GRENADA, April 30, 2008 - That statement above has been put forward as an apt description of corruption by persons holding public office – and at the core of that definition is the very root of all evil-Bribery. And someone sent me an article from “Arab News” – which is the Middle East leading English Daily Newspaper – in which the twin subject of “Corruption and Bribery” was discussed in the Friday 25th April, 2008, paper – as “Confronting Man’s Enemy”. The writer, who had done a lot of research and gave a whole list of several charters that had been initiated to confront and combat what was termed “this malignant social disease”. It was stated therein that Bribery undermines good governance, harms economic efficiency, stunts development and distorts trade. As I read the Article and digested the contents, I really thought it was dealing with our situation in Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. When it said that “Corruption (and Bribery) is a moral disease that colors the character of a nation, and depletes it from all forms of integrity, honesty, compassion and virtue” – I saw our recent historical record right there in front of me. The writer listed the many attempts by International bodies – like the United Nations, the OECD, and the Council of Europe as having taken firm and drastic action to try and curb the social disease, but admitted that the task was a very daunting one because it is so wide-spread. It was suggested that one way out was to rebuild the integrity and character of our nation; and that is by reforming our educational system by re-introducing the subjects of civic duty, national integrity, ethics, manners, protocol, courtesy and decency. And these should be at the core of all oncoming educational reform measures – and should be introduced as early as the Kindergarten years. Haven’t we heard it all before in these Isles? But of course none of those measures could have come into play – given the bad cultural record that have be-deviled us for all those years, and sad to say, continuing un-abated. In fact – in the desperate attempts by those in authority now-a-days, instead of reforming our youths and young people generally – what we saw last week-end at Sauteurs, was the very disgraceful opposite of exposing them to the worst kinds of temptations and indecency. As one young man from River Road put it to me, the same people that say they ban “Passa Passa” in a night club – because it is not our thing and should not be encouraged or tolerated; the same set of people officially bring into the Island, another kind of “Passa Passa” and encouraged our very young ones to attend the show and kept them out all night. And to add reckless injury to the parents anger and gross insult, by the poor organization and irresponsible behavior displayed by the powers-that-be, the same culprits are trying to lay the blame elsewhere. And in a strange kind of way that defies simple logical thinking or understanding – the gains or spoils that those who engage in corrupt practices acquire from their mis-deeds, because they come so easy and without honest efforts, they also go away even easier and with embarrassing consequences in the process. And the Sauteurs episode was a classic example of how sponsorship from those who benefited from shady and corrupt dealings, at the expense of the people’s heritage, can come around to haunt those involved in betraying the people’s trust. Even the Imani programme which was designed to help young people, and to all intents and purposes was a good gesture on the part of those who started it - because of the inherent bad practices employed by the controllers, in discriminating against persons they decide are not among their supporters – some very negative consequences are now coming home to haunt them. A quite un-usual source of negative remarks have been published by the Director of Audit, in his report on the happenings at the General Hospital, and in particular the operating Theatre (OT).The Director has strongly warned the powers-that-be that the practice of putting Imani un-trained young people in the OT is very wrong and should be stopped as of yesterday. And a public servant also published a letter of complaint, about the very wrong uses being made of those Imani young people in the public service sector generally. But what is alarming about the warning by the Director of Audit, is that there has been many recent complaints about sudden deaths of persons who had very recently (a day or two) had operations in the OT. There has been other complaints about strange accidents at the said Hospital, and those seem to suggest that the persons who should be supervising patients after surgery – are not sufficiently trained to appreciate the state or condition of someone soon after an Operation. If the nursing body is so short-staffed, that Imani young persons have to be employed in the OT, then the emphasis should be on employing and training young people to become full time Nurses. Am sure there are many hundreds of young ladies who are desirous of joining that noble profession as a career. So why exploit them at $700.00 per month, and in so doing also putting un-suspecting very ill and not-so-ill persons at risk? And the powers-that-be cannot, and must not, be heard to say that there is no finance in the Ministry of Health. The very Director of Audit listed a whole bundle of short comings and mismanagement in the said hospital, and in particular surrounding the same OT and the mis-use or abuse of the facilities. And those in control do not need me to remind them of the wasted Millions in Court houses, and for Foreign Lawyers in propaganda matters – instead of spending those sums on the modern Hospital, that needs the facilities and personnel to ensure the good health of the people they are responsible to serve. And as the writer in the article quoted above from the Arab News put it - “always keep in mind that the biggest harm coming from the acts of corruption and bribery, falls on none other than the most vulnerable segment of our society – the poor and underprivileged, the ones who are never in a position to bribe anyone. And that on its own leads to chronic socioeconomic devastation and decay.” And so should all of us be saying and actively defending in these trying times. And no one should feel safe and free from the after-effects of those social diseases – because as long as we have to live in these parts, and be surrounded by the very people of meager means who are always affected by those evils – then in one way or another in our daily lives, we will be affected by the drop outs from the social disease. And whatever it was that drove the Minister of Government Finance in 1995, to go outside and above his powers of authority to grant the CAP BANK INTL. Banking Licence – without the approval and or recommendation of the Central Bank (ECCB) in those days – the repercussions resulting therefrom are continuing to throw some very dark shadows over his every move, in trying to deal with the festering financial and economic problems. The latest action is to propose, or ask the court to sanction, the re-organisation of the Bank. The news release surrounding that proposal seems to be suggesting – that the said Minister and Prime Minister has already found interested Investors who are willing to move in and take over and re-organise the Bank. For the re-organised Bank to secure the blessing of the ECCB and enjoy its facilities and services – the new Investors must first have the approval and recommendation of the Central Bank. And from the track record of the powers-that-be, and the quality and international status of the type of investors they have been attracting over the years – it immediately raises question marks about their Bona fides and general suitability in the Banking arena. Jumping from the frying pan and into the fire should not be an option – even though it may mean that those little people would be able to recover their savings in the short term. We always hearing about those friends and well-wishers who are always ready to put their Millions into Grenada – but it always turn out that we would have been much, much better, without having ever heard of them in the first place – never mind having seen and experienced their so-called “well-wishes” in the long run. Kozeny, Van Brink, Reistener, the Mt. Hartman and Levera” guarantee draw-down” crooks and fraudsters, those smart men now in Jail in Portland Oregon – the list goes on and on in disgrace. So please, Mr. Finance Minister, spare us another dose of that caliber of Investors and well wishers, and stop the progress from continuing down that road – we have more than enough on our plate as it is right now to cope with, we cannot take anymore. As the Election fever gets hotter, with each propaganda event to woo people to the various venues around the country – we are witnessing a pattern of behaviour, and a trend in the type of entertainment being employed that are clearly not in the best interest of our people and nation state. And I sincerely hope that the opposition groups would not be trying to show the incumbents, that they can do better than them in that trend. From the reports I got from persons who were present in that pasture in Sauteurs last week Sunday – there was nothing positive about the outcome, and certainly nothing of real life interest to bring those who have strayed away, back into the “house of progress”. You do not have to be some eminent Pollster from New York or wherever, to tell the powers-that-be that the massive crowd at Sauteurs went there to see and hear the entertainers from over seas, and had nothing at all to do with celebrating the so-called youthful achievements by the NNP over the years. But look at the cost, and the frustration and anger, and the potential dangers that were ever present all through the night into the next day. By Lloyd Noel (Attorney-at-law) Inside Grenada columnist