purpose this blogmaster posits it the inherent responsibility of enlightened citizens to fully participate.

It has not gone unnoticed former minister in the last Cabinet Michael Lashley has busied himself with earning fees challenging the legitimacy of the Minister of Health under the Emergency Management Act being named as the informant in charges brought by the Covid Unit. This is also laudable but with a caveat. A big contributor to the sloth and inefficiency how justice is dispensed and business facilitation is organized in Barbados can be tracked to the legal profession. The legal profession given its heavy involvement in the administration of government and wider society must be forced to reinvent itself in the interest of the people and country.

Some will regard Senator Franklyn’s legal challenge as nettlesome. Some will say it is necessary to ensure process to support the model of democracy practised is respected and protected.

Democracy’s a very fragile thing. You have to take care of democracy. As soon as you stop being responsible to it and allow it to turn into scare tactics, it’s no longer democracy, is it? It’s something else. It may be an inch away from totalitarianism.

Sam Shepherd