CATEGORY:COMMENTARY
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By Lloyd Noel (Attorney-at-law)
Inside Grenada correspondent
Thursday December 07,2006


CORRUPTION MAKES the poor poorer, because part of their already meager earnings, and their non-existent disposable income, must pay for basic
services which otherwise should be free.

Those were the words from the Chairperson of “Transparency International,” Huguette Labelle, at the Seventeenth Conference of the OAS in the Lecture
series of the Americas.

Transparency International is a Civil Society Organization dedicated to the fight against corruption Worldwide. It was created by the OAS Permanent Council to promote democratic principles and values in the Countries of the hemisphere, and when the Conferences are held recognized speakers are invited to speak on such key issues as stated in the above headline.

The Chairperson pointed out, that free Elections have produced a new generation of Leaders in the OAS Region - and many of them were elected on
“anti-corruption” platforms. But as we know only too well, in the CARICOM Region many of the States are riddled with corruption and lack of Integrity in Public Office.

Readers will recall that only very recently, the same body produced a report in which Barbados got very high marks and praise - for its
Transparency and honest dealings; while Grenada was lumped together with Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, as the most notorious Trio for corruption
dealings and lack of Transparency and Integrity in Public Office in the Region. A very Black mark indeed.

But from the record of the dealings by our Politicians, at least some of them, during the past Ten years in Office - who can argue with the accusers or the critics about our saddened State of Affairs?

And the very few who do try to paint a different picture in public forums - they end up being ridiculed for their poor efforts - because, as it is said in another circle, you cannot defend the indefensible.

The latest corruption charges, surrounding the Deputy Prime Minister Gregory Bowen, have taken on such widespread proportions at home and abroad, that they are even impacting negatively on what appears to be quite genuine development investments now coming on stream.

And in addition thereto, the scandal that seems to have put a serious damper on the people’s prospects of benefiting from Gas and Oil dollars - is now magnified by the economic hell they are catching, because of the very poor state of the economy which was brought about by “Ivan and Emily.”The interest being shown by all and sundry, young and old, and quite ordinary folks who normally pay little or no heed to such matters - is a clear indication that they view this scandal in a quite different light from those that went before. And the long-standing period of secrecy, and the total absence of transparency have made matters far more alarming.

When questions were being asked by Mr. Reynold Benjamin in public articles, and Mr. Grynberg himself, in a letter to the Prime Minister, dated February 28th, 2003, told him.... “I have refrained from getting involved in Grenadian polities and have refused to respond to Mr. Reynold Benjamin’s
many inquiries, in his preparation for the Grenada Elections between now and March of 2004. I have also refrained from going to the Press.” Even after
all that - nothing was said to the people, nor to Parliament.

The entrance of the Russians into the Billions of U.S. dollar scandal - and the allegation that $10 Millions U.S. dollars had been paid into somebody or
bodies Bank Accounts, certainly not the Treasury of Grenada - seemed to have brought the scam to the boil, which overflowed in the brave move to
terminate the Agreement between RSM and the Grenada Government.

That move triggered the Arbitration action - in London, since last year against the Government - but still nothing was said to John Public nor the
People’s Representatives in Parliament.

And it was only when Mr. Grynberg and his Company brought the case in New York on the 1st November this year, and named the Russians and Gregory Bowen as the conspirators to defraud them of the benefits under the 1996 Agreement - that Mr. Bowen saw it fit to make a public statement, and in so doing put all Grenadians to shame.

Since that press conference and the denials that amounted to naught, and the ludicrous statement from the Prime Minister that others in the Society
are also corrupt, not just the Ministers of Government - words to that effect - nothing else has been forthcoming from Government.

The hue and cry is for some form of Inquiry or investigation - whether by a Parliamentary selected body, or the Police under the direction of the
D.P.P., but not another farce by the Governor General and his one-man Commissioner - and that Minister Bowen should step down, from the position
in which he brought shame and scandal to the people and the Government he represents. But no response to-date.

If any little Public (Civil) Servant is accused of any wrong doing by his/her Permanent Secretary, the first action, by the Public Service Commission (PSC), is to send that officer home while an Inquiry is carried out - so why should there be one brand of treatment for the little fry, and a wholly different brand for the big fish?

After all, they are both Public Servants and must be subject to the same standards of discipline and accountability. And as was forcefully
underscored, in that Conference on the evils of corruption at the OAS last week, - “Fighting corruption strengthens democratic institutions and
prevents distortions in the economy, improprieties in public administration, and damage to a Society’s moral fiber.”

In this case of a Cabinet Minister being accused of wrongdoing, the PSC has no Jurisdiction - but the Prime Minister and his Cabinet have every such
authority to act in the Public interest, and in the preservation of the good name and image of his Government.

And it cannot be repeated too often, when those at the highest level of the Society’s structure - entrusted with the mantle of power and authority, to
carry out or to operate the people’s business for the benefit of the people in general - behave in such reckless and disgraceful manner, and everything
is just glossed over and excused as ‘no big thing’ - the message and example being sent to those lower down the ladder of authority, can only be - that
it pays better to be dishonest and un-trustworthy.

And it goes without my saying so, that what is being cultivated - among those whom we should be training, and preparing to take over the Leadership of our people and Country tomorrow - is a recipe for cheating and a culture of corruption.

And strangely as it may seem to many, I am not hearing any comments, or seeing any statement by the Conference of Churches in Grenada, the TUC, nor any of the Stakeholders in our Civil Society - like the Chambers of Commerce for example. These groups are the so-called Social Partners that the same Government is always referring to, or calling upon when it suits them to put on a show of solidarity.

Is John Public to understand, that none of them see this scandal as deserving of any observation from their memberships? The same way the top brass of the Catholic Church, were ready and willing to visit the National Stadium, no doubt at the invitation of Government, and shower praise on the Chinese workers and the Administration for achieving almost the impossible - so too, in my humble opinion, the same Spiritual Leaders should be prepared and forthcoming, in marshalling the Conference of Churches to make representation to Government to clear the dark and cloudy atmosphere - and to be seen openly to be so doing.

All over the Global Village now-a-days, we are hearing on the airwaves and seeing on T/V - the people, the Stakeholders of their Country’s heritage, the ones who are getting poorer and poorer because of their Leaders corrupt practices, they are rising up and protesting in one form or another, against the mal-practices of those in authority over them. We too, in little Grenada, did likewise in the brave old days when people had dey belly -
including Priests, and Businessmen, and Youths.

And protesting against corruption and graft - by our Leaders who are responsible for the public purse - has nothing to do with which Party you supporting, but everything to do with the love of your Country, and the caring concern for the Legacy to our Children and those yet unborn.So whether it is NNP, NDC, GULP or PLM, or any other “PP” - our concerns
and protestations must be the same.

Why, therefore, is this deathly silence from those groups which are expected to lead their members and their flocks? The few voices crying in
the wilderness are simply too few to make the required difference.And just by passing a Law in Parliament - about “Integrity in Public Office
with penalties for corruption” - will not make those who get into the Parliament buildings, Twenty-first Century Saints by any means.

We, the people, have to constantly monitor their performances, and when needed, tell them what they are doing, or have done in our name - is wrong,
and they must account and pay the price by stepping down. So long as we, the people, neglect to demand Accountability and Transparency and Responsibility for wrongdoing - we will never achieve the goal of Integrity in Public Office and the eradication of corruption from our Public Trustees.