Finance ministry didn't craft DPP, AuG retirement age amendment

THE EDITOR, Madam,

I write to correct and clarify statements I made that form the basis of your article entitled “An undesirable approach” that appeared in The Gleaner on Thursday July 27.

The penultimate paragraph states that the “bill for the amendment was the work of the finance ministry”. This is incorrect. The Cabinet submission that gave rise to the Bill, and the Bill itself, were the work of the Ministry of Justice.

Furthermore, in its final and other paragraphs, the article gives the impression that the Cabinet submission relating to the bill sat in the Ministry of Finance “over the last two years”. I wish to clarify that the submission, which was originated and drafted by the Ministry of Justice, was sent to the Ministry of Finance in May 2023. The Minister of Finance opined, and maintained, that the Cabinet submission concerned constitutional matters and as such, ought to be dealt with by the Ministry of Justice. I therefore took it to Cabinet.

Delroy Chuck, Minister of Justice