The lies, distortions and denials

Jul 23, 2011 Editorial

Two people always see different aspects of the same event. In the normal world it would depend on the area of focus. Different things focus on different areas and aspects. However, regardless of the area of focus one common thread stands out and that thread is always the primary action.
This past Thursday, the past area of focus was on the award of contracts to a contractor whose credentials are to say the least, questionable and whose eligibility was definitely not on the cards. Kaieteur News examined this contractor from the point of view of the wider society and made some startling discoveries.
As any good investigator would do, the newspaper, through its reporters, examined a number of aspects of two of the most recent contracts awarded and found the contractor wanting. Under such conditions where rules and regulations are broken conclusions are drawn; allegations are hurled and in the end suspicions linger.
Already, there are charges of corruption in the award of large Government tenders. The government often states that whatever it does is transparent and indeed, there is evidence that special efforts are made to ensure that transactions are transparent. This has been the case more recently and it is this same drive for transparency that led to the understanding that in many cases laws and rules of engagement are broken with impunity.
The Education Ministry granted two contracts totaling some $300 million to an electronic company, Digital Technology. Investigations revealed that the award of these contracts was highly irregular. The company did not have the three-year age requirement. It was duly registered on June 2, 2009, had failed to file taxes in 2010, and did not have an auditor’s report.
But it was awarded two massive contracts for the supply of computers and accessories to the Education Ministry. One of these contracts involved the Caribbean Development Bank. Minister Shaik Baksh was proud to announce that the CDB had done its due diligence and had cleared the company. The conclusion is that the people who provided the information for the CDB team omitted many facts and misrepresented the case for Digital Technology.
But Minister Baksh was content to bask in the glory that the CDB did its investigation and that his Ministry could not be faulted. And as if to further boost his Ministry, he announces that this Ministry has been doing business with the “reputable” Digital Technology since 2002. This must be a joke.
For starters Digital Technology is a mere two years old. In 2002 its Chief Executive Officer was a 19-year-old and its most senior director was 17. We are willing to bet that this company was not awarded any contract in 2002 and it would do well for the Ministry to produce the documents. The Minister should also detail the award of the 38 contracts.
And so we come to the issue of perception. There were the media there to report on the explanations of the award of the contracts. As is the sad state of affairs, many, of more accurately put, none of the other reporters there save for those who are in the employ of Kaieteur News understood what was happening.
These reporters could not care less about the award of contracts or the transparency of awards or the execution of the contracts. For too long they have been provided with information by the people who want certain information disseminated. They sat and listened but whether they understood was another matter.
Certainly the reporters attached to the state media did not. During the rebroadcast the state-owned television station ran a banner that screamed something about nailing the lies perpetrated by Kaieteur News. There was nothing about lies during the press conference. The state-owned Chronicle also screamed a headline that not only failed to match the story but told a blatant untruth. That headline was ‘Caught lying’.
It is this that helps foster incompetence and dishonesty in Government circles. They expect that someone is going to report what should have happened but certainly did not happen. Sadly, the people who see this bit of disinformation are not many.
But this errant perception does little for reporter confidence when they look in other media and see a far different story. It does nothing for their training and certainly, it does nothing for their self respect.

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