Stating their efforts were solely to protect the elderly in Barbados and “not about politics”, attorneys at the centre of a dispute with Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Kirk Humphrey, are demanding he issues a public apology.
Led by spokesman Corey Beckles of CBL Chambers, fellow attorney Kaviar Callender and legal assistant Anthony Hinds say they reached out to schedule meetings to discuss the 53-page document which they undertook to draft of their own volition. It proposes stiffer penalties for anyone found guilty of elder abuse.
Last Saturday, Humphrey said there was no consultation with several stakeholders.
“The honourable Minister of Elder Affairs has in effect made myself and my colleagues enemies of the state because we did not follow what he refers to as ‘the correct procedure’ . . . . My office had reached out to the Ministry of Elder Affairs to schedule a meeting to discuss the elderly legislation on more than one occasion. I and my colleagues personally visited the ministry and informed them that we would like to have a meeting with the honourable minister,” he said.
“We can’t simply reach out to the Chief Parliamentary Counsel and tell the Chief Parliamentary Counsel that we have a piece of legislation before even letting the minister know or without even letting the ministry know. That is not in our purview. We can’t do that and we wouldn’t do that,” he added. (Nation News)
