Leader of the Opposition, Bishop Joseph Atherley and his assistant, Erskine Branch, at the Worthing Corporate Centre yesterday.
Barbados Defence Force officers were hard at work yesterday moving furniture into the Worthing Corporate Centre, which is to be the temporary home of the Parliament of Barbados for the next few months.
THE environmental issues plaguing the Parliament Buildings, which have resulted in the temporary relocation of the lawmaking arm of the State, are also impacting the Opposition’s Office.
This was confirmed yesterday by Leader of the Opposition, Bishop Joseph Atherley, as he disclosed that he and some of the employees in his office have been negatively affected by the environmental problems “for a while now”. Speaking to The Barbados Advocate yesterday afternoon as the Barbados Defence Force assisted in loading their furniture and files onto a truck to move them to the temporary site at the Worthing Corporate Centre, Bishop Atherley said he was informed just Tuesday of the pending shift, which has to take place in time for the start of the 2020/2021 Estimates Debate on Monday.
“I imagine the move is necessary based on the advice the Parliament would have received... My lament is that it seems to be so hurried just about at that time when we are getting ready to discuss the Estimates,” he said.
He continued, “I would have figured we could have done the Estimates perhaps and then taken a break from the Parliament for a couple of weeks to allow for the move. I am not complaining, I’m just making observations.”
His comments came as he explained that the relocation does somewhat hinder his team’s preparation for the Estimates. Atherley made the point as he indicated that while the government would have been working through the Estimates for quite some time, it was not until after Tuesday when the date of the debate was announced, that he and the two Opposition Senators received their copies. Then yesterday, he said, they received an amended document.
“We have to relocate an office today [Friday] and re-setup tomorrow maybe, even though we have to prepare for the Estimates – no access to computers or anything like that, so when do I prepare? So I’m just lamenting the little bit of haste that seems to be involved and that is only in relation to the fact that we have to do the Estimates preparations,” the Opposition Leader stated.
Bishop Atherley nevertheless gave the assurance he will be there on Monday to perform his duties on behalf of the people. (JRT)