WHAT IS THERE TO HIDE?

Jun 13, 2010 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Today we continue our examination of the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project and the contract for the construction of the access road to the project site.
Last week we dealt with the responsibility of the government to ensure that the best deal was secured for Guyana. Ultimately the responsibility for the project rests with the government. The buck stops with the government which has to safeguard the interests of the people of this country.
The government cannot therefore hide behind the excuse that they are not required to make technical assessments. They are not so required, but in approving the project they have to ensure that the necessary technical work has been done to satisfaction since their approval signals a vote of confidence in the technical analysis, including the evaluation of any contract awarded.
The government cannot pass the buck when it comes to public works. It is the responsibility of the government to take ownership of all public works and to ensure that everything is done in a manner that would attract public confidence. Regardless of the blunders that may have been made, it is government’s duty to take ownership of projects executed by itself and to ensure that everything is above board.
No one expects the government to be perfect. Governments will from time to time make mistakes. The right decisions will not always be made. There will be cases of negligence and poor decisions. When these things happen, it is not for the government to dodge responsibility, but rather to take ownership of the problem, to determine what went wrong, who is responsible and what action needs to be taken to rectify the problem and to discipline those persons and agencies that need to be disciplined.
This is what good governance is about. It is not about being perfect. It is accepting that there will be slippages and mistakes along the way; it is accepting that at times transparency will be less than desired but it is also very much about taking action to hold persons accountable for these mistakes so that the frequency lessens. Good governance then is not about not making mistakes. It is about what happens when mistakes are made.
Good governance is also about providing the public with the information they need to make an informed choice about what is going on. The greatest downfall of governments is the tendency to feel that they are obligated to justify what has been done, to avoid admission of mistakes since this can have disastrous political consequences. The opposite is true: trying to conceal bad decisions, shoddy work, ineptitude and incompetence always, when exposed, backfires against ruling administrations. The more politically advantageous choice is not to be in denial but to take ownership of the problem and deal with the problem by holding those responsible accountable for their actions and by taking corrective action.
The public will respect any administration that admits that it is not beyond reproach. It will support a government that admits to its failings, takes action against the wrongdoers, assumes ownership of problems and makes a serious effort at righting wrongs.
Governments therefore should be open with the public and provide them with as much information as is possible to allow them to appreciate the difficulties of any situation. If governments however choose to keep information under tabs, if they get upset when information is revealed, if they refuse to divulge information that should not be confidential but which would allow the public to see that things have been done in a proper manner, then they will encourage greater suspicion and skepticism over the manner in which they handle things.
There should be nothing to hide. Reveal the facts and let the people judge. The people have never been harsh judges. They accept that mistakes are going to be made. They are smart enough to know that there will always be opposition to things the government does. But once the facts are brought out into the open, then everything will be there to be scrutinized and the public will be able to judge for themselves.
For these reasons, this column has consistently appealed for the agreements that have been signed in relation to the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project to be made public. Even if the government is concerned that such disclosures will compromise ongoing negotiations there are still contracts which have been concluded such as the road project contract and possibly a power-sales agreement, as well as the original Memorandum of Understanding between Synergy Holdings Incorporated and the government which can now be made public.
If the government is serious about garnering public approval for the proposed hydropower station and the access road to the project site, it should see the wisdom in making public the agreements that it has signed. If it does not, then it will open itself to the continued glare of the critics and the skeptics.
(TO BE CONTINUED)

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