Legislative reform urgently needed, says Forte

One economist believes that the case involving former government minister Donville Inniss should bring into focus the need for integrity legislation and laws governing the financing of political campaigns.

Carlos Forte, a Canada-based, Barbadian economist, said it was time for Barbados to “turn a new page” when it comes to integrity in public life.

Forte was reacting to the news that Inniss, a former Minister of International Business was sentenced to two years in prison in the United States, after he was found guilty of two counts of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, linked to bribe payments received from the Insurance Corporation of Barbados Ltd (ICBL).

“The conviction, sentencing and reflective comments of former minister Donville Inniss is a monumental development. Hopefully, it would not only serve to be historic but also an epoch that will advance the development of Barbados’ parliamentary democracy. It is time for Barbados to turn a new page,” said Forte.

“It should motivate our people, our government and political parties to rally behind the passage, proclamation and enforcement of integrity legislation and political campaign finance legislation in Barbados,” he said.

He said an assessment of Inniss’ comments on his conviction, suggested that he genuinely thinks that he did nothing wrong.

“This is unfortunate as it speaks to systemic weaknesses in Barbados’ governance structures, judiciary and body politic,” Forte said.

In addition to jail time, Inniss will have two years of supervisory probation during which he will not be able to leave the US. There was also an order for Inniss to forfeit the $36,000 related to the bribery charge.

Forte said even if Inniss was successful in “sowing seeds of doubt” in the minds of Barbadians around the issue of political donation’, money laundering and conflicts of interest,” the elephant in the room is that common practice does not make any of the foregoing right, ethical or legal”.

“Barbadians should be concerned that political campaigns are funded by common practices that are shrouded in secrecy, conflicts of interests and/or quid pro quo,” said the British Commonwealth Scholar.

“Invariably, this likely leads to higher costs of doing business, higher prices for consumers and wastage of taxpayer funds. These ‘common practices’ also constitute a breach of public trust, sub-optimal allocation of taxpayer money and sub-optimal allocation of financial resources of corporations,” added Forte.

“All Bajans should now be able to agree that campaign finance legislation in Barbados is desperately needed. The Donville Inniss saga should not be relegated as ‘a sad day’. It should be a catalyst for a new era of integrity in public life,” he added.

During his address to the court, Inniss said unlike the USA, there are no specific laws regarding the financing of political campaigns in Barbados.

“As such, politicians invariably engage with and have their activities financed by and supported by private persons and corporate entities. The fact that the ICBL continues to be the principal insurer of most Government-related entities in Barbados is instructive.” (MM)