Anti-Gang Bill yet to be proclaimed

DESPITE being passed in the Senate a month now, the Anti-Gang Bill is yet to be proclaimed. Ag Prime Minister Colm Imbert told reporters yesterday at the post-Cabinet briefing at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann’s, that he will ask the Attorney General, Faris Al-Rawi, where it is.

“I don’t think the President will take long with it,” he added. The bill, which was the source of much contention between the Government and the Opposition, had been defeated last December when the Opposition refused to back it because it did not approve of the two-year Sunset Clause (expiration date). After agreeing to a 30-month Sunset Clause, the Opposition agreed to support the bill, which needed a three-fifths majority to pass. It was passed in the House of Representatives in March and one month later in the Senate. Imbert, who is also Finance Minister also added that the TT Revenue Authority Bill will be laid in Parliament either today or Monday when the House meets, and it will then go to a joint select committee of Parliament to iron out the details.

Asked about Opposition support for the bill, which also requires a three-fifths majority to pass, Imbert said, “You never know.”

“The Opposition supported FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) legislation; they say they support the Gambling Bill; they supported the Insurance Act, which also needed a three-fifths majority, so we’ll see.”