Dear Editor,
SHOCK and awe reverberated through the nation last week, precipitated by the Guyana Chronicle’s riveting revelation that Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud, “late January applied to himself and granted approval for his business, Professional Outdoor Supplies, to be granted permission as a registered firearms dealer, as well as being licensed to carry various calibre of weapons.”

In local parlance, talking to yourself is not insanity, but it is when you answer back.
The commissioner of police would later say in another report that he saw nothing wrong with his actions. He said there was precedence, since other outgoing commissioners had granted themselves similar facilities. An indictment that the commissioner belonged to a different era, a different time. The high drama continued when Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan ordered the commissioner to revoke his own licences.

The pomp and ceremony of his farewell parade which brought an end to the Top Cop’s 33-year career were overshadowed by the commissioner’s latest controversy. And sadly, the longevity which accompanied his life as a policeman was not to be had as a businessman, as no sooner by his own hand had his venture begun, that it was undone.
The only thing which could steal the thunder at the time was the security minister’s subsequent, ‘Haul yuh @$$’ comment when “provoked” by veteran journalist Denis Chabrol, who had pressed him on aspects of the Seelall affair. The minister subsequently apologised.

I would argue that the likes of Gem Madhoo-Nascimento, Ron Robinson, Lyndon “Jumbie” Jones, and Maria Benschop or any of our other theatrical minds do not have the individual or collective capacity to dream up this quality of national satire.

Times have changed and public officials need to understand this, post-haste. This is a different dispensation. It is no longer the 1960s. Information is instant and so is censuring. Likewise, things must be different for a government elected on a mandate of CHANGE. Few things stay hidden, especially in an era we hope to be characterised by such themes as accountability, transparency and good governance. And I would think that by even the standard of the draft Code of Conduct of the Granger Administration, there is still a measure for all ministers of government, members of the National Assembly and public office holders.

The draft Code of Conduct reads, “Public office holders are duty bound by this code in all aspects of their public life. This code does not seek to regulate the conduct of public office holders in their private and personal lives. Public office holders have a duty to uphold the law, including the general law against discrimination and sexual harassment, and to act with propriety on all occasions in accordance with the public trust and confidence placed in them. Public office holders have a general duty to act in the interest of the nation as a whole and owe a special duty of care to their constituents, and citizens.”

Under the section related to Conflict of Interest, the code states, “A conflict-of-interest situation arises when the “private interests” of the public office holder compete or conflict with the interests of the State. “Private interests” mean both the financial and personal interests of the official and staff or those of their connections, including: family and other relations; personal friends; other companies or business interests which they hold or own (both in part or in whole)….” The draft code has been published since 2015. It is time to have it enacted.

Additionally, only last month President David Granger told the Guyana Police Force’s conference, “Lawless policemen have no place in a lawful force. A force, which is contaminated by corruption, cannot safeguard the security of our citizens. Service in the force must be based on the values of commitment, competence and incorruptibility… If corruption is concealed, it will continue. Transferring a corrupt officer from one branch to another or posting him from one division to another, or promoting or demoting him from one rank to another cannot guarantee that he will change his wicked ways.”
President Granger is on the right path and I have every confidence he will remain there resolutely without fear or favour, affection or ill will.

In times like these, I remember what former Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar referred to as “the measure of value-based leadership”. Her words are etched in memory when she fired Minister of the People and Social Development, Dr Glenn Ramdharsingh:

“I am always aware of the higher expectation upon which this government was elected and the immense responsibility each of us has to uphold public trust in all we do every single day of our lives. It is not a responsibility we can choose to have one day and lose the next. I am reminded of Gandhi’s identification of one of seven social sins as being ‘politics without principle.’

I have insisted from the moment we took office that everyone of us must display a sound character of public integrity, fairness, humility, compassion and human dignity. No man, nor woman for that matter, has been allowed nor will be permitted to deviate from the very principles upon which we were elected by the people into office. I know there will be arguments put forward by some as to what was condoned in the past administration to allow for continuity, but I disagree.

There must be no compromise on integrity, no allowance for arrogance, no room for violation of mutual respect; there will be no sacrifice of our values on the altar of political expediency. Regardless of whether the decisions I take hurt me politically or not, I have the strength and courage and independence of mind to measure every tough decision on the basis of what is right and just. As I have always said, regardless of the consequences, I remain resolved to do the right thing, because it is the right thing to do.”
#MayTheForceBeWithYou!
Regards,
Sherod Duncan