Open Letter on the TCI Commission of Inquiry

My Fellow TCIslanders

Now that the hearings have ended, this seems an appropriate time to address the frustrations and concerns many of you have shared with me about the conduct of the ongoing Inquiry into government corruption or other serious dishonesty in our country.

I am especially mindful that your feelings in this respect have been exacerbated by the testimony the Commission extracted from one government official after another during these hearings.  After all, watching these officials walk into the Inquiry room, incriminate themselves and walk out again must have seemed tantamount to watching bank robbers walk into a police station, confess their crimes and walk out again.

Not to mention then learning that Governor Gordon Wetherell has extended the time by which the Commission should present its preliminary report to 30 April 2009, which I gather many of you regard as an invitation for the alleged culprits to continue their corrupt practices just a little while longer….

Nevertheless, I want to assure all of you that there is a serene and informed method behind Sir Robin’s conduct of this Inquiry.  And Governor Wetherell’s extension of the time for him to present the Commission’s report is entirely consistent with this method.

I feel constrained to assert, however, that Sir Robin could not have been any clearer in declaring at the outset and throughout this Inquiry that:

It is not my job to make findings of guilt or to exonerate those against whom allegations have been made. The most I can do … is to recommend further and more searching  investigations, say, by the police and/or some other public enforcement body with a view to criminal prosecution, recovery of the proceeds of crime if proved and/or consideration of other sanctions.

Therefore, I urge you to spare him anymore exhortations to “lock the bastards up.” 

That said, I am entirely sympathetic to the notion that the information adduced at the hearings clearly established probable cause for Sir Robin to recommend the immediate suspension of the TCI Constitution and freezing of the bank accounts of all witnesses who either incriminated themselves or were implicated in corruption; especially since any delay could lead to a squandering of ill-gotten gains that should be disgorged back to the public treasury.

Moreover, the Commission now has constructive notice of what amounts to a criminal syndicate masquerading as a local government in the TCI.  And this should compel Sir Robin to make these emergency recommendations to mitigate our financial and reputational losses, to say nothing of the growing contingent liabilities of the British government.

Nevertheless, after suffering so many years of government corruption and abuse, it seems rather disingenuous for us to complain now of irreparable harm because Sir Robin has been granted a few more months to complete his report.   And this is especially so – given that the prorogation of the House and the Governor’s apparent moratorium on questionable conveyances of Crown Land should serve as sufficient mitigation in these respects.

In addition, I have no doubt that, notwithstanding their unwise and salutary neglect, which in fact enabled much of this corruption and abuse, British authorities are monitoring the work of the Commission vigilantly and will be poised to impose whatever structures and measures are necessary to execute the recommendations in its report with dispatch. 

[N]obody should be surprised … when the Commission reports that government officials have fostered such a thriving and infectious culture of “corruption and serious dishonesty” … that it would offend all notions of good governance for the ruling PNP to be allowed to continue to govern.

(The case for an Interim Government in the TCI, by Anthony L. Hall, Caribbean Net News, November 14, 2008)

As this most recent reiteration attests, I determined some time ago that the only way to repair the damage done to our country (in terms of good governance and respect for the rule of law) is for the British to impose an Interim Government.  And its governing mandate should be to prosecute all those implicated in the Commission’s report and implement reforms to redress the “systemic weaknesses in the law, governance and administration” of the TCI.

Incidentally, even though I would expect Belongers to be tapped to serve, only foolish pride would cause offense to be taken if seasoned British administrators are appointed to key positions in this Interim Government.  Indeed, I urge Attorney General Kurt DeFreitas to request that Alex Milne, lead counsel to the Inquiry, be retained to assist his office in any prosecutions Sir Robin recommends in his report.

These interim measures are clearly necessary to reform our civil service and transform the “cross-party culture” that purportedly gave rise to government corruption, abuse and incompetence.  And they must be implemented if we have any hope of attracting the kind of foreign direct investments that will contribute to our sustainable development.

I am encouraged in this respect by the fact that the British are already putting supervening structures and personnel in place to determine needs assessments and manage disbursements of funds pursuant to a £5 million grant from the UK for post-Hurricane Ike recovery and reconstruction.

Meanwhile, there is a silver lining in the global financial crisis that is just beginning to reverberate throughout our economy. Because the two years it will take America and other developed nations to recover will be just the interim we might need to prepare ourselves to make more sustainable use of foreign investments and government revenues again.

All human wisdom is summed up in two words: wait and hope.

(Alexandre Dumas)

NOTE:  In previous commentaries I lamented the failure of any minister or senior member of the ruling PNP to lead timely efforts “to throw Premier Misick overboard to save the TCI”. This compelled me to dismiss their belated efforts (including leadership challenges and tendering resignations) as akin to shuffling chairs on the deck of the Titanic. 

Yet I feel obliged to reiterate my abiding belief that there are conscientious and competent supporters of the PNP whose participation in an Interim Government would be not only desirable but also critical.  In fact, what we need now is a government of national unity, where we eschew blind party loyalties in favor of supporting individuals who can best serve our national interests.

* This Open Letter was published today at Caribbean Net News and The TCI Journal as well.

Related commentaries:
Governor extends TCI Commission of Inquiry
Throwing Premier Misick overboard is necessary…