Comprehensive approach

A very different looking Integrity in Public Life Bill will be proclaimed before the end of this year, and to address the changes that will be made to that promised piece of legislation, at least four other statutes, including one focused specifically on whistle-blowers, are being drafted and should be passed before year-end as well.

The assurance has come from Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Dale Marshall, who said all that should help to reposition Barbados as a society that values integrity and honesty. Marshall further told those present from the business community, that he is confident that all of the legislative instruments will successfully pass through Parliament within the next three months, and will become law in time for Independence this November.

He made the disclosure while delivering an address at the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s “Guided by Integrity Breakfast Discussion”, which was put on at the Hilton Hotel yesterday in conjunction with Integrity Group Barbados, during which he revealed that the concerns raised about the level of fines in the Bill have also been addressed. The AG is promising that the fines are going to be “rightly in the hundreds of thousands of dollars”, to reflect, he said, the seriousness with which Government sees the absence of integrity in public life.

Providing a detailed update on the promised Integrity in Public Life Bill, he said the reason for the delay in passing that law has been a matter of a lack of resources, noting that there are fewer than 10 legal drafters in the drafting department of his ministry. With a heavy workload over the last year and so few persons doing the work, he said they have been challenged, as they try to get the job done.

“In addition to that, a number of things happened along the way. We are concerned that while we can put together a piece of legislation dealing with integrity in public life, the Integrity in Public Life statute will only cover perhaps under 200 people – judges, chairmen of boards, senior public servants, ministers of government. But the vast majority of individuals simply would not have been covered,” he said.

Given this reality, and to have as comprehensive a take on integrity and corruption as possible, the AG revealed that sections of the legislation that dealt with whistleblowers, being limited in scope, are being removed from the Bill and a “whole new and comprehensive whistle-blower statute” is being created. Additionally, he said with the 1929 Prevention of Corruption Act being very much out of date, steps are being taken to create a piece of legislation to deal with that as well. He explained that it made no sense to keep corruption within the Integrity bill, when what is needed is a new dedicated statute.

AG Marshall also spoke of the recently announced plans for major organised crime and anti-corruption agency, adding that the legal framework for that is being drafted at this time as well. He maintained that such an agency is needed to help investigate corruption and financial crimes, as the Police Force’s Financial Crimes Unit only has four officers and the Fraud Squad a complement of 10.

“What has emerged then is the need, rather than having a hodgepodge integrity bill with all kinds of things thrown in like the proverbial kitchen sink, that as a matter of governance and for the sake of good order, it would be better to have dedicated, special purpose pieces of legislation. So every step of the way we have made adjustments, holding true to the model of the integrity bill you have all seen, but making sure that we don’t fall short of supporting that thrust by having a framework that is not comprehensive,” the Minister of Legal Affairs added.

In that vein, he said concerted efforts are being made to ensure there are no inconsistencies between the various bills, as they are to work in tandem to strengthen Barbados’ national integrity system. Additionally, he said the Proceeds and Instrumentalities of Crime Act is set to be proclaimed soon, and is expected to support the new suite of legislation that is coming. He noted that the Act makes provision for a range of civil and criminal orders to help law enforcement and other agencies in their investigations.

The AG’s comments came as he admitted that over the years, successive governments have dropped the ball as it relates to rooting out corruption, noting that attempts over the years to develop such legislation have not borne any fruit, with one of the last efforts – in 2012 through the Prevention of Corruption Act – never actually being proclaimed. Moreover, he said while in 2001 Barbados signed the Inter-American Treaty against Corruption, it was only ratified a mere four months before the last general elections; and the 2003 United Nations Convention against Corruption, which the country has signed, is yet to be ratified. In fact, he said Barbados along with Syria, have the distinction of being the only two countries yet to do so.

“It is no surprise then that Barbadians have become cynical and view the talk of fighting corruption as just another political football that will receive no serious attention, but will be cheered on as a topic at election time… The time has simply come when, for a variety of reasons, the lacklustre efforts and lip service must come to an end.

“We are at that place. We cannot go forward as a nation unless we grapple with the demon of corruption, not because other people are watching, but because we have to have a fair and just Barbados, where our decisions, especially on public procurement, are made transparently and where accountability is key,” he maintained. (JRT)