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Anti-corruption poppyshow

Published:Thursday | July 18, 2019 | 12:18 AM

THE EDITOR, Sir:

Corruption is a serious blight on any organisation, let alone a country. It is a matter that must be dealt with seriously and not be used for grandstanding and political gamesmanship. That is why I think the recent public rally and vigil by the leadership of the People’s National Party (PNP) about corruption in public life may be likened to J-FLAG holding an anti-sodomy, anti-same sex rally. Protests against what you have been hugging up? Poppyshow!

This new-found virtue runs counter to their behaviour over many years and silence on what is being uncovered in the Manchester Municipal Corporation under their watch. While some people are dismissive of the comparisons being made of the two main political parties on the matter of corruption, arguing that a tit for tat is unhelpful, it is hard not to be extremely cynical when one hears some of the leading voices in the current anti-corruption campaign.

Corruption takes many forms, including a corruption of conscience. In this regard, I cannot help but have a cynical laugh whenever I hear Professor Trevor Munroe’s pronouncements demanding integrity in public life. In the 1990s, then Prime Minister P.J. Patterson named him as an independent senator. Somehow, he never found it possible to vote against the position of the PNP senators and ultimate later ran as the PNP candidate in Eastern St Andrew in one of the later elections. Having lost, he reinvented himself for the umpteenth time as a voice of moderation and probity in public life, targeting his heaviest criticisms towards the current government. Give me a break!

If we are to be serious about this matter, member of parliaments on both sides of the aisle must be made to step down forthwith, and those who have benefitted from their activities in running election campaigns should just stay silent. Do not pollute the atmosphere with hypocrisy.

Cecil Aiken