Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Trade, Sandra Husbands.
Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Trade, Sandra Husbands is lauding Government’s decision to form a new unit to investigate possible acts of corruption and terrorism in this country.
Speaking during the debate on the Anti-Corruption and Anti-Terrorism Agency Bill in the House of Assembly yesterday, Minister Husbands said that this new agency will be “very helpful” to the country, not just in addressing matters of corruption and terrorism, but will make Barbados “an even more attractive place”, helping to draw much needed investment to the island and creating jobs as well.
She went on to say that if there is a proper monitoring mechanism, to deal with corruption, wherever it is, it means that there will be better management of the resources of the people.
“...Wherever corruption has been allowed to run unchecked, economic development suffers and studies have been done to make the correlation between the presence of corruption, the degree of hold it has on the systems of a country and the wellbeing of citizens,” she stated.
The minister added, “Because those resources are better managed, they are better channelled into the things that are of great importance to the people”.
The St. James South Member of Parliament went on to say that whether those priorities are for example roads, health care or the school system, when corruption is under control, such matters can be attended to as required. In that vein, she explained that citizens enjoy a better quality of life, when issues of corruption are addressed.
“I know the whole idea is to stamp it out, but I don’t know if you could ever stamp out all, because every time you block a hole, somebody may find another one to open up to get through. So the idea is, is to have a unit that is flexible and can move quickly, to look and see where those new areas are and ensure that they’re blocked,” she said.
Husbands added that corruption also has an impact on the cost of living. She noted that if there are high levels of corruption in government, the cost of living is going to go up for the citizens, because more money has to be found.
“And it will be found through taxation, and then pilfered off in varying ways, and this will affect the quality of life of our citizens. So dealing with corruption helps us to guarantee and control the cost of living and the quality of life,” she indicated. (JRT)