Gov’t on 'box-ticking' exercise to meet CoI deadlines– Hon Walwyn
“So we're at a point now where we are trying to tick boxes, as it were, and that's what really what we're doing, to try to meet deadlines so that we can get away from the threat of a partial suspension of the Constitution.”
Hon Walwyn was at the time speaking during the continuation of the Ninth Sitting of the First Session of the Fifth House of Assembly on March 7, 2024, during the debates on the Registers of Interest Amendment Bill.
“And when you do that, when you do things that way, you leave a lot of destruction in your way. We rush through things, we don't take enough time to consider them,” he added.
Bills being rushed – Walwyn
Hon Walwyn said, as an example, that a lot of things could have been done differently with the Integrity in Public Life Act.
“It's very draconian in some ways. Some of the penalties in my view are exorbitant, and we departed substantially from what obtained in other Caribbean countries where we are now saying that it applies to all public officers,” he said.
Walwyn said most countries that have an Integrity in Public Life usually apply the legislation to the upper brass of the administration; however, in the VI even the cleaners are dragged into the legislation.
“Some of those persons who [are] caught up in these acts do not need to be there,” Hon Walwyn added while underscoring that he has no intention to make anyone’s job sound menial.
He said the Government is now doing the same with the Registers of Interest Amendment Bill in the same box-ticking style.
He also called for the Government to be more clear as it relates to the ambiguousness of the parts of the bill so that those whom the bill applies can have a clear understanding of what is applying to them.
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14 Responses to “Gov’t on 'box-ticking' exercise to meet CoI deadlines– Hon Walwyn”
Black Virgin Islands lives matter!
VENDETTA , YOU ARE AN EVIL PERSON AND WILL DO OR SAY ANYTHING TO CREATE DRAMA ( AKA ) SUBTERFUGE
This man will only zip his trap when they place the handcuffs on his wrists