Government Abusing Legislation – Lester Bird

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Saturday, 08 September 2012 02:30

By caribarena news

Antigua St. John’s - Leader of the Opposition Hon. Lester Bird has reiterated the Antigua Labour Party’s position that government is abusing the “omnibus” bill passed by the ALP government allowing for any administration to borrow money and undertake capital projects without consulting with the Parliament.

Bird said the ALP has generally maintained the position that all projects undertaken by the government must be brought to the Parliament for debate, despite the provisions of the bill.

“They all need to be brought to Parliament for debate on whether it is best value for money,” Bird said.

He noted too that all documents governing the project agreements must also be submitted in their entirety so that proper debates can take place and more informed positions taken.

“We are asking for these documents and we are expecting that when they come to parliament that we will be given all the documents. They (government) have a tendency now to give you only part of it,” Bird said.

Responding to Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer’s announcement on Thursday that the UPP Government would “soon” table in Parliament the document governing the New Airport Expansion Project, Bird said this, like many other projects should have been tabled before the project started, especially considering the fact that not many capital projects are currently underway.

He said the ALP had not officially requested the documents for this particular project but it has long taken a position that all government undertakings must be brought before the Parliament.

“If they don’t do it we are going to go to Alister Thomas and see if he will justify his position. These documents need to be there so that we can make informed decisions and take firm positions,” the opposition leader said.

Furthermore, Bird said Prime Minister Spencer and his government are using the legislation passed by the ALP as “a cop out.”

He outlined that the bill in question was passed at a time when the Antigua Labour Party government had undertaken a series of back-to-back projects. But despite its passage, provisions were made under the Finance and Audit Act that the information should be brought to Parliament.

“Notwithstanding the bill, the ALP still went to Parliament and ensured that the Tenders’ Board was involved. We passed that Act as an enabling Act whenever time came for specific projects.

“You have to go to Parliament still. We need to know as parliamentarians, with specificity, what is going on,” Bird said.

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The opposition leader pointed out that the bill in question sets the parameters in which money can be borrowed, but there is still the need for the government to go to the Tenders’ Board and even to Parliament so that there is a chance for the bill to be debated.

“You can’t go willy-nilly and borrow money without giving the ultimate authority (Parliament) the opportunity to discuss it. They need to come before the Parliament,” Bird said.

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