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Too Little Too Late
One cannot help but be a little amused when one considers the latest attempt by this Labour Administration to con the people of this Federation. All of a sudden we hear the news from the Minister of Information that his Government is seeking public views on a proposed Integrity in Public Life Act. Nearly thirteen (13) years after this ill fated Bill had its first reading in Parliament it is finally being resurrected.
We know that it certainly is not a case of Ministers of Government suddenly acquiring a conscience or a sense of ethics. The shocking amount of corruption that has occurred in only the last few years with everything from the Rock and Dirt contract to the fêting of prisoners and the complete dismantling of our system, imperfect though it was, of election shows that Labour is just the same.
The reason is fear. The Administration of Owen Arthur that was given such a severe boot by the people of Barbados recently played around with integrity legislation for years just like Labour and the people were fed up. They were fed up enough to respond overwhelmingly to the promise by new Prime Minister David Thompson to implement integrity legislation within one hundred days of assuming office. The only other leader to do this has been Baldwin Spencer in Antigua and we know just how badly Labour behaved over there.
It is this wind of change that has seen incumbents swept from office in every election over the last two years except one that has our benighted officials scrambling for some trick to distract the public from its dismal record. This Labour Administration is worrying about its legacy and is trying to whitewash its catalogue of mismanagement.
The truth is though, that nothing will be able to erase the $2.39 billion national debt, the shocking murder rate with a body count of over 110 victims, the demolition of the small business sector, the dramatic increase of the tax burden and the rampant corruption that has characterized Labour’s tenure in office. This Bill is too little too late to compensate for all of this.
However it is still, of course, a good thing. It will be of great assistance when these same Labour Ministers are called to account by the special prosecutor that will be hired to investigate their wrongdoing while in office.
So since the Minister of Information wants suggestions we will give one; ensure that the Bill extends its reach at least five (5) years after Ministers demit office so that you can be held accountable.
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