Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday during the debates on the Political Financing Bill and the Constitutional Amendment Bill, Arvin Boolell stressed that “this bill must not be passed by this House”. While the opposition leader said that regulating political financing is a necessity and that “it will be a top priority of the next government, just like the Police and Criminal Evidence Bill and the Freedom of Information Bill”, he described the government's attempt as “a move by a desperate regime trying to ingratiate itself for political reasons. It is a mockery of history, because it comes on the eve of dissolution. It is a virtual copy of the 2019 bill”.
Also, says Arvin Boolell, he does not understand why the government is coming up with this bill “on the eve of the dissolution of Parliament” instead of presenting it mid-term after “extensive consultations with all stakeholders”. The Prime Minister's objective is to “ensure that this bill suffers a political death”. And to add “does he know what holding consultations means? It does not mean taking a decision unilaterally”.
