Leader of Opposition Matthew Wale has lashed out at the $15 Million fine for the proposed amendment to the Dangerous Drugs Act for methamphetamine offenders as ‘not deterrent enough’.
Speaking during the Bills and Legislations Committee recently, Wale said the proposed new amendments of $15 Million or life imprisonment is too soft for offenders.
Mr Wale made reference to the case last year where a foreigner in possession of meth was arrested but could not be charged because of legislative gaps under the current laws.
“How do you come up with $15 Million? How do you know that it is deterrent enough from stopping it from happening again?” he questioned government authorities when appearing before the BLC.
The Opposition Leader said these drugs land on our streets and pass through to other destinations and could worth up to hundreds of millions of US dollars.
“What’s $15 million SBD? A $15 million penalty is nothing to these people if we ever catch them,” he said.
Wale said there needs to be a zero tolerance approach taken on this bill.
The Opposition Leader said the amendments lack a comprehensive grasp on data to know what the problem is, what’s the size of it, where it is happening and most importantly the decisive approach to knock it down.
“I want to see the big picture in how this problem will be tackled and the role each authority plays in taking a zero tolerance on this matter.
“Health surveillance, national security, customs and immigration must be part of this zero tolerance approach,” he said.
Mr Wale said the amendments have not responded to the gaps in the law.
“What’s the social cure when proposing this legislation? Are the gaps going to be fixed? Will these new changes put a stop to what happened last year when a foreigner was allowed to walk free?”
“If you don’t create offences then you can’t impose penalties. Here you are only increasing penalties assuming there is a base offence. The offence must be updated to include what had happened and to put a stop to it,” he said.
The Opposition Leader also disapproved of the health ministry when appearing before the BLC hearing because of the lack of data available on the issue.
“We need data to inform policy so that we know how to address this matter seriously,” he said.
[ENDS]
