This week a strange development unravelled in the glare of the public. One minister stayed home and one minister went to… The eagerly anticipated Integrity in Public Life Act 2020 failed to pass the Upper House again. If it did we understand it would have died this week with the prorogation of parliament. If the government is serious about enacting
Read more
I suppose that as a keen student of the law relating to employment and especially that of its termination, I ought to have focused today’s column on the ongoing retrenchment in the public sector, its accordance with fairness and its likely economic and social consequences for the nation. However, that discussion will have to await a future column; today I
Read more
As if it were not enough to file a declaration of financial affairs and, in the case of members of parliament, a statement of registrable interests, every specified person in public life other than a member or staff member of the Commission is also mandated by Clause 45 (1) to report to the Commission the receipt (offer?) of a gift
Read more
Of course the proof of the pudding will ultimately lie in the eating, but the Integrity in Public Life is not short on provisions designed to ensure the reduction of opportunities for specified persons in public life to profit from corruption. In addition to mandating the declaration of particulars by these individuals that we treated at length in the last
Read more
The popular local reaction to the impending Integrity in Public Life legislation has been intriguing. Given the populist perception of politicians in general and our seeming inability to rein in the lawless conduct of some notorious sectors of society, cynicism naturally abounds. A fellow columnist and learned friend, in his column last week, categorized it as an attempt to legislate
Read more
The principal technique employed by the Bill for combating corruption is to have specified persons in public life declare their financial affairs to the Commission or, where he or she is a member or staff member of the Commission, to the Governor General under Part IV of the Bill. Immediately, two observations may be made. First, it bears remarking that
Read more
The current official imperative to establish machinery to modernize the statute that criminalizes corruption in matters of state has seemingly not met with universal acclaim, if I am to judge from a number of responses to my offering in this space last Sunday. While there are those who believe that corrupt behaviour among public officials merits the harshest punishment constitutionally
Read more
“Didn’t we all grow up understanding that bribes and payoffs – – by whatever name or rationale – – were bad? And that people were supposed to be the focal point of society, not money?” ― Ray Bourhis, Revolt: The Secession of Mill Valley The current governing administration is persuaded that anti-corruption and transparency in public affairs merit a statute prohibiting and criminalizing
Read more
In last week’s column – The Jeff Cumberbatch Column – Enacting the Democratic Right to be Informed – Part I, we broached the topic of enacting a local freedom of information statute as has been promised from time to time by various incoming-governing administrations. Given the nature of this freedom and its significance to the democratic ideal, some may well query
Read more
“Openness is fundamental to the political health of a modern state.” “Unnecessary secrecy in government leads to arrogance in governance and defective decision-making.” –Information Commission Office, UK Periodically in this space, over the last month, I have been advancing the thesis that we might enhance our democracy by deepening and broadening the existing right to freedom of expression, principally through
Read more
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” –George Orwell -“1984” I frequently use the phrase at caption to suggest that an event is not only extraordinary in itself but that it also calls into question the assumed objective reality of previous similar events. I mean, if a clock is going to strike thirteen
Read more
My perspective of the Integrity in Public Life bill is informed from my unique experiences since entering this political trench three years ago. My situation is different from other politicians because I am outside of the BLP/DLP protective umbrella, and the tip of the spear protecting all Solutions Barbados candidates from harm to their reputations. From this perspective, the weaknesses
Read more
Today (17/07/2018) the government established a Joint Select Committee composed of eleven members, seven from the Lower House and four from the Upper Chamber. Accommodation will be made by the government to receive written and verbal feedback from the public on the Integrity in Public Life Bill. All Joint Select Committee proceedings will be streamed via social media. Political parties
Read more
It could scarcely be considered unfair or invalid to argue that the appointment of Bishop Joseph Atherley as the Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition in the Lower House of Parliament was not a universally popular one. From those who considered that a literal interpretation of the Constitutional text does not accommodate an individual MP being appointed leader of the
Read more
One of the most foreseen risks in politics is that politicians will break their solemn promises to the electorate on matters pertaining to corruption. One of the most common perceptions of politicians is that they will eventually receive bribes. To address this risk and perception, Solutions Barbados designed, perhaps the most effective anti-corruption policy, and all Solutions Barbados candidates agreed
Read more
Barbados Underground 