Whistle-blowing requires moral courage. Though most whistle-blowers quite often do not see themselves in that light but merely as individuals doing their jobs, they say aloud what many of us are thinking in silence.
Whistle-blowing has seemingly triggered an impeachment inquiry into the president of the United States, Donald Trump. But, the US, which has long prided and marketed itself as ‘a shining city on a hill’, ‘the vanguard of democracy’, and a society where rule of law is the hallmark of a fair and just society, seems to have a problem where the actions of the president can be discussed, possibly, as high crimes versus misdemeanours.
President Trump has likened whistle-blowing to spying, suggesting that the source of the leak had committed treason. “You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart with spies and treason, right?” Trump remarked at a private event in New York. “We used to handle it a little differently than we do now.”
He further demanded an apology from the whistleblower. “The Whistleblower and others spoke BEFORE seeing the Transcript. Now they must apologise to me and stop this ridiculous impeachment!” Trump tweeted.
His view is a strong deviation from sentiments once held by his predecessor. (“If you blow the whistle, you should be thanked. You should be protected for doing the right thing. You shouldn’t be ignored and you certainly shouldn’t be punished,” said Barack Obama in 2014. How quickly things have changed!
Trumpian Politics
As bad as things might be in Jamaica — it is highly unlikely that we will have a prime minister who will revert to the gutter, as has President Trump, with his intimidatory comments directed at the whistle-blower.
We have seen political operatives demonstrating their willingness to bat along party lines on any given issue. But, for the most part, the country’s history has shown that our prime ministers, in their public pronouncements, have largely respected the office.
The recent adverse National Identification System ruling against the Government, and Prime Minister Holness’ subsequent comments, have been respectful of our democratic process and the separation of the branches of government.
In Jamaica, we are yet to see the utilisation of the Protected Disclosures Act. I have previously written about the tediousness in following the guidelines in utilising said legislation, lack of public knowledge on the legislation, and awareness of the processes.
Though we have seen what appear to be instances of public-sector workers “sharing/leaking” information about internal happenings within government agencies to the media, as has been evident in the Petrojam scandal, it is not the same as utilising the Protected Disclosures Act.
Whistle-blowing is an essential tool for any organisation. Without it, fraud, misconduct, and failure may dominate the entity. As a people, we state that we want change and we have the legislation to help in stemming corruption. Therefore, how about those of us with knowledge of corrupt practices taking the bold and ethical step of blowing the whistle.
Gruelling Process
Blowing the whistle can be a long and gruelling process and is the ethical thing to do. It addresses wrongdoing and allows justice to reach the depths of companies and government agencies that otherwise may remain unexposed.
With the ‘informer fi dead’ culture, some Jamaicans may rightfully be fearful and refrain from blowing the whistle. Despite well-written legislation, mistreatment of whistle-blowers still exists. Not everyone will welcome the courageous act of whistle-blowing; some colleagues may very well victimise their co-worker(s) for putting an end to the greasing of the wheel.
Promoting a whistle-blowing culture is needed in the fight against corruption. Management and other leaders must demonstrate the inclusion of whistle-blowing in public- and private-sector culture.
All is not lost. Based on social observation of the trend in Jamaican users on Twitter, on any given day, the Jamaica Constabulary Force is kept busy with increased levels of information sharing. This is a promising and welcome change for transforming the culture and the future of sharing information in Jamaica.
