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According to Transparency International, “Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. It hurts everyone who depends on the integrity of people in a position of authority”. If you don’t prosecute, there will be no local record of criminality and therefore no international record of the same. I believe this is the game that is being played in Vincentian politics for the last 14 years.
Under the ULP regime, no one is ever arrested for corruption. They are enquired into, investigated, and if found to be a ULP supporter, often given a better job. By adopting this procedure there are no international reports that will damage the SVG government on the world stage. Yet corruption is rife in just about every ministry, every government department and every government agency. Few if any are ever taken before a court. There are therefore no public records generated of wrongdoing.
The finding of Transparency International is quite worrying. They are either being lied to or being starved of information. There are dozens of instances of corrupt practices in SVG. Whispers and mentions in court proceedings of top government ministers being involved in the drug trade, report of a government minister demanding bribe money from a church minister (The church minister claims to have partly paid such demand), ministers that have become unbelievably and impossibly wealthy on a parliamentary salary. Many offences reported in ministries, of ministers, of uninvestigated money laundering by members of government and others; nepotism with ministers children getting top government jobs; exclusive jobs for ULP party members; excessively highly paid jobs (sometimes phantom jobs) given as political favour to old friends of the party and friends of top ministers, exclusion of NDP members and sometimes their families from job opportunities; ministers having free houses built by contractors; ULP members and parliamentarians appear to have immunity from legal proceedings; the son of the Speaker of the House acting as intermediary in a department in which he worked, selling the department electronics at inflated prices; dodgy passport matters; destruction of huge quantity of unissued passports instead of mutilation of the same; Taking money under false pretences for US Green Cards, recently $300,000 stolen from the court registry; Vincentian companies set up by agency chiefs with the same or similar names as suppliers. There are dozens of instances of corruption, all pushed behind a screen, away from the prying eyes of international agencies. No one is ever prosecuted or convicted, so no records exist.
The data sources used to compile the Transparency International index include questions relating to the abuse of public power and focus on bribery of public officials, kickbacks in public procurement, embezzlement of public funds, and on questions that probe the strength and effectiveness of anti-corruption efforts in the public sector.
Of course, such organizations as Transparency International rely on information given them by central government, and also information from the courts. If there is no information fed them, then there has been no recorded wrong doing, nothing perverse to communicate to the region and the rest of the world. By not giving the information to Transparency International we get a good world rating, but it’s a falsity, because they do not know the truth.
I enquire if this is a sort of Maurice Bishop mode of working, where two sets of documentation are kept, or perhaps in this case no documents are raised at all?
So I reiterate, is this a part of the Maurice Bishop unfinished work, or is it even a duplication or mirror image of some of his completed work?
When there is trafficking of girls for prostitution, but no prosecutions, there are no official published reports. When there are brothels using young trafficked girls, but no prosecutions, there are no official published reports. When there are young children forced into the hills to harvest marijuana, but no prosecutions, there are no official published reports.
There are no official published reports but, the “CIA US Country Reports” see right through that. They know what is going on and report on the same. Because they gather information from informants, even government ministers, business people and lawyers. WikiLeaks has shown that to us
Because according to the “CIA US Country Reports”, “St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a source, transit, and destination country for some abused men, women, and children”. In 2013, the US Government wrote, “The Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The government did not refer any potential victims to the center or launch any prosecutions against trafficking offenders“.
The basic problem is the refusal of the ULP government to adopt integrity legislation. In SVG there is no such legislation in place, despite the production of a draft Bill by the NDP, and frequent calls from them to bring that legislation forward. The ULP has taken a reverse and perverse position in stifling such legislation and all attempts to bring it forward.
As long as there is the screen of ULP government silence and misinformation, we will remain a state that can be described as one of immorality and liars, a state with a government who I would personally describe as liars, cheats and thieves.
It goes on to say, “Corruption often goes unchallenged when people do not speak out about it. Witness accounts offer invaluable insights into corruption, and are powerful tools in the fight against it. From exposing multi-million dollar financial scams to dangerous medical practices, whistleblowers play a crucial role in saving resources and even lives.
But in some countries, blowing the whistle can carry high personal risk — particularly when there is little legal protection against dismissal, humiliation or even physical abuse. Controls on information, libel and defamation laws, and inadequate investigation of whistleblowers’ claims can all deter people from speaking out”.
“Whistleblowers are less likely to report workplace misconduct when their employers do not provide clear internal reporting channels. And in some settings, whistleblowing carries connotations of betrayal rather than being seen as a benefit to the public. Ultimately, societies, institutions and citizens lose out when there is no one willing to cry foul in the face of corruption”.
Transparency International’s Advocacy and Legal Advice Centres (ALACs) provide free and confidential legal advice to witnesses and victims of corruption.
Offering a simple, credible and viable mechanism for citizens to pursue their corruption-related complaints, ALACs empower citizens in the fight against corruption. ALACs also play a critical role identifying corruption hotspots that demand reform or official action. Harnessing the powerful, real life data gathered by ALACs on the consequences and mechanisms of corruption, Transparency International chapters engage in strategic advocacy to bring about systemic change in public policy and practice.
Therefore people, civil servants, lawyers, every affected person, please blow the whistle, contact Transparency International; Tell them the story, tell them the truth: [email protected]
If you wish you may also contact the author of this article, who would be pleased to tell it for you, respecting your anonymity in any article that I write.
Peter Binose
The opinions presented in this content belong to the author and may not necessarily reflect the perspectives or editorial stance of iWitness News. Opinion pieces can be submitted to [email protected].
