MP for St. Mary’s South calls out Gov’t again for late distribution of bills

MP for St. Mary’s South, Kelvin ‘Shugy’ Simon has once again called out the government of Antigua and Barbuda for the late distribution of bills preceding meetings of Parliament.

Broaching the topic on Wednesday, May 12th during an appearance on Observer Radio, MP Simon shared about the latest instance of what he considers to be an inconsiderate practice on the part of the government.

“I want to emphasize again and let the public know how disrespectful and how uncaring this government is. So we were given notice for Parliament – well, Parliament was supposed to be Tuesday, yesterday. And then last week, we were told that it is going to be tomorrow instead. We never got our bills until Monday”, Simon said.

MP Simon and his fellow UPP cohorts have voiced similar sentiments in the past, a recent one coming in the form of a press statement.

“It’s something that constantly happens”, he said. “And it hampers – significantly – research time, and the depth that we want to go with our research.”

“It’s really something that needs to be addressed, and I think it’s beyond talking now”, Simon said. “We have to get radical with this administration, because there’s absolutely no way we can prepare the way that we want to, with such short notice, with the delivery of the bills.”

The Parliamentary session in question was held on Thursday, May 15th, with the main focus being on the Antigua and Barbuda College of Advanced Studies bill 2025. The bill, which provides for the establishment of the Antigua and Barbuda College of Advanced Studies as an institution of higher education, effectively merged the Antigua State College (ASC), Antigua and Barbuda International Institute of Technology (ABIIT), Antigua and Barbuda Hospitality Training Institute (ABHTI) and the Harrison Centre Antigua and Barbuda School of Continuing Education (HCABSCE) into one institution.

Despite the aforementioned issues voiced by MP Simon, it would seem that the bill enjoyed a good measure of bipartisan support, with both sides of the aisle backing its implementation.