SCANDALS, LIKE a subterranean fever, keep erupting, adding more blemishes to the face of the nation which should be blushing with embarrassment at the epidemic of corruption which almost daily comes to light.
Policemen in Montego Bay are alleged to have accepted a US$50,000 (J$31 million) bribe in a 'shake down' exercise at Sign, Irwin, involving a popular businessman whose colleagues were recently arrested on narcotics charges. The fraud is being investigated by senior members of the Force but it would be much better if such an investigation was carried out by an independent body as the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) had recommended in its Emancipation Park Declaration should be established.
The debate on corruption has recently been sharpened and usefully focused on the difference between corruption as defined by law and corruption arising from unethical behaviour which may not be per se criminal. Reports of irregularities at the Jamaica Mortgage Bank seem to fall into the latter category and the corrective action being taken appears to be following the classic procedures for how unethical conduct should be handled. Even as the Financial Investigation Division of the Finance Ministry is investigating the alleged breaches, Mr. Peter Thomas, Chairman of the Board of Directors, tendered his resignation to the Minister and this was accepted. This does not imply that Mr. Thomas himself was involved in any questionable activity but as the person responsible for the overall performance of the Bank, his resignation was the honourable course to take. This does not happen often in the Jamaican culture and is a refreshing ethical step in the right direction.
In a related development Mr. Everton Hanson, managing director of the bank was asked to resign and when he refused the Board dismissed him. Presumed innocent until proven guilty notwithstanding, the Board's action appears to be in the interest of a public company and was presumably based on reasonable prima facie evidence. If the matter is taken to Court let the chips fall where they will.
Without prejudice to the events at the Jamaica Mortgage Bank, too often in public life in Jamaica issues of ethics and responsibility are obfuscated by legal technicalities and definitions with an insistence that responsible officers may not themselves have benefited personally. For a change, the emphasis seems to be on making sure that unethical behaviour will not be tolerated. It is a principle which needs to be adhered to in all spheres of public life.
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
