Dear Editor,

THE recent exposé by a vendor of being victimised after giving testimony before the Com-mission of Inquiry (CoI) into the administration and operations of the Mayor and City Council (M&CC), shows the length that some persons who have been placed in positions of influence would go, which is way beyond the pale, to protect themselves, their cohorts and their enterprises.

These actions, though not totally shocking coming from where it did, were nonetheless abominable and just plain reprehensible. Anyone familiar with the Law of Omerta, would realise that there are elements within the Council, like Kingpins, Crime Lords and Mob Bosses, who expect the Code of Silence to be practised by their subjects, whether staff, contractors, vendors, suppliers and soldiers under their control, remaining studiously silent irrespective of the punishment meted out to them. This code of honour places importance on silence, non-cooperation with authorities, and non-interference in the illegal actions of others. They expect to have absolute or nearly absolute control over their subordinates; they expect to be greatly feared for their ruthlessness and willingness to do whatever is necessary to maintain their influence, and benefits from the endeavours they undertake.

It may have been surprising to some that the ‘Queen’ herself descended to get personally involved in teaching the vendor a lesson by removing her from her spot; but one must understand the message that was being sent to other vendors, should they consider appearing before the Commission to report the poor administration of and unsatisfactory conditions in the markets.

I am sure that the Local Government Commission realises that their best source of information about mismanagement, fraud, and abuse in the Council shall come from existing municipal employees who are committed to public integrity and who are willing to speak out. Such acts of courage and patriotism, which can improve the delivery of citizens’ services and often save millions upon millions of taxpayers’ dollars, should be encouraged rather than stifled. We need to empower municipal employees as watchdogs of wrongdoing and to become partners in performance.

If the Commission is to receive more current employees of the Council, contractors and businesspersons at the hearing, then they will have to expand and improve the witness protection guarantees being offered, as persons are aware of how swift and ruthless the retaliation to whistleblowers at City Hall can be. One just has to be reminded of what was done to the witness of the sexual assault of a juvenile by a colleague a few months ago.

Regards

Aanu Bihari