PETER BIGNOSE ADMITS……REALPH GONSALVES IS MIGHTY !!!
Mr BigNose has said that on December 24, 2013 Gonsalves caused the massive flooding in St Vincent. What he did not say was that the Prime Minister ALSO CAUSED massive flooding in Dominica and St Lucia at the same time.
PETER BIGBOSE SAID THAT the 2009 storm we experienced, was also caused by Ralph Gonsalves as well. In fact, The Hon Comrade apparently did such a magnificent job on that storm that he ALSO PRE-ORDERED BUILDING MATERIALS in advance as well.
Mr BigNose, has once more reminded us of the amazing power of King Ralph!
Bignose has just told us that the Prime Minister continues to fool TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL.
This is an international body which has had association with thousands of other international leaders……SO IF RALPH GONSALVES could fool them, he is even much mightier than I imagined.
I don’t think there is anyone in Vincy who doesn’t know what is going on. I remember in 2010 I was in Toronto and a friend of mine came by me laughing and telling me that some of his cousins help throw away ballot boxes last election. I thought it was a joke but he assured me that it was true, this was the day after election before any story broke.
Fast forward to today, and that same family, who help throw away ballot boxes, from spring village every single one of them decided to not vote for ULP again, because it’s gone too far. Look at SVG today, everywhere people are thiefing down the place, we have the recent incident with the registrar and the Prime Minister defending her, we had sexy pastor and the same thing happen. When I think back to the NDP and what they were saying was corruption it was a joke compare to what is happening now, the standards that were placed in SVG were so high at the time, that a minister would resign if he felt a slight ashamed of anything he did.
Now we have people in government who don’t have any shame, who believe they are better than the little man who vote for them. It’s sad but Vincentians deserve what they are getting and more. When you sell out your vote for hundred dollar bills and nice time, you deserve everything you get.I don’t feel sorry for Vincentians at all, bear you grines, it’s what you all voted for.
In reply the false Brian Alexander [fBA]. I say false because this is not Brian Alexander at all, its some nasty little man who supports the ULP and its leaders regardless of right or wrong. The lowest of low in society a supporter of spite, malice, evil and lies. A paid collaborator that would, and has, sold out his own family and friends. Worse than that has sold out the whole of Vincentian society.
I never spoke or wrote such things as he has stated. But the good thing that comes out of his ignorance and evil, is that every time he tells lies, repeats a lies, embroiders and expands lies, it gives me the opportunity to come back with the truth.
“Mr BigNose has said that on December 24, 2013 Gonsalves caused the massive flooding in St Vincent”
I never said such a thing, and I never wrote such a thing. What I pointed out was, that the ULP Marxist regime government had received every year for thirteen years warnings that the river at Buccament should be made safe by urgently installing a river defence. They held a number of consultative meetings with selected residents and government agency people, who I previously gave the names of, but never in all those thirteen years did they do anything whatsoever to make a defence against the river flooding.
The prime minister and the minister of national defence, according to documents, received copies of some if not all of those reports. I pointed out that as Gonsalves tells us he is in charge of every square inch of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, that he was aware or should have been aware of the possible of effects from taking no action, regardless of the warnings he took no action or ordered any remedial action. Now if he claims he was not aware, the answer is he should have been aware.
As the man at the top, I suggested that he be held responsible for the loss of life and property at Buccament. As he told us own the jobs own the government, well its for him to own the responsibility of all those lives and property lost at Buccament.
It is well known that the Buccament resort and houses built next to the river during the last 14 years are built in a flood plain. Built in an area that has been flooded before, many times within the living memory of man. Harlequin who has built the resort with investors money claim they were never told that the resort area is a flood plain. Gonsalves negotiated the original deal with the group which included two English men, which included Dave Ames, A Vincentian and A Barbadian. Did he bring to the attention of any of those people that the river flooded and the area was subject to occasional destructive sea surge. Did the planning department tell Harlequin, did Harlequins Vincentian lawyers carry out proper in depth searches into conditions of the Buccament area. If none of those things happened, Harlequin may have a substantial claim against SVG or his lawyer, depending who is culpable.
Any decent prime minister worth his salt, and in this case one that claims glory for any achievements, must take full responsibility for the failures and resign. But no not our PM, it took him all his life to get where he is, he knows if he resigns, that is the end of him in Vincentian politics.
Of course in answering this defence by smoke screen by fBA it raises previous matters, but does not have any relation to my article, he never made one observation about that, except to say that Transparency International could not be fooled. Well to be sure since reading fBAs comments I have sent the details and location to them of this article. I will of course now also offer them a whole dossier on SVGs hidden corruption. They obviously do not have such information otherwise they would tailor their reports differently.
So thank you fBA for prompting me into further action, and thank you for the deep and far reaching damage that you have now compounded for the Unity Labour Party, the ULP government and its leaders.
https://www.iwnsvg.com/2014/04/26/were-buccament-flood-deaths-murder-by-governmental-neglect/
or just put this in your search engine floods at Buccament
Hi Brian, Don’t change the subject. Is there any truth to Peters’ claims? Of course it could be difficult to prove anything since whistleblowers don’t come forward. One mother told me she cannot speak out because her children are working with the government, so there seems to be some truth to what Peter is claiming.
If we don’t address issues like these then crime will surely increase. All over the Caribbean the governments cannot handle the increase in crime because ministers and other high ranking officials are involved.
One T&T writer ask the following question which is applicable to many Caribbean islands: “Trinidad – A country destined for failure’? No right minded person would like to live in T&T or Jamaica. Many SVG nationals may be thinking the same way.