Dangers of corruption

Prof Ramesh Deosaran

Danger. This is described as “a thing that causes or is likely to cause harm.” Tolerating or excusing repeated instances of well-known public corruption breaks down social norms and tempts citizens to become corrupt too. Too often the public hears about state corruption, but the discoveries are left hanging in the media. Earlier this year, Local Government and Rural Development Minister Kazim Hosein complained about a series of corrupt practices in several regional corporations – from San Juan/Laventille, Chaguanas to Sangre Grande – promising investigations and reports. Where are the reports, the sanctions? Is the oversight for ministers and permanent secretaries working effectively?

The appearances by several government agencies and state companies before joint select committees paint an ugly picture. One complaining editorial lamented in 2016: “Increasingly, it appears that the entire public accounting system has collapsed. If there is a check-and-balance system at all, it would seem to be non-functional,” (Express, June 27, 2016). With obvious exasperation, the editorial added: “It seems as if no number of disturbing revelations will change the fact of large scale incompetence, corruption and complacency in the management of the country’s finances by public officials from top to bottom across all administrations.”

In Parliament three Fridays ago – two days after witnessing the disturbing JSC meeting with YTEPP – Minister of Community Development, Culture and Arts Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly dutifully laid out in Parliament the results of a financial audit for October 2013 to September 2016 on Pan Trinbago, National Carnival Bands Association and Trinbagonian Unified Calypsonians Organisation.

Scandalous allegations from the Ernst and Young audit – repeated financial waste, “me-first” payments and bonuses, questionable purchase of vehicles, playing mas’ with taxpayers’ money once again – and a hard-pressed population looking for action. Gadsby-Dolly told Parliament: “Since these three entities receive considerable funding from Government, the audits’ findings are of great concern to the Cabinet, Ministry and citizens.” Its like playing mas’ with taxpayers money. Anybody could say what is happening to that ugly concrete building south of Trincity – once donated to one of the “big three?”

Gadsby-Dolly’s revelations appear worse than what we heard about YTEPP – all the same, its about taxpayers’ money. Noting the heavy subsidies provided by taxpayers to these three cultural organizations, the auditing firm found vast expenses with no approval, no proper invoices, self-serving conflicts of interest, no proper tender for vendors, suspicious bank accounts, etc, etc. It is time that the authorities, starting with Gadsby-Dolly’s report, stop allowing ethnicity and culture - of whatever type - to mask, protect or immunise them from accountability.

Lawlessness of all kinds has been discovered by several governments. Illegal construction and development continue, Works Minister Rohan Sinanan and Planning Minister Camille Robinson-Regis now complain.

SporTT provided another example, obliging an editorial to compliment Attorney General Faris al-Rawi: “The Office of the Attorney General is to be commended for its work in flagging and investigating goings-on at SporTT reportedly linked to suspicious procedures in the award of contracts. This is one occasion when a government has been proactive rather than pursuing follow-up action after investigative news media expose.” (Express, July 21, 2017).

I repeat Dr Eric Williams' complaint in 1955: “The population is tired of graft and corruption, sick to death of broken promises.” He was right then. He promised that party politics will take care of that. There are two issues here.

Firstly, the stoppage of state corruption eased in Brazil, Hungary, etc, when the population got angry enough against the offenders. But there are several neutralisers, pacifiers, in the way, one being the seeds and fruits of corruption here are now so widely dispersed, that the civic-minded centre has grown so very narrowed, leaving little or no energy for righteousness indignation.

Secondly, if a public official dares to question or correct the incompetence, irregularity or ineffective policy, it would not be safe. Drawing from my experience as former chairman of the Police Service Commission, you become “public enemy No 1.” As Sparrow sang in his calypso, Corruption, “a social conscience is a dangerous thing in this society. More than that, you likely to lose friends, your life likely to get lonely and narrowed too." And these days, it may be your life.