Why are we losing the fight against corruption?

Jun 02, 2019 The Story within the Story

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By Leonard Gildarie

On Thursday evening, three bandits were killed after being cornered in a city home. From all accounts, the men invaded the home of a contractor and held him and his little son at bay with guns. They demanded money and the whereabouts of an overseas guest.

The contractor was forced to drop his son from upstairs to the arms of a policeman. He jumped from that second storey and injured himself, leaving the gunmen in the home.
The police were alerted and in the ensuing gun battle, after the smoke cleared, the three bandits were dead.
About three weeks before that, three men who police said terrorized Black Bush Polder and business places in Berbice, were killed after an encounter with the police in the backdam.
I saw Friday the pain of a relative of one of the men killed who said that he should not have been killed in that manner. The relative said that the man reportedly surrendered with bullet wounds. He died at the hospital.
The arguments have been raging. On one side are the human rights activists. On the other side is the angry crowd praising the police. There is still another group who would have experienced the cruel attacks that these men would have been accused of perpetuating – the now faceless victims.
I received calls and followed closely the debates on social media. The men were described as career criminals. There were also the arguments as to what caused these acts.
Let us get something clear. Guyana has a growing problem with especially a number of youngsters who refuse to work, but rather, are caught up in the drugs and lure of quick money from a robbery.
I feel anger at times for the family of criminals who gladly accept the proceeds but ask precious little questions. I read of how the little boy asked his dad if the bandits in his Lodge home were going to kill them. The family had to send him away as he was traumatized.
I wondered what my thoughts would have been as the dad of that boy.
Through the haze of all the reports and the gory photos of the dead men, there is another debate that is growing. As a people, we have to understand to the connections of crime with poverty, unemployment, parenting, peer pressure, rampant corruption in public office, and the list goes on.
Perhaps for me, one of the biggest influences is the seeming slap-on-the-wrist attitude to corruption which I believe has a direct bearing on crime.
Here is the story. If growing up, you see your neighbours stealing millions while working in public office, and little is done, or if someone with connections is arrested and then gets off for a violent crime because someone has been paid, then what examples are we setting?
There is a whole different world out there – the underworld. Going to jail is a holiday. There are high-fives and a show of respect from gang members when you go to jail. It meant you would have earned your stripes.
Lawyers are now running to the High Court where decisions to overturn the magistrates’ refusals for bail for armed robberies and other crimes seem to have become a mockery.
Yes, I am upset. We talked about the causes of crime. For many, our system is crooked.
We have people who steal a phone and their record is chalked up with a conviction. That man’s face is plastered in the media.
Across the road, a public servant takes a bribe and allows a contractor to have his own way.
The state loses millions. That is white collar crime. The punishment is generally little. The most that can happen is that person is transferred or fired. There is no jail time.
That public servant is free to enjoy his mansion, cars, and would openly boast of connections and the money made. For millions of dollars stolen, there is little punishment.
For the many teens who have their little gangs in the communities like Black Bush, Kaneville, Tuschen, Agricola, Albouystown, it is a struggle every day to survive.
The answer, I propose, will not be killing them out and say we have crime under control.
We have to move deeper. We have to review our justice system.
It has always been the argument that the money stolen from the public treasury as a result of white collar crime could be used in reducing poverty, and thus crime in general.
We have hundreds of millions being lost annually – due to corruption including kickbacks, and poor work on contracts – that can be used on social programmes to reduce poverty.
In essence, our attention on the little robbers has shifted the spotlight from what is happening in the public’s offices. We have not managed to turn the tide in the fight against corruption. In fact, the Coalition Government has admitted it is not where it wants to be.
We are entering elections mode, though this may not be held until next year, depending on what the Caribbean Court of Justice rules. The issue of the deleterious effects of corruption and perceptions that there are untouchables in our society has to be addressed. We are not a people of 10 years ago. There is an awareness now. We will not tolerate.

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