Senator challenges ‘rushed’ liquor laws changes

Opposition Senator Caswell Franklyn believes the Liquor Licence Bill, 2021, will make it easier for persons to access alcohol.

Speaking during debate in Senate this afternoon, Franklyn argued that in trying to earn money from the selling of alcohol Government was in fact making it more “palatable”.

“Now they’re making alcohol easier to access and I don’t think we need that…it is your choice if you want to drink alcohol or not, but I am saying to you that this Government is trying to make everything easier.

“You’re making it more palatable and you want to make money from it so everything is about economics…but making money is not the only thing. We have to be more serious than this and I have serious reservations about how this will operate,” Franklyn said.

He maintained that the previous systems in place to grant liquor licences were effective.

The outspoken trade unionist also contended that there was “a lot of foolishness” in the new legislation.

He said the requirement by police to respond within 24 hours was one anomaly as it placed unnecessary burden on members of an already short-staffed Royal Barbados Police Force.

“It says that if the police does not do this then it is automatically approved without any objections from the police. So the police now have to be on their Ps and Qs and on their toes…That is madness,” Franklyn said.

He further questioned the reasoning behind the rushing of the legislation.

Franklyn said it was not urgent piece and suggested Barbadians should have been allowed to have their input.

“I have a great difficulty with the speed at which Government rushed this. A piece of legislation like this was not an urgent piece. It should not be passed in one day in any of these Houses. A piece of legislation like this should have been published and let the country see what the Government wants to do for us.

“You don’t know no better than everybody else in Barbados. Give us the opportunity, give the country the opportunity to speak to this thing and see if we can improve it,” Franklyn said.

“No, but you rush in here and move that the Standing Orders be suspended for today’s sitting so that this can be facilitated in one day. What is so urgent about this piece of legislation that it should be done today? Why are you not giving the citizenry a chance to look at this legislation and say ‘No we don’t want this, we want that’?”

Franklyn also warned that he was keeping a close eye on how persons would be staffed at the yet to be established Liquor License Authority.

He said persons were being brought into public service departments “badly and wrong”.

Franklyn pointed to the newly-established Public Affairs Department, saying he had not seen those jobs advertised as required by the Public Service Act.

“So if you’re going to employ anybody in the public service whether they are temporary or permanent you have to follow the procedures set up in the Public Service Act.

“I saw some of my former colleagues of the Barbados Labour Party go and fit right smack into these jobs. Don’t do it with this. I’m watching,” Franklyn cautioned. (RB)