A MERRY CHRISTMAS

Dec 25, 2012 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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On behalf of all the contributors, I would like to wish all the readers of this column and of the Kaieteur News, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
I thank you for supporting this great newspaper which has been like a sentinel, obsessively guarding the interest of the people.
The tremendous role that the Kaieteur News has played in exposing corruption, keeping the nation informed and offering insightful and wide-ranging commentaries on a host of national and international issues would not have been possible had it not been for the bravery of the publisher of this newspaper, Glenn Lall.
He is a giant amongst huge men and I take this opportunity to wish him and his family a very Merry Christmas and hope that he is allowed to play a more important role in Guyana.
Imagine what a difference that can make toward rooting out corruption if someone like Glenn Lall is placed on the National Tender Board Administration or its likely successor the National Procurement Commission.
Imagine how much cleanliness would be had if Glenn Lall was appointed a member of the country’s integrity commission. Can you imagine someone like Glenn being content with simply accepting the declarations of those statutory officers who are required to submit statements of their assets and liabilities?
Glenn will not just ask to see the declarations, he would call on them to account for what they have declared and what they have not declared.
Uncle Donald is a good man; he is an honest man and someone who can be trusted to keep his word. But the question that is being asked is why is he being so defensive in terms of addressing the widespread perception that corruption is rife in the country and in the government.
Does Uncle Donald really believe that there is no serious corruption in the police force? Does he really believe that some of those who are close to him do not have their hands in the kitty jar?
Corruption is perhaps the only thing on which the opposition can criticize the government’s record. And Uncle Donald has to understand that it is not an issue that he should ignore or have his government be defensive on. He should develop a strategy to promote greater accountability, transparency and honesty in government and this strategy must include reinforcing those institutions such as the Integrity Commission and the Central Tender Board. He needs to bring persons into those bodies whose only intention is to assist the country.
There are many people who want to help Uncle Donald because they know that he is good at heart. But if he continues to consult and be advised by the same persons who have been in the system for so long, what different advice is he going to get.
His party lost its parliamentary majority not because it was let down by its supporters. It let itself down by allowing the previous administration to do as it pleases.
A great deal of mistakes were made and many more are still being made. This problem is going to get too big for Uncle Donald unless he seeks out assistance from persons who are willing to help him deal with corruption.
The process has to begin with the government. Uncle Donald should ask every one of his Ministers to declare their assets to him. He should not just look at the increase in the assets each year but should call on persons from civil society to help him determine whether any of his Ministers and advisers has assets which cannot be accounted by virtue of legitimate earnings.
Once he does this, then his government will get a clean sheet because he would have set the example to the rest of the public sector by having his ministers’ wealth or lack of wealth be investigated.
The critics of the government are not going to be able to throw accusations and make unfounded allegations. And Transparency International’s case would fall flat on its face because the wealth or lack of wealth of the ministers would have been subjected to independent scrutiny.
We have long passed the stage where the public is going to have confidence in the fact that a number of Government officials are required to submit annual declarations of their assets and liabilities. Let those declared assets be subject to investigation and let that investigation begin with the Ministers.
Uncle Donald will emerge the victor in this process. Not only would he be able to silence his critics that enough is not being done to stem corruption but he will also be able to show that he has an honest government.
And if per chance he discovers that there may be some who cannot explain what they own, then he will be able to use that as the basis to fire them. This will gain him even more acclaim.
This is my wish to a good man, Uncle Donald, and hope that he lives up to the reputation by which his old and golden friends know him.
Merry Christmas Uncle Donald!

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