Speaking in the House of Assembly (HOA) recently, the legislator said this type of practise has been happening for decades.

“A lot of times I see it happening. A bill is passed … and somebody finds a loophole where they can now skirt around or evade what is in that bill,” Flax-Charles stated.

“I’ve seen it happen in [the] Trade [Department], where licenses have been denied, but somebody found a way to use a Belonger … in order to get what they wanted,” the Junior Minister added.

She cautioned that these are the types things legislators need to guard against and urged that they should move to protect citizens, elected officials, and public officials from such pitfalls.

More meaningful engagement

The legislator also suggested there should be more meaningful public engagement in helping to mould legislation before it passes through the House.

According to Flax-Charles, after the first reading of the Integrity in Public Life bill, the government embarked on a series of public meetings.

She recalled one meeting where only two persons showed up in person, while a further 12 persons participated online through Facebook.

“When those two individuals came into that meeting, I overheard one of them saying, ‘well I am not staying here, there are no refreshments here. They didn’t bring anything to eat or drink.

The legislator argued that the government was simply trying to educate the public about the bill in question.