President of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), Dr Ronnie Yearwood, is calling on Government to do away with the antiquated law that a member of the civil service cannot contest a general election.
“[They] need to have a look at the provisions of the General Orders and the Public Service Act to see these are archaic provisions and they have no place in a modern Barbados, where everyone should have a democratic right to freely participate and run for whatever party that they choose,” he said.
He made the call yesterday during a health fair at the DLP’s George Street, St Michael headquarters, where he and other DLP members were having their vitals checked by the Heart & Stroke Foundation under its Know Your Numbers campaign.
Alwyn Babb, a teacher at the Lester Vaughan School, and Pedro Shepherd, who teaches at Wilkie Cumberbatch Primary School, were sent on half-pay leave for six months, beginning April 6, for allegedly breaching the General Orders 3.18.1 and Paragraph 2 (h) of the Code of Discipline, by contesting the January 18 polls. Babb contested the St Peter seat while Shepherd ran in St Michael South East, both for the DLP.
Subscribe now to our eNATION edition for the full story.
For the latest stories and breaking news updates download the Nationnews apps for iOS and Android.
