Corruption and inequality must be tackled now

For a Government that campaigned the length and breadth of the country against the morass of corruption allegations in the last regime, it should send a clear signal that much more needs to be done and thus far its efforts are much ado about nothing.

It is not just about locking up and prosecution of previous governments, it is now about securing a corruption-free future. To do this we need to be clear about what is needed.

Apart from the obvious procurement legislation, there is the not so obvious party and campaign finance reform agenda and the institutional strengthening necessary for investigation and apprehension. It is also about the fact that our legislation focuses on the narrowest possible definition of public officers to whom it applies and ignores the role of the private sector in aiding and abetting corruption.

And finally, it is about ensuring that there is equality of opportunity for all citizens, opportunity that is based on ethical procedures and practices which ensure equal access to government services, untainted as it were by ethnocentrism, cronism and nepotism.

All governments frequently make the mistake of assuming that five years is a long time.

And if this Government is to escape unscathed it should bring to the table the whole anti-corruption agenda (inclusive of not only the legislation but also its operationalisation) now, so that its own performance may be judged and circumscribed by this legislation.

Four percent will not allow for the luxury of time and the remaining three and half years are simply too long to wait for a country starved of good governance for far too long. All right-minded citizens need to demand this if the county’s standing in the international community is to improve and we are to attract the foreign investment that we are searching for.

Satu-Ann Ramcharan via email