Barbados

New Legislation to Promote Integrity Planned for Barbados. One of the major complaints against the new David Thompson administration in Barbados has been that, although it won power mainly by promising to do something about the entrenched corruption in the previous Owen Arthur administration, it had appeared to have forgotten the issue. Last month, Thompson announced a new initiative. We can only hope that it will result in major improvements in that West Indian territory.

Prime Minister Thompson has set up a Governance Advisory Board to make up for lost time. The Board consists of ministers of religion, lawyers, and university professors.

Among other matters, we learn that the Board is looking at a Freedom of Information Act. As we know from the previous post on this blog, this law is needed to make it possible for all citizens to access government-held information. Specific matters, like national security and some forms of personal data, are usually excluded from public access. There will be a Commissioner of Information who will make a determination where there are grey areas on what is allowable and what is not.

The Board is considering a new Defamation Act. The current Barbados legislation does not allow persons to freely express an opinion. If you voice an opinion, and it cannot be proved to be fact, even if you have no malice, you will be liable for any defamatory meaning. The reform proposed is to make a person expressing an opinion on a matter of public interest liable only if malice can be proved.

It will make recommendations on Integrity in Public Life legislation. It will require ministers of government and senior public servants to disclose their assets and private interests in an effort to demonstrate integrity. It will also look at persons outside of the public service. In negotiating contracts and dealing in public assets, there will be multiple parties involved. They all need to be looked at. We in Anguilla are demanding similar reform.

It will examine the role of the Ombudsman. In Anguilla, the United Front political party has promised this ever since their manifesto was published at the start of the campaign for the general elections in 2000. Nothing has happened since then.

The Barbados Governance Advisory Board is examining a proposed new Contractor General. Procurement has always been a soft spot for corruption in all of our islands. The complaints in Barbados have been long and earnest.

Recently retired Professor Albert Fiadjoe has been retained to draft the legislation. The Bills are promised to be ready by the year’s end.

Professor Fiadjoe is an eminent jurist. With him on board, there is hope for Barbados!

What about the rest of us?