Laws are established sometimes as a means to an end and as an end in themselves. The promulgation of law is meant to protect people from being harmed by others, prevent violent crime, to protect property and allow the access to and the dissemination of information to the public; this list is by no means exhaustive. But to continue, laws are also meant to protect the society against acts of corruption: petty corruption, grand corruption, systemic corruption, government-public sector corruption, corruption in the education system and good God of all mercies, anti-corruption laws must protect the citizens of a country from corrupt administrators, law enforcement officers and those in a position of authority in all sectors. And this list too is not complete.
On the other hand and importantly where these laws appear to be ineffective and problematic, or where the guardians of the law, the Parliament, or the investigative, prosecutorial or Commissioners of a Commission are falling short of making a real difference, or are not setting a mark and changing perception or fixing the reality of the stench of crime, perception of corruption and rampant disorder, then measures must, post haste, be put in place to cauterize and in a metaphorical sense put a stranglehold on the problem.
We recommend that the law books must be amended to reflect that there is now a new abominable crime called corruption, and the stench associated with its perpetuation is decades old and the readiness of legislation to effectively address the endemic problem is, to say the least shameful.
Consequently, we also recommend that the Parliament of the day, when considering the amendment of, or the introduction of any law and, especially anti-corruption laws, that there must be sincere consultation with all stakeholders; and not the appearance of Nicodemus appearing in the night, inserting and excising provisions and promulgating toothless laws. These manouvers are disingenuous and are not meant to change the status quo, but rather to satisfy campaign promises or appease our international partners, under the guise of being transparent.
Thirdly, the selection of Commissioners of all Commissions of Parliament needs review, not all retired Judges make good chairmen, you could be seen as bright as the stadium bulb on a dark night at the Buju Banton Long Walk to Freedom Concert.
Lines of communication are very important and must be carefully created and inserted, as we are not playing “ketchie shubbie”, in our back yards in days of old, but we are treating with a new crime of passion, called corruption, the abominable crime. Corruption transcends both political parties, is deeply entrenched in the construction industry, and is seemingly a game changer with a direct link to persons carrying out public functions, specifically some public officials, who are complicit in acts of corruption with persons known and unknown.
