The Government is irresponsibly rushing through important legislation to fundamentally change Barbados. One includes a Bill to give the Minister absolute control over the National Insurance Scheme in the National Insurance and Social Security (Amendment) Act, 2023.
Currently, the Minister’s role is to establish the offices and let them run. The Minister cannot legally meddle but is consulted and gives approvals. Section 11 of the current Act follows.
Section 11: “The Minister shall, by order under section 2 of the Civil Establishment Act, establish the offices which shall constitute the offices on the Board’s establishment, which offices shall for all purposes be deemed to be offices in the public service Staff.”
RUBBER STAMPS.
To control and direct a useless rubber-stamp Board, a replacement provision follows.
Section 11Y (1): “The Minister may give general directions to the Board with respect to the performance of its functions, powers and duties under this Act or any other enactment; and the Board SHALL ACT in accordance with those directions.” (Emphasis mine.)
This is clever deceptive language, but the next sub-section ensures that no member of the Board is deceived, and that all members understand that they are only rubber stamps.
Section 11Y(2): “Subject to this section, the Board shall not be subject to the CONTROL or DIRECTION of ANY OTHER person or Service.” (Emphasis mine.)
After the Government has recklessly pillaged our National Insurance pension fund, our Senators must know that passing that amendment is certainly not in the public’s best interest.
CORRUPTION AND BRIBERY.
Next is the Integrity in Public Life Bill (2023) that will legalise corruption and bribery in Barbados. Section 32.4 notes that once a person has retired from public life for five years, then he cannot be investigated for corruption. It should be noted that bribery normally happens at the start of a construction project.
In the private sector, it can take over a decade for evidence of corruption to be uncovered by responsible junior staff. In the public sector, the Auditor General may not report findings of corruption until seven years. Therefore, a five-year limit is a farce.
THE DISTRACTION.
The Barbados media chose not to concentrate on any of the important aspects of the Bills, but instead magnified what they were likely instructed to. To distract people from giving the Minister absolute control of the NIS, they magnified the new requirements for receiving a pension. To distract people from making bribery and corruption legal, they focused on the issue of judges not captured in the Integrity bill.
WHY COMPLAIN?
By following the worst possible advice in 2018, the Government backed itself into an economic corner. Their only options are to engage in: unsustainable borrowing, raising taxes, cutting back on Government services, and delaying paying pensions for as long as possible. Raising the requirements to get a pension is obviously in line with that type of governing.
We all knew that this was their manner of governing when we chose them to manage the national economy – while knowingly rejecting the way of prosperity. So, why complain about what we knowingly voted for? What the people did not vote for was to give the Government absolute legal control of the NIS, and to legalise corruption and bribery in Barbados.
SICK OUT.
There is a call for a Sick Out this Wednesday. If the proposed Sick Out is to protest criminalising parents in the Child Protection Bill, or legalising corruption and bribery in the Integrity Bill, or giving the Minister absolute control over the NIS, then count me in. If it is to protest the new requirements to qualify for a pension, then that is what we specifically voted for – so count me out.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.