Golding mulls private help to draft legislation

Erica Virtue, Senior Gleaner Writer

Prime Minister Bruce Golding yesterday suggested that the Government may have to seek private legal assistance to complete drafting outstanding legislation which has been piling up.

The prime minister, who was addressing the Standing Finance Committee of Parliament deliberating the Estimates of Expenditure for financial year 2011-2012, said he was not using the opportunity to make the announcement, but said it has to be considered.

Phillip Paulwell, the shadow minister of energy and telecommunications, enquired of the prime minister the deadline for drafting legislation for the single regulator in the telecommunications industry.

"I will concede that I am apprehensive about the time within which we will get this legislation drafted. It is no secret that there is a pile-up of legislation at the chief parliamentary counsel's office.

They are overworked and shortstaffed and because of what happens from time to time, the Government keeps shifting the priorities. So sometimes they focus on one thing, and we say, 'Hey, stop what you're doing and focus on this'," the prime minister said.

He added: "It may become necessary for us to seek to engage private drafting consultants to help us to advance this. That's not a decision that I am announcing today; it is something that we will have to consider. We are actually doing that now with a number of other critical pieces of legislation."