Rule of law

By Dr Orville Taylor

When a lawyer can honestly tell me that he rejects cases or tells his client to plead guilty when he knows that he is, he can talk to me about corruption.

In the umpteen cases where an attorney is discovered to have defrauded his clients but his colleagues close ranks and refuse to take action against him, or when he makes restitution after the police were called in, what do we call that? What are the real numbers of these incidents when they do not end up running away to Cuba or England or get disbarred?

In situations when public officers obey the Staff Orders or other Public Service Regulations but are pressured by the politicians to do what is politically expedient, that is clearly corrupt. Similarly, when ministers tried to subvert the technocrats and make the political party act on behalf of a government in the extradition saga of Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, it was the same creature.

It was also dishonest and bordered on sheer hypocrisy when, in that same case, members of the private sector, civil society and Opposition asked then Minister of Justice, Dorothy Lightbourne, to sign the extradition warrant although her expert civil servants in the Attorney General's Chambers said that their legal opinion was that she should not.

A government that failed to act against its sitting member of Parliament who was implicated in a matter resulting in convictions in the Mabey & Johnson corruption case in England or the Trafigura Beheer debacle in the Netherlands has no moral authority to speak on matters of immorality and illegality.

When politicians of both sides of the House conspire to pass laws to take away the discretion of judges in determining bail eligibility, despite its apparent unconstitutionality, or when they agree to unilaterally change the contractual terms and conditions of government workers, where is the respect of rule of law?

A mysterious repudiation of the expert advice of a public servant who, without political bias, opined based on her legal expertise, without a timely, publicly stated explanation of where she went wrong, is hardly morally circumspect.

And a House of Representatives that gives itself protection from defamation suits when its members make vicious and libellous statements about others cannot honestly be trying to set a standard for truth and morality. Add to that the uncensored behaviour of an uncontrollable member of Parliament who goes so far as to commit assault at common law on a public servant but is inexplicably not even forced to publicly apologise, and we have a set of legislators who have as much testicular fortitude as a bay gelding.

Deep-rooted corruption

When speculation that the lack of sanctions is due to his consanguine relationship with the Queen or his seat being as safe as latex, it is either pure bias, dishonesty or maybe deep secrets held for the powerful.

When a teacher knows that the brown man's child is actually 'duncer' than the child who scored 90s in the GSAT examination but she gives the place in the tradi-tional high school to him, what is she doing?

If a pastor knows that despite the Child Care and Protection Act, the deacon is fondling the little boys and girls in Sunday school, that is corruption. Also, where the principal knows that a child's stepfather, a prominent benefactor of the institution, is an incestuous paedophile and then does nothing, what do you call it?

Recent studies in human resources management revealed that the majority of persons who gained employment in the services and financial sectors over the past decade did so as a result of personal contacts that they have with individuals employed within or associated with employees. Does this mean that companies' policies are being followed?

Is it nepotism when it has to do with a slew of Labourites packing up the offices of the various ministries under the Jamaica Labour Party, or when the People's National Party employs its loyalists as consultants, even though the jobs are sinecures?

And if one is caught under-invoicing imports for use in the business sector, or if the majority of uncollected taxes is from the private sector, and the tax burden is disproportionately borne by salaried workers, do we have an honest set of capitalists, who are willing to see a clean and just society?

And when, despite the reports done on contract work for the International Labour Organisation and the observations since 2001 regarding the state of security workers, governments have ignored their plight, what adjective or noun, beyond the four-letter Jamaican words, do we use?

The behaviour of government, politicians and the private sector has lacked transparency.

The moral silver lining

Despite the formation of the National Integrity Action, the activism of groups like Jamaicans for Justice and others, and the vigilance of the contractor general, the Corruption Perception Index has remained a constant 3.3 for the past two years.

On the other hand, we have seen a constabulary that has done wonders in its attempt to create a high standard police service. Amid the dark clouds of the recent charges preferred against face of the police force, Senior Superintendent James Forbes, businessman Bruce Bicknell and Teflon-coated parliamentarian/businessman Daryl Vaz, there is a silver lining.

The moral strength of a police organisation to allow for its Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) to investigate and send a matter involving two of its brightest stars to the director of public prosecutions (DPP) is commendable. That the commissioner of police supposedly needs to give a statement to the DPP's investigators but makes it clear that he is not interested in knowing the identity of the officer speaks to how far we have come.

Just two weeks earlier, a senior policeman was removed from an examination for allegedly cheating or attempting to cheat. Given his stature, the chief invigilator could have easily tapped him on his wrist and moved on.

Furthermore, the assistant commissioner in charge of training or the High Command could have easily put a Band-Aid or piece of toilet tissue on it and flushed it out of the public scrutiny.

But no, over the past few years more than 200 members of the constabulary have been charged and some convicted of criminality. True, there was an overrepresentation of the rank and file, meaning police personnel the rank of inspector and below. However, there has been one superintendent who was convicted for involvement in collecting money illegally, another who was convicted for not filing returns under the Corruption Prevention Act (CPA), and 17 are defending charges under the act. A few years ago, an inspector was convicted of assault.

What is clear here is that no one is immune to arrest, because the law is the law. Since 2012, close to 50 persons have been charged for breaches of the CPA. The ACB has received more than 800 complaints since January. Add to that a district constable, being suspected by his colleague of illegality, was searched and charged for a firearm which had been stolen but found clumsily ensconced on his person as an abnormally large bulge. Our police are holding themselves more accountable than we are giving them credit for.

Nonetheless, none of the three men is guilty unless the court says so. Let us not forget this lesson. Because to convict them before the judge or jury does makes us unlawful, perverse and corrupt too.

Dr Orville Taylor is senior lecturer in sociology at the UWI and a radio talk-show host. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and tayloronblackline@hotmail.com.