Greenidge: Good move!

Government has been given full support for its decision to move the legal age for consuming alcohol from 16 to 18.

It has come from Deputy Speaker of the Senate, Rudolph Cappy Greenidge, who has described 18 as “a magic number” which should be the age at which people should be able to “do certain things”.

He made the comments today during debate in Senate on the Liquor Licences Bill, 2021.

“I think it is much neater what we have done in this piece of legislation, I think it is much neater to up the age for purchasing liquor to 18 rather than to leave it at 16. I think it is a far more sensible thing to do and I do believe that it shows that our legislators are thinking.

“In most parts of the English speaking world, 18 is referred to as the legal age and today there is no magic any longer in the age of 16. On the other hand, 18 is the age that which someone is allowed to enter a binding contract of their own,. Eighteen is also the age at which someone is allowed to vote and is the age in which generally speaking, a parent is now bound by law to support a child,” Greenidge said.

Praising the new legislation, the Deputy Speaker said he was pleased that persons no longer had to go to the law courts and police stations to obtain a liquor licence. (RB)