Stepping carefully

AS WE have said before, the Inquiry into the Piarco Development Project would be a huge and costly exercise in futility if its findings did not result in the criminal prosecution of those responsible for this colossal scandal. In our view, the public inquiry, the longest of its kind ever held in TT, will be regarded as worthwhile or successful only to the extent that it provides prima facie evidence for the laying of charges against a clutch of persons involved in this notorious project.

Indeed, decent, law-abiding citizens, who demand honesty in government, will be outraged if, after following the daily revelations of the Inquiry, nothing is done to bring justice to this wholesale and shameless plundering of the public purse. That is why they must feel assured by the Government’s careful approach to bringing this sordid affair to its necessary conclusion. It would be a tremendous frustration if anything is done that would present a legal recourse for those who may be charged under the country’s corruption laws. We must agree then with Prime Minister Manning and Attorney General Morean about the need to “sanitise” the report before if can be laid in Parliament and thus made public.

The AG has pointed out that because the report has implications for criminal action the Government had to be careful that it does not provide justification for judicial review applications because of prior publication. We quite expected, of course, what the AG has said, that there are really no surprises in the report. The Commissioners would have given their comments and their recommendations on the basis of evidence adduced by witnesses testifying before them, evidence which has been reported extensively in the daily press. Logically, we can only assume that among their recommendations would be the appropriate action to be taken against a number of persons whom the testimony has implicated. Also, we expect, the Commissioners would have suggested means, measures and possible mechanisms  to be adopted to prevent the recurrence of such a fiasco.

As far as we are concerned, our society cannot afford to be complacent or compromising about corruption in public office, particularly among those elected to conduct the nation’s business. This is where, in fact, we expect the highest standard of integrity to prevail and be exemplified, and any derogation from it not only leads to a selfish and venal siphoning of taxpayers’ money but also sets the tone and mores for the rest of the society. Those who have attended the public sittings of the Piarco Airport Inquiry or followed its progress through daily reports in the Press would have been horrified by the revelations coming from the stream of witnesses who testified before it.

From its planning to its execution to its completion, this undertaking to build a new airport  was subjected to an unbelievable level of mismanagement, lack of financial control and accountability, a disregard for established procedure and sheer greed that history will regard it as the most notorious public construction project ever undertaken in Trinidad and Tobago. Those who are responsible for this national disgrace must be brought to justice if our society is to preserve its self respect and demonstrate its zero tolerance for dishonesty and corruption in public office.