Don’t stop blowing the whistle

Jun 09, 2019 Letters

Dear Editor,

I was shocked to read that David Hinds of the WPA “recommended that there be a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the public service with the aim of flushing out the PPP moles.
This is not the language of a civilised, peaceful person or political party.
David Hinds took issue with the fact that members of the Public Service have apparently been providing information on inexplicable financial transactions that contravene the laws of Guyana. Exposing theft and corruption in our nation is a stated goal of all political entities.
The Protected Disclosures Act 2017 was passed by unanimous vote in the legislature:
AN ACT to combat corruption and other wrongdoings by encouraging and facilitating disclosures of improper conduct in the public and private sectors, to protect persons making those disclosures from detrimental action, to establish the Protected Disclosures Commission to receive, investigate or otherwise deal with disclosures of improper conduct and to provide for other related matters.
Further, ‘Whistleblowers’ have been encouraged to come forward by Attorney General Basil Williams on numerous occasions.
Therefore, this change in language to characterisation of such persons as ‘moles’ and a demand to flush them out is a departure from norm and runs contrary to the progress that has been made on one of the rare occasions all of the members of the National Assembly agreed on something.
‘Moles’ are a term used to refer to espionage agents engaged in deep cover spying and undermining of nations.
Reporting that Minister David Patterson received a wire transfer to his personal account is not treason.
Reporting that children of Minister Simona Broomes have received payments totalling more than $20 million dollars is not treason.
These are acts of brave patriots and have been encouraged by the passage of protective legislation. While none has been brave enough to seek protection of the Disclosures Act of 2017, they are certainly acting within its spirit.
These persons should be championed not hunted and flushed from the system. David Hinds seems to believe it is more a crime to expose corruption and illegal acts by Ministers than the illegal acts reported.
Editor, David Hinds knows that his deliberate use of the term, ‘moles’ is racist, divisive and unworthy of a member of Rodney’s party.
His call for a Commission of Inquiry takes it further from labelling to an active hunt; one can only imagine with horror how such a hunt would evolve. Where would it start?
Do we treat everyone in the Public Service with equal suspicion or do we take the Hinds’ position that the PPP is an Indo-party and target Indo-Guyanese? Do we tap into private communications of public servants on the basis of race, colour, creed, party card? What then? Arbitrary dismissals? Public trials? Or concentration camps? What if it is, as I suspect, the ‘moles’ are political operatives seeking to diminish rivals? What would Hinds have us do then? Build ovens?
I urge all Guyanese to keep blowing the ‘whistle’ without regard for anything other than the future well-being of our nation. I applaud your efforts to date.
Robin Singh

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