Anti-Corruption Declaration Introduced
There is an anti-corruption declaration in place that relevant parties from the public and private sectors met late last year to formulate. Today, that declaration was introduced to the public after the leaders of the various parties, including the President of the Public Service Union, Dean Flowers, attached their names to the document. The declaration is a set of principles that guide how we can improve governance in Belize on a whole, in order to ensure that good governance is the order of the day. It’s a message not only to the government, but to the political parties that they had better adhere to good governance and transparency. Today, the Minister of the Public Service said that they did not only get the message, but agree that this is a necessary step in the right direction. Marion Ali was present when the relevant parties attached their signatures to the document and filed this report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
Today several persons representing the public and private sector attached their signatures to an Anti-Corruption Declaration that their organization or entity worked on as a guide to good governance practices. The Minister of the Public Service, Henry Charles Usher, said that the Good Governance Unit within that ministry spearheaded the project because of the need to have good governance front and centre of the way we do business, particularly in the public sector.
Henry Charles Usher
Henry Charles Usher, Minister of the Public Service
“We need to enforce what the principles are in this declaration, and that’s why it was important that the government establish a good governance unit, because that unit is the focal point for all good governance initiatives in the government. We have to make sure that we look at all legislation. We look at all the areas and we have to be able to train public officers to identify areas that may be weak controls that may be need to be put in place.”
A lot of good governance requirements, however, rely on legislation, some of which have still not been enacted.
Henry Charles Usher
“The legislation on protected disclosures that has already been introduced. We have other legislation protecting witnesses, we have legislation dealing with other areas that are in this declaration. But the areas that we don’t have the legislation yet, we have to work with the Attorney General, with the substantive ministry to get those legislations in place. The good governance unit has been looking at different campaign finance laws in the region throughout the world to do a comparison and see what best would work in Belize. They’ve also been reviewing the proposal sent by the Belize Chamber of Commerce on campaign finance and we hope to have a paper soon on that can be, that can go to cabinet and hopefully then get into legislation.”
One of the signatories to the declaration was the President of the Public Service Union, Dean Flowers on behalf of his union members. He told News Five that when the Whistleblowers Legislation is enacted, it will provide a medium through which anyone can make a complaint of corruption in the public service.
Dean Flowers
Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union
“If it is that any member of the public is trying to access service, and they’re being requested to pay. If there is any solicitation of any kind, it is important that the Belizean people understand you must document that in writing, reduce that solicitation in writing to the head of department, to the union. We will be an agency once the whistleblowers legislation is introduced, through which public officers or members of the public can come to lodge their complaint when it is that they’re being solicited unfairly, whether it be by our immigration officers, our custom officers, our traffic wardens, it doesn’t matter.”
Flowers pointed out that to not address corruption from now would make the situation worse for our children.
Dean Flowers
“If we continue along the path that we’re going, the victims of this will not be us because currently we look for instant gratification. I’m a lawyer. But we do not understand that the foundation that we’re laying will be a very sad one and a very bad one for our children and our grandchildren who might not even have the luxury of accessing these departments without paying a bribe.”
Marion Ali for News Five.
