I
have a good friend in Anguilla. His name
is Osborne Fleming. I hope he will
forgive me if I appear to be picking on him today. Indeed, I hope he will still be my friend
after today. I pick on him
deliberately. It is a good rule of
management that says that if you are going to criticize bad behaviour, if you
are going to single out someone to make an example of, you start at the top of
the ladder, not at the lower rungs. You
start with the leadership, because the lower ranks are only following the
example shown to them. You can’t get
much closer to the top in a British Overseas Territory than the Chief
Minister. So, by all the rules I am
forced to pick on Osborne Fleming.
Mr Osborne Fleming, Hon Chief Minister of Anguilla
In Bermuda, or in the British Virgin Islands,
I am certain that you cannot imagine that a businessman Member of Parliament
would continue to be a serving director of a company after he had been
appointed a Minister of government. If
he did so, there would be a howl of protest from the public in your territories. In the United Kingdom, it would constitute a
grave criminal offence. Far from
continuing as a director, in some Commonwealth countries a Minister of
government is not even allowed to continue to hold shares in either a public or
a private company. On being appointed a
Minister, the law there requires him to transfer all his shares and other
property into a “blind trust”, over which he has no control, while he continues
to be a Minister. This rule is designed
to ensure that the Minister does not allow any possibility of a conflict of
interest to raise its head while he is discharging his public trust as a
Minister.
Certainly, those of you from the UK would be
outraged if you learned that Tony Blair had been revealed to be an active
member of the Board of Directors of a major UK bank while he was Prime
Minister. More, you would be overwhelmed
with incredulity if you learned that he was the Chairman of the bank’s Board of
Directors.
CCB 2001 Annual
Report cover
You
would expect him to resign as Prime Minister immediately this information got
out. You would not be surprised if he
went to gaol.
CCB 2001
Chairman, Hon Osborne Fleming
Yet, for years the Hon Chief Minister of
Anguilla has openly served as the official Chairman of the Board of Directors
of a commercial bank in Anguilla. That
means that he chairs the regular meetings of the bank’s Board of
Directors. He draws a salary for it. He participates in the discussions. He joins in the decision-making of the
bank. We can be sure that, as Chairman
of the Board, the Chief Minister imagines that his sworn duty is to preserve
and protect the interests of the bank and its shareholders against all threats,
including those coming from government.
Can you imagine the conversation in
Executive Council? Government has to
borrow US$10,000,000 as a bridging loan to cover a shortfall in revenue. The Ministers are worrying over what rate of
interest they will have to pay. The
Chief Minister turns to his colleagues and says reassuringly, “Don’t bother
about that. We can lend it to you for
only 10%.” Whose interest can he be
representing at that point? And, even if
he excuses himself from the official ExCo meeting, who of us knows what goes on
in the private corridors between meetings?
Or, can you imagine the conversation at the
bank’s Board meeting? “Mr Chairman,
there is rumoured to be a proposal before the Executive Council for the
increase of taxes on banking transactions.
Can you tell us, what is the Chief Minister going to do about it?” When he answers, which hat is he supposed to
be wearing?
In Anguilla, we have an alien’s landholding
licence law. A foreigner cannot acquire
or hold an interest in our scarce and precious supply of land without first
obtaining a licence from the Executive Council.
This is supposed to give ExCo an opportunity to check out the background
and credentials of the prospective foreign landowner before he is permitted to
join our community. ExCo personally vets
these applications for licences, and some are refused. It is quite a competitive business. These foreigners vie with each other to see
who can obtain his licence with a minimum of bother and a maximum of
speed. The lawyers and real estate
agents bring pressure on government ministers to make a favourable decision
relating to their clients. ExCo,
meanwhile, is the last hurdle protecting the public interest. They are supposed to be checking who is Mafia
and who is not. Integrity is the order
of the day. We depend on our Ministers
to act on our behalf in vetting these applications and to only allow the most
worthy of foreigners into our midst. We
have enough scamps among our own relatives!
We don’t need more of them to be imported! At the very least, acting in the public
interest in such a matter requires complete independence and freedom from undue
influence. The whole process is
subverted if a Minister goes into the real estate or land development business. If a minister can make money, significant
money, from selling land to foreigners, how can we expect him to act properly,
in our interests, in vetting alien landholding licence applications?
Mr Fleming’s billboard at Seafeathers Bay
Yet, here in Anguilla, we see a billboard
erected on the main road. This is at the
junction of the side road that leads to the Hon Chief Minister’s home at
Seafeathers. The Chief Minister is
developing a tract of land at Seafeathers.
He has a real and significant financial interest in leasing and selling
lots of land at Seafeathers. I can tell
you that they are not cheap lots. This
is not a public service development for low or middle-income citizens. These are vacation houses. They are luxury villas. The Chief Minister intends to sell them for
good money to foreigners. He has a real
interest in ensuring that no prospective buyer is turned down by ExCo. No, Sir, not for any reason! Our Minister of Public Works, my good friend
Mr Kenneth Harrigan, also does a thriving real estate business. This is in addition to his very successful
construction business.
