Government seeks to implement commission of enquiry recommendations
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Government seeks to implement commission of enquiry recommendations |
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Contact: Shannon Lebourne
Thursday 24 February 2011 – The Government of Saint Lucia is progressing with plans to tighten legislation for criminal offences. On Thursday February 24, government presented several amendments to legislation to ensure that criminals and their supporters face tougher penalties for the crime that they commitment.
Speaking to the GIS ahead of the Senate sitting, the Leader of Government Business in the Senate, Senator the Honourable Guy Mayers, says some of the amendments to the legislation are in keeping with the recommendations from the Sir Fenton Ramsohoye led commission of enquiry.
“As part of government's continuing strategy in the fight against crime, we have a legislative agenda which includes three pieces of legislation which will be amended. These are the Money Laundering and Prevention Amendment, the Public Order Amendment, and the Finance Administration Amendment which were recommendations made coming out of the Commission of Enquiry to strengthen our laws.”
The island`s Attorney General and Minister for Justice Honourable Lorenzo Rudolph Francis explains that his chambers have completed most of the amendments to the legislation to ensure that there are tougher penalties and sentences for gun crime offenders.
Minister Francis says the executive arm of government has been very supportive of the attempts of the Attorney General Chambers to ensure that outstanding legislations are presented to the House of Assembly in a timely fashion.
“I must admit that most of the crime amendments have already been drafted. I have actually circulated it amongst the various stakeholders and hopefully we will get responses in the coming week. Once I have received responses and made the necessary amendments as proposed by the various stakeholders in the country, we will endeavour to ensure that all theses pieces come before the House to ensure passage before the budget.”
The Attorney General says government’s policy is to ensure that there is widespread circulation among stakeholders before proposed amendments are tabled before the House of Assembly. |
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