Black Immigrant Daily News
Government has ordered hefty penalties for individuals caught being a public nuisance.
Next Tuesday, the Government will present amendments to the Minor Offences Act in Parliament to rid of the noisy issue of kite flying at arbitrary hours.
Attorney General Dale Marshall this Friday announced, during a post-Cabinet press conference, that the Bill will restrict kite flying between 7 pm and 6 am, as well as the type of kites that will be allowed to fly.
The Attorney General stated that only kites without a “bull” or “bull roarer” will be permitted.
“In simple terms, you can fly a kite for as long as you want so long as it does not have a bull, because we all know that is what keeps the noise, and that is what causes the nuisance.”
“So, the essence of this then is that at seven o’clock in the night that kite has to come down and it cannot be flown until six o’ clock the next morning. So that between seven [o’ clock] at night and six [o’ clock] in the morning any person that flies a kite with a bull, or any other kind of noise making apparatus will find themselves a foul of the law,” Marshall declared.
“This involves a ticketing element if you are found contravening the law, you will get a fixed balance and that fixed penalty is $500,” he added.
If convicted, offenders will be subject to a fine of $5, 000 or in prison.
The Attorney General explained that the legislative move was made due to the numerous complaints his Ministry received from Barbadians regarding the issue.
“While this may seem small in the scheme of things, I know that I’ve received numerous letters from Barbadians who complain about the noise. The kite seems to sit directly above their house, it is up all night and they simply cannot sleep. While for many of us that may seem like a small thing, the individual has to suffer this particular indignity in his grave and can also have serious effects on their health,” he noted.
He appealed to Barbadians to “be reasonable and take down their kites at night”.
“I really don’t want us to have to be dispatching members of the police force to enforce this kind of legislation. They have better things to do,” Marshall remarked.
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