Bridgetown.
The Prevention of Corruption Act was passed in the House of Assembly last night. The initial debate on the Bill began last July, after three contributions from Members of Parliament, the Bill was referred to a Joint Select Committee of both Houses of Parliament for further deliberation.
Prime Minister Freundel Stuart in his contribution to the debate said integrity cannot be legislated and that the most important rules that govern human beings are not written down and enforced by any court or institution.
"The most important rules that govern human beings are the rules that cannot be enforced any where, these rules that have to do with strenght of character,quality of values, those rules without human beings cannot live comfortably together in a society", the Prime Minister said.
Stuart acknowledged that there was a perception that corruption takes place among public officials though he did not share the view.
"If people believe something, then that belief takes on a reality on its own. Quite frankly, the state of the public mind in Barbados, in the Caribbean and across the western world, is that public officials if not controlled will yield to their basic instincts, and be corrupt and that is the rationale behind the existence of anti-corruption legislation", the Prime Minister said.
The new Bill which repeals legislation from 1929, now awaits Senate approval and final proclamation to make it law of the land.
