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.
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