by ERIC SMITH

GOVERNMENT got some warm lashes from its own members in Parliament during yesterday's third and final day of the Budget Debate.

While the members of the Barbados Labour Party all gave their support to Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Owen Arthur's Economic and Financial Policies presented on Monday, some spoke out about issues affecting them and their constituents.

Such was the case of Deputy Speaker Joe Edghill (Christ Church West Central) and backbenchers Ronald Toppin (St Michael North) and Trevor Prescod (St Michael East).

Edghill, who was the first speaker yesterday morning, spoke of the plight of members of Pride of Gall Hill Sports Club and youth in general in the constituency.

He said he had asked MP for Christ Church East, Minister of Education and Sports, Reginald Farley to look into the matter but "he has turned a blind eye".

He said the situation "irked" him and he was disappointed because he had been "fooled" by some of the people on his side.

Toppin raised concerns about the tourism industry and how it had been performing, especially in the United States market.

Saying there seemed to be structural problems in these markets, he noted: "The Barbados Tourism Authority and other players have to buckle down and stop throwing good taxpayers' money away on badly planned programmes."

But his harshest criticism was reserved for the chairman and board of Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA), describing recent developments at the airport as a fiasco.

He said very few staff members had any confidence in the GAIA board and no one seemed able to "rein in or control him" while referring to the chairman Colin Brewer.

Later in the debate MP for St Michael East, Trevor Prescod, spoke in pain of the challenges he faced in dealing with constituents in need of houses.

He said his colleagues had not been supportive and co-operative.

"The evidence is very clear if you look at the six units I have to deal with at the top of St Barnabas Hill. The policies of Government cannot be looked upon, especially the presentation today, without taking into consideration the dynamics of those historic and still current experiences in total isolation.

"You cannot speak about a housing policy simply based on what people say, you also have to look and see what people are doing," he charged.

Please see also Pages 30 and 31.