The chair of this year’s Barbados Labour Party conference, Chairperson Marsha Caddle MP, pushed back against criticism that the government has sidelined the public in lawmaking, claiming no administration in recent history has done more to invite Barbadians’ views on national policy.
As she briefed reporters at BLP headquarters on Roebuck Street on Thursday, ahead of the party’s 86th annual conference slated for next Friday to Sunday at Queen’s Park, Caddle said the government has consistently sought public feedback on major policy initiatives.
“The truth is that when we came to serve as government in 2018, there was a lot of work to be done,” she said. “There were legislative matters, governance matters and economic matters, in particular, that needed to be addressed. This has been a government that has not stepped away or stepped back from work.”
Caddle maintained that the Mia Mottley administration has gone further than any previous government to make the law-making process more open to the public.
She said: “In the course of governance, what we’ve done again is set up standing committees of Parliament. Never before has so much legislation in Barbados been open to groups, to individuals, to people in the diaspora, to come and tell us what you think about the legislation and how we can strengthen it, and we have strengthened it.”
Her comments come amid public criticism over the government’s handling of several recent bills, with critics arguing that consultation has often taken place only after legislation has already been drafted or passed in Parliament.
In the past several months, the government has pressed pause on the Interception of Communications Bill, which allows for wiretapping, and the proposed Tourist Accommodation Bill, following strong backlash from civil society groups and advocacy organisations.
Political Scientist Devaron Bruce questioned the depth and inclusiveness of the consultation process.
“We’re too comfortable with bringing those around us who are our friends who support our party [into the consultation process], who in essence would engage us in a way that’s not confrontational,” he told Barbados TODAY recently. “But have you invited the opposition, persons from the University of the West Indies, or critics of the space?”
But Caddle stressed that the government’s willingness to refine and amend legislation demonstrates responsiveness, not failure.
“To amend and improve legislation is not to suggest that the legislation was flawed,” she explained. “It is to say that if there are things that you’ve heard on the floor of Parliament, in the second reading, or that you’ve read in the legislation and want to have an opinion on, then here is the opportunity. And we have taken those opinions on board.”
She also pointed to the party’s outreach through various community and public engagement platforms.
“Similarly, all of the Ideas Forums and Parish Speaks sessions have been well attended. Barbadians have come out, and that to me is a solid indication,” she said. “The willingness to consult is, I think, one of the strengths of this Barbados Labour Party government, because if Barbadian people were not interested or had withdrawn from policy conversations, then that is when you have to worry.”
The theme for this year’s conference is When Labour Leads, We Bajans Succeed. (SB)
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