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A CODE OF CONDUCT FOR MINISTERS

Apr 12, 2013 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

 

Uruguay was thrown into the international news limelight this past week because of its handling of some very controversial issues. First, there was the vote in the legislature that gave approval to same-sex marriages; then there was the diplomatic tiff that broke with Argentina after the President of Uruguay was accused of making off-the-record and less than flattering remarks about his counterpart in Argentina.
He subsequently apologized by saying that his loose language sprung from his rough history as a guerilla and later as a political prisoner.  He spent almost fifteen years behind bars.
Despite his controversial past and the controversial policies that he is supporting, the President of Uruguay is better known for his very austere lifestyle. The BBC has lionized President José Mujica as the poorest president in the world.
Not only is he the poorest, he is the most modest in terms of lifestyle.  According to the BBC, President Mujica lives on a ramshackle farm and gives away close to 90% of his salary. The farmhouse in which he lives is said to be owned by his wife and is extremely humble. His only asset in 2010 was an old automobile worth, according to the BBC, US$1,800.
The BBC quoted him as saying, “I am called the poorest president but I do not feel poor. Poor people are those who only work to keep an expensive lifestyle and always want more and more.”
President Mujica’s simple lifestyle is noteworthy, especially when so many leaders today are being accused of enriching themselves in office and using their positions to assist their friends.
It also comes at an interesting time in Guyana when the government has announced that it will be establishing a code of conduct for ministers.
This code of conduct for ministers should be extended to all government officials and should cover not only their public behaviour, but also their financial affairs… especially their financial affairs.
This is an important announcement by the government, one made in the National Assembly, and one that should be honoured. If it is, it would be the first time that a code of conduct would have been implemented for ministers and government officials alike.
In the 1970s, Burnham, facing a serious backlash over allegations of widespread corruption within the country, had announced at a Congress of his party that a code of conduct would have been implemented for his ministers. This never happened.
It was one of the many things that Burnham promised that never saw the light of day. Perhaps if it had been it would have helped prevent much of the hemorrhaging of public funds that took place in those days and which saw a super-sized bureaucracy that was riddled with corruption.
The PPP is facing its own crisis today. Numerous accusatory fingers are being pointed its way. This is all the more reason why the decision to have a code of conduct for ministers of the government is a refreshing development.
For the code of conduct to be meaningful and effective it must be based on the premise that no minister should benefit financially while in office, other that his or her salary and allowances. No minister should be allowed to acquire any land or property that is owned by the State. No minister should be allowed to profit from any business dealings with the government. In short, when a minister leaves office, he or she should leave with what they came into office with plus what they would have earned as salaries and employment benefits. Nothing more!
If prior to becoming a minister, someone owns property or has interests in businesses, whether through ownership of through shares, those interests and assets should be placed in a trust.
No one is asking our ministers to live as frugally as President Mujica of Uruguay. But they should not obtain land, contracts or any other benefit not associated with their remuneration while they hold public office.
They should sign an oath that if it is found that they have benefitted otherwise while as minister, that they would agree to return all property so gained to the state and resign forthwith.

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