BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FORMER Minister of National Security under the Dr. Denzil Douglas-led Administration, Dwyer Astaphan is calling for an end to corrupt practices in the twin-island Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
The call was made last Tuesday (Aug. 22) during Operation Rescue’s weekly talk show programme, ‘The Operating Room’, aired on WINN FM 98.9.
Astaphan claimed that corruption in St. Kitts and Nevis has been in existence for many years and it is time for it to be stopped.
“We have a lot of instances of corruption in this little county of ours. Not a today thing, an ongoing thing, and it needs to be met face-to-face, full frontal and it needs to be stopped. Public sector, private sector, social organizations, it needs to be stopped.”
He defined corruption as a form of dishonest and unethical conduct by someone who is entrusted with a position of authority and often seeks to acquire personal benefit of one type or another for himself or herself, or for some favoured person or persons.
“It is a use of the trust that is invested in that person, the use of that trust for a wrong reason. In other words, it is an abuse of the trust,” he added.
Astaphan posited that corruption exists at the top, the very bottom and in between all along the food chain, while claiming that “it exists in the public sector, in the private sector, in the social sector, even in some churches and among men and women of the cloth...all over”.
He intimated that as human being, people are corruptible and that is why nations have to come up with systems that are based on principles and their consistent application in order to protect their institutions and countries from that pandemic.
“It’s a global pandemic and the indications are that it is getting worse globally,” he added.
The Operation Future’s co-founder is of the strong view that corruption could not be totally wiped out, but it could certainly be reduced.
Moving from the global to the local perspective of corruption, Astaphan said it could only be reduced if citizens and residents are educated to their rights.
“It can only happen if people choose to live and to be led by consistent and dignified standards and systems. The sign over the gate going into the Basseterre High School, the campus on Victoria Road, reads Principia Non Homines. That is Latin for Principles Not Men. It speaks volumes, because while men waver, men strengthen and weaken, principles remain steady.”
Citing Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index of 2016, which ranked 176 countries in the world in terms of corruption and which indicated the 20 least corrupt among them, Astaphan said he was embarrassed that St. Kitts and Nevis was not featured among the latter.
Among the 20 countries are Denmark, New Zealand, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Canada, Germany, Australia, United States of America and Japan.
But, according to Astaphan: “While these countries may be regarded by Transparency International as the least corrupt, a lot of them were built on corruption; a corrupt system of human bondage – slavery and other things – and a system what we in St. Kitts call thiefing the resources and cheap labour of Third World Countries. Such an example is the Netherlands which had vast colonies throughout the world. And an even worse example is the United Kingdom. And some of those countries in the top 20 are among the money launders on the planet.”
He however stated that in those countries, efforts are currently being made to clean up corruption, “and so we having been victims of this inequity of history, genocidal travesty of history, we too have corruption in our countries that we have to fix”.
“I for one,” he stressed, “am fed up of hearing people from North America and Europe tell us that we need to clean up our acts. We should to be telling ourselves that, and we should be taking the initiative in the Transparency International ranking. The leading countries in CARICOM, according to the world rankings, the Bahamas is at 24, the least corrupt country in CARICOM is the Bahamas according to Transparency, followed by Barbados which is 31, St. Lucia and St. Vincent are tied at 35.
“The data that I have looked on this stuff over the last seven or so years have no mention whatsoever of St. Kitts and Nevis, not even number 176. Now I don’t know if it is because data were not made available on St. Kitts and Nevis or whatever other reason or reasons there may have been, but I feel somewhat embarrassed that North Korea is number 176 on a list that don’t even include St Kitts and Nevis. We ain't even make the list.”
The social commentator is inflexibly wedded to the belief that corruption sends up the cost of running a government and puts a bigger burden on the back of tax payers.
“That is you (taxpayers)! So when you seek a favour from a politician or when your favourite politician is running bobol with suppliers, contractors or whoever else and you get a piece of the action, remember, you are thiefing and corrupt just like he or she is, you’re no different. When you encourage a politician to deny a citizen a house or a piece of land or a job or some other opportunity because that citizen does not support your politician, then you are just as bad and corrupt as that politician if he does your bidding and he victimizes that citizen who has an equal right as you do and maybe has a greater need than you do.”
The former politician also made reference to a number of local programmes, as well as an example of an incompetent person sitting on a board of directors, so as to emphasise his point on corruption.
“If you are on what used to be called the YES Programme, then called PEP and now called STEP, and you are getting paid for work that you are not doing, then you and the person or persons allowing you to be doing that are corrupt and the two of you are robbing the rest of us and robbing the nation.
“If you are on a board and getting paid for a job as a director that you know you can’t do properly, and those who put you there know you can’t do it properly, and you remain on that board, then you and who put you there are robbing the nation and are corrupt. And if you on that board are countenancing wrong doing, then you and who put you there are robbing the nation and are corrupt. And if you turn a blind eye to wrong doing of those above you or at your level or below you, if you fail to challenge them or resign on principle if the need arises, then you are robbing yourself of your own integrity; robbing us the people whose money you draw every month.’
In furtherance, Astaphan said: “If a decision-maker is building his fortune because of his abuse of the power entrusted to him by the voters and he is corrupt, he needs to be purged. But what are you going to do about it as a citizen? Get a piece of the action or bring peace to your conscience and end the corruption?”
He clings tenaciously to the fact that corruption in St. Kitts and Nevis dates back to Christopher Columbus in 1493 and asserted that it continues in both the public and private sectors by corrupt leadership.
“The land has suffered more than enough from corrupt leadership, both in the public and private sectors. Individuals in both the public and private sectors have become immensely, dishonestly and cruelly rich off the backs of the poor people of this land. We must bring this to an end. We must clean up our acts because it is the right, honourable, effective and dignified thing to do. We must do so not to please Transparency International, not to please the World Bank or the IMF, or the European Union or the US State Department, but because we are capable of doing so. And we must know the difference between right and wrong and pursue right, principles not men.”
Astaphan proclaimed that corruption in the Federation must be minimised in order for the nation to reach the standard it needs to achieve, and he highlighted some of the things that cause corruption.
He noted that among them are high levels of monopoly, both in the business sector and politics; too much control concentrated in two or three hands; low levels of democracy; weak civil participation; low political transparency; high levels of bureaucracy; inefficient administrative structures; low press freedom; a weak and fearful press; low economic freedom; gender inequality; large government size; poverty; political instability; and weak property rights.
From that backdrop, the former National Security Minister recommended that the government make into law a legislation that Singapore has, called the Prevention of Corruption Act, which states that punishment for corruption could find one being fined $100,000 or jailed for a period between five to seven years or more.
He stressed that the authorities need to stabilise that aspect of governance and the people’s lives, adding that it is important to have Integrity in Public Life, Freedom of Information, Electoral Reform, Economic Development, Economic and Social Equity and Justice, Separation of Powers and Prevention of Corruption, “because corruption pervades this country at all levels in all sectors. If we have any self-respect, you can’t be corrupt and still respect yourself”.
“I am calling on the government to set the tone and shine the light on itself and every other operator in St. Kitts in the private sector at all levels, examine legislation in other jurisdictions and pass a Prevention of Corruption Act,” concluded Astaphan.
