Public officials must comply with the law or resign their positions

May 24, 2019 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

I am heartened that my letters recently published in the media on the matter of the failure of very senior public persons to report their assets to the Integrity Commission, have resulted in widespread public exposure of the issue. Not surprisingly, so to speak, this matter has arrived at the doorstep of our President.
My letters were not written for political purpose. They were written to stir the conscience of those who are elected or appointed to govern over us and remind them of their civic duty to obey the laws which give them the power they presume to exercise. Also, to remind our respective political parties that when they take office they do not suddenly become immune from both enforcing and obeying the law.
Emile Mervin (Stabroek News 22nd May) takes a dig at me for not having raised this matter when the PPP were in office and guilty of the same behaviour. Frankly, I didn’t raise the matter then because I paid less attention to the shortcomings of the government then in office than I do now, as the party in office is the party which I served as a Minister and I hold them to a much higher standard.
Mr. Mervin also misses the point of the purpose of my letters, which I set out above. Those in power and authority should not be waiting for the Commission to enforce the law upon them. The Commission, of course, has a duty to enforce the law when it is not obeyed and there is no doubt that the Chairman of the Integrity Commission has been remiss in not doing so.
I note that Mr. Nandlall and Bishop Edghill have jumped on the bandwagon for political purpose but they know full well that their party when in office ignored the law in the same manner as this government in office has ignored the law.
I am disappointed that our President has, so far, failed to submit his returns since, no matter the reasons, the example must be set by him, and it is insufficient to say that while it is a policy of the Cabinet to respect the law, the Ministers are allowed to continue to flout it. It has long been public knowledge that the requirements of the Integrity Act are being ignored. The worst of conclusions which the public can come to is that those who refuse to comply have something to hide.
I hold firmly to my position that all of the public officials refusing to comply with this law are either directed to comply or resign their positions.

Yours sincerely,
Kit Nascimento

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