PUT YOUR OWN HOUSE IN ORDER FIRST

Sep 27, 2010 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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When world leaders make recommendations on global issues, it always adds to the strength of their statements if their advice is backed up by practices within their own countries.
The President of Guyana has made an appeal at the United Nations for accountability indicators that would allow countries to meet their international obligations. No one should have a problem with this call.
There is always a gap between what is committed to on the world stage and what actually gets done. Much is often committed but when it comes to fulfilling these obligations there is not the follow-through.
There is therefore not likely to be much opposition to our President’s call for accountability indicators to be established so as to ensure that countries meet their international obligations.
But our good President would have had a stronger case if he could point to his own domestic policies to show what an excellent record his government has in establishing the record of such indicators in his own country.
It is not that there is an absence of such indicators in domestic policies. Rather, it is that on critical issues, the government has a poor record in responding to public calls for specific actions that would improve public transparency and accountability.
One of the important domestic indicators needed is for public inquiries into major disasters and crises in the country. This is an acceptable course of action that responsible governments follow in democratic countries.
In 2005 there was a great flood in Guyana. The government has stoutly resisted a commission of inquiry into this incident. We therefore have no investigation that would help us to avoid the problems associated with such a disaster should it occur in the future.
Then there was the crime wave in which many innocent Guyanese were killed. There have been calls for an inquiry into various aspects of the crime wave, including the performance of the security forces and the possible political links of those committing atrocities against the Guyanese people.
Two years ago, this country hit rock bottom with a number of massacres in which many Guyanese were slaughtered. Included in the carnage were children.
Yet, there has been no commission of inquiry into any of these incidents, something that would not have been acceptable in any other country of the world.
There have been numerous calls for an inquiry into the CLICO debacle. These calls have fallen on deaf ears. Here the problem is not about learning lessons but about ensuring that the criminal actions that may have caused CLICO(Guyana) to collapse are not repeated by some other institution in the future.
Governments and societies create punishments that deter such actions. In the case of CLICO ( Guyana), the government’s failure to investigate why the company collapsed and who should be held responsible reeks to recklessness.
There can be no excuse for not appointing an investigation into this matter.
If the government of Trinidad and Tobago had not bailed out the situation, thousands of policyholders would have today been screaming about their losses.  Despite the promise that no person would lose their investment in CLICO ( Guyana), it is not excusable for a government in such a situation to allow those who were responsible for moving large sums out of Guyana, not to face the law.
In very few countries such a situation would have been tolerated.
What also would not have been tolerated is the attitude of the ruling administration towards questions asked about certain public works contracts. Kaieteur News has been in the forefront in questioning the costs of certain contracts awarded by the administration.
An indicator of greater accountability and transparency would have been for the necessary information to be made public so that the people can judge for themselves.
Instead of applying such indicators, however, the government has not responded to the numerous calls for information relating to contracts.
This continues to be sore point. Just yesterday, the newspaper reported that government technicians were examining the design plans related to the construction of the US$15M road to Amalia Falls.
This is most interesting that after the contract has been awarded, the design plans are now being inspected. One would have presumed that this would have been done prior to the award of the contract.
In relation to this same contract, a promise was made for those involved in the evaluation to explain the technical basis on which the contract was awarded. This is yet to be done, as so many other things are still to be done.
As such, while what the President said at the United Nations cannot be opposed, one message needs to get across to him.
Before he undertakes to make such recommendations to the international community he should ensure that in Guyana there are similar indicators that would ensure accountable and transparent government.
The President needs to put his house in order before taking his message abroad.

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