Cabinet leading by example, says Attorney General

It is not yet the law of the land, but every member of the Cabinet of Barbados has already answered the call to declare their assets.

So says Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Dale Marshall, who yesterday maintained that the new Barbados Labour Party Administration is prepared to lead by example, as it seeks to wipe out corruption and perceived corruption in this country.

Introducing the Integrity in Public Life Bill for debate yesterday in the House of Assembly, Marshall explained that once that piece of legislation is passed, anyone seeking to enter public life will have to declare his or her assets to the Integrity Commission on an ongoing basis. In fact, he said the Bill which seeks to establish a “going in benchmark”, will require individuals as they enter public life to make a declaration of what their assets are, a similar declaration when they leave public life, and periodically during their period in office.

“Sir, it is not lost on us that in a small society like Barbados where privacy has always been something that we guard jealously, forcing people who volunteer to come to public life to disclose their assets, is going to be a very tall hurdle to jump. I can recount to members of this Chamber that in the last few weeks as I have tried to find people to serve on boards within my ministry and outside of my ministry, one or two of them have said to me ‘I am not prepared to serve, because I am not prepared to tell the public of Barbados what I own’ and Sir I understand that senti-ment,” he stated.

He added, “The reality is other than guarding your privacy, if you have nothing to hide then you have nothing to worry about, simple. Board members are not going to get rich from being on boards, the average board member is going to get about $130 a month and perhaps most of the Government’s boards don’t see them being engaged in commercial activity and we really must ensure that our people start to accept that there are modern incidences of governance that would require them to make some concessions towards the public trust.”

Marshall noted that anyone chosen to sit on a board has to be accountable to the other Barbadians on whose behalf the boards act. As such, he contended that as much as an imposition as it maybe, declaring one’s assets is intended to help ensure the good governance of our country. The Attorney General made the point while contending that if our society is to deliver a higher standard of accountability to our people, persons will have to accept that a declaration of assets will become a way of life going forward.

With that in mind, he gave the Speaker of the House and fellow Members of Parliament, the assurance that any declarations filed under the proposed legislation will be kept confidential. Moreover, he maintained that if any individual within the Integrity Commission discloses that information, they will be subject to severe penalties. (JRT)