Long talk over fate of Fund

A morning of robust debate on a bill treated as a “perfunctory” matter dominated the pre-lunch session of the first sitting of Barbados’ newly constituted Parliament yesterday.
With the Lower House having, for the first time in decades, almost equal numbers on both sides – following the Democratic Labour Party’s 16-14 election victory over the Barbados Labour Party on February 21 – the atmosphere seemed primed for stout exchanges of views, bouts of camaraderie and timely interventions by Speaker of the House Michael Carrington.
After the laying of various documents, including the Appropriations Bill 2013 and the Auditor General’s Reports, Parliament’s first Bill of the new term was debated and passed as the Social Investment Fund (Repeal) Act by the 12:30 luncheon interval.
Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler introduced it as “a fairly perfunctory matter” of tidying up in law the existence of a fund that had been administratively abolished four years ago. (RJ)