AG Morean: UNC Govt broke regional corruption laws

ATTORNEY-GENERAL Glenda Morean declared it was hypocritical for the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) to accuse Government of corruption when it flouted a regional convention on corruption it signed while in office.

Addressing heads and members of statutory authorities at the Cascadia Hotel on Friday, the AG highlighted the Exchequer and Audit Act and the Freedom of Information Act as two mechanisms used by Government to combat corruption and ensure transparency in public affairs. “This country has seen only too clearly in the six years of rule by the last regime the disastrous effect corruption has had on the country. It is ironic to note that Trinidad and Tobago signed and ratified the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption in 1998 which mandated us to combat corruption by the introduction of systems to promote inter-alia transparency and accountability in public affairs. In fact the Freedom of Information Act 1999, is one of the measures designed to discharge this obligation,” she declared.

Morean added that over the last six years, Trinidad and Tobago was only too painfully aware of the high price of corruption. “The excesses of the last regime in their handling of the Piarco Airport project provide ample testimony of this proposition,” the AG stated grimly. Recalling her recent disclosure to Parliament about Govern-ment’s legal costs in handling corruption matters totalling $10 million, Morean hinted “the time we get to the end of operation clean-up, the cost is likely to have quadrupled”. “The price we have to pay to clean up the Augean Stables is great but necessary,” she told her audience.  Noting that the procurement process provided fertile ground for corrupt practices, the AG disclosed that Government is currently preparing legislation to deal with this issue and bankruptcy. She added it was incumbent on companies not bound by the Central Tenders Board to carefully review their procurement processes.

Chairman of the Integrity Commission, Justice Gerard des Iles said the issue of corruption became a “grave danger when no one thinks there is anything wrong with it”. He then revealed that from 1999 to 2002, the Commission had insufficient forms for persons to declare their assets and appealed to the relevant authorities to address this deficiency.