1.Following the last general elections the
Nationalist Party handed over to the incoming Government a healthy democracy
and a sound economy. We successfully
transformed the disastrous state of affairs we had inherited in 1987 from
former Labour-led governments into a multitude ofbenefits for our citizens and
for our country. That is precisely what
we left behind. These are the undeniable
facts. Unfortunately though, there are
now signs which indicate that this administration shall refrain from
maintaining and developing further all these positive measures that we had
introduced. Not only is the day-to-day
performance of this so-called “new movement of progressives and moderates” very
poor, but it is now becoming evidently clear that a process that aims to weaken
our democracy , is underway.
2.There is no such thing as the “new
movement”. The present Government’s
tactics are no different to those pursued by other Labour during their infamous
“Golden Years”. During the last
electoral campaign, promises were made on numerous occasions that a new Labour
Government would eliminate bad practices and introduce a “modern” way of
governing. Many were those who believed
them. Of these, many others are today
realizing that they have been deceived.
3. One of the
highlights of these series of gaffes made to date by the Government took place
precisely during the last parliamentary sitting. Cabinet chose intentionally that day to
submit the declaration of assets held by Ministers and Parliamentary
Secretaries. This decision was evidently made in order to avoid criticism
from the Opposition benches. Declaration
of assets by persons in power are
necessary in a society that aims
to help prevent abuse of power,
reduce corruption and increase public accountability.
4.Each Minister
and Parliamentary Secretary is in duty bound to declare his or her assets in
accordance with the Code of Ethics. A
measure introduced , self imposed, by
the Nationalist Party in Government. The
reasons for the introduction of this procedure were two-fold. Firstly, because the general public has the
right to know what assets each member of the Executive holds. Secondly, these declarations serve to prevent
Ministers or Parliamentary Secretaries from being falsely accused of making any
unlawful financial gain during the course of their tenure of office.
5.Through this
procedure, therefore, electors have
access to the details of assets owned by Ministers and Parliamentary
Secretaries from the date of their appointment until termination of office. This is a direct and simple check mechanism
which persons who wish to serve in politics with honesty and dignity
should be proud to conform with.
However, this Government has failed to adhere to these democratic
procedures. Instead of giving a true
picture of their assets and earnings, some Ministers have actually strived to
cloud them.
6.This conduct un
becoming of a member of the executive has automatically generated suspicion among the general public. The
public’s trust in politicians has been further put at stake, for two other
reasons. Primarily, many were
dumbfounded at how affluent most members of
the Labour Party really are. Strange when this is the same Party which had
been portraying itself as the “natural” one for the middle and lower class . The long list of properties, monies invested
or even held in private residences, have
in the last weeks featured amongst the most widely discussed topics within our
local community. While many are
shocked, others jokingly say that they will be seeking interest free loans from
the abundance of certain Ministers.
7. Further more,
the direct message conveyed by various Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries
was that they had attempted to misinform
their voters about the wealth they owned
and coralled over the years. The
position became even more worrying when
the proprietors of these assets did not
provide valid and credible explanations for the discrepancies shown between the value of the
assets held and their declared annual incomes.
8.The Code of Ethics is designed to fight
corruption and prescribes sound ethical standards for Ministers to follow. Unfortunately, not only has the Prime
Minister failed to rectify the declaration of assets issue, but he has once
again made a mockery of them. Just as he is persistingly allowing other members of the Executive to continue
conducting their private practices, the Prime Minister is now allowing these
incorrect declarations. It is no rocket
science to realise that following this course of action is leading to a decay
for our country’s democratic foundations.
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