You can imagine the conversation in ExCo on
a Thursday morning. The Governor is
presiding as Chairman of ExCo. He is
there, we are told, to ensure that Britain’s interests are protected, and that
the highest standards are maintained in the public service in Britain’s Overseas
Territories. The Hon Chief Minister
addresses his Ministers, “Gentlemen, you will see the next item on the Agenda
is an application by Mr X of Las Vegas for a licence to buy a lot of my land. He is paying me one million dollars. I have children to send to university. Of course, I would not want that to influence
your vote. Indeed, I shall not vote on
it. I shall abstain. I have a conflict of interest. I do not want my presence to influence you in
any way. I shall step out of the room
for the discussion. Please make your
decision with a completely clear and uncluttered mind.” As His Excellency the Governor escorts the
Hon Chief Minister to the door, he turns back to address his colleagues, “And,
when we come to the next application, Mr Minister of Public Works, which I see
is one of yours, you can expect that I will act with the same independence of
mind and impartiality.”
I ask you to imagine the conversation at the
expatriate water-hole at happy-hour the following Friday. Mr X from Las Vegas has a broad grin on his
face. He asks the person next to him,
“Well, Joe from Toronto, did you get your Aliens Landholding Licence
approved? No, you didn’t! How come I got mine approved? Well, it may have helped that I bought my
land from the Chief Minister, you idiot!
What do you think? That is the
way you do things in Anguilla. And, I
gave the Minister of Public Works the contract to build my house. I signed the building contract the same week
that I signed the purchase contract with the Chief Minister. What, you did not know that the Minister had
a construction company? What sort of
lawyer do you have? That was the first
piece of sensible advice my attorney gave me.
Fire your idiot legal adviser!
Let me introduce you to mine.”
There is a wide-spread perception that
corruption is on the rise in Anguilla, despite the evidence as to the
destructive force it unleashes. When
important decisions are determined by ulterior motives the political, economic
and social costs are high.
Corruption-control is therefore not simply an end in itself, but is
crucial and instrumental in reaching the broader goal of more effective, fair
and efficient government for the benefit of us all.
We all know that corruption is a major cause
of poverty as well as a barrier to overcoming it. The two scourges feed off each other, locking
their populations in a cycle of misery.
Corruption must be vigorously addressed if the UK administration of an
overseas territory is to make a real difference in freeing people from poverty.
The Foreign
and Commonwealth Office in London owes a duty to the people of our Overseas
Territories to insist that our governments increase the resources and political
will for anti-corruption efforts. Our
Constitutions and laws must be changed to enable greater public access to
information about budgets, revenue and expenditure. Any aid must be combined with support for
recipient-led reforms. Our governments
must be encouraged to promote strong coordination among themselves, the private
sector, and civil society to increase efficiency and sustainability in
anti-corruption and good governance efforts.
Conflicts
of interest, nepotism,
and cronyism have to be rejected by
the people of all our islands. We must
demand openness, fair competition, and clean business in both the public and
private sectors.[1]
This calls for an integrated anti-corruption strategy. Initiatives are required to address illegal
financial transactions that presently affect our countries’ executives,
legislatures, and political parties. We
have to take practical steps to reduce vulnerabilities in our institutional
framework. We have to restrict the
present excessive freedom of our governments to appoint political appointees to
occupy positions in the State’s management.
In the event of a scandal affecting our government, the response must be
the swift establishment by the Governor of a Commission of Inquiry, if the
lasting effect of these incidents is to be minimized. Political financing laws must be put in place
and enforced. Ways must be found to
allocate public funds to the media to enable them to perform their
investigative and reporting functions.
The committees designated to oversee the execution of our budgets have
to be funded and staffed and insulated from executive manipulation. State and civil bodies must be actively
encouraged, with public financing for this purpose, to advocate and promote
better regulation in government. Laws
must be passed and enforced strengthening the public contracting systems and
improving access to information. We need
to develop national integrity systems, with a range of institutions,
regulations and practices to address different aspects of maintaining the
honesty and integrity of government and private-sector institutions. Leadership is crucial in both driving a
reform programme and in leading by example.
Commitment to reform will have to be mustered from a wide variety of
constituencies. The task of building
political will can begin at the level of a well-informed and educated
grass-roots, and does not end with government embarking on reform. Reform will require support through the often
difficult times that will lie ahead.
Anguilla sorely lacks legal and regulatory
mechanisms to ensure fair and transparent general
elections. With fewer than 2,000
voters in most constituencies, a plane-load of foreign-resident constituents
flown in for an election can determine the outcome. Truck-loads of cement and galvanize,
refrigerators and stoves, are delivered at election time, in breach of no law
or regulation. The legitimacy of the
electoral process in Anguilla is dubious at best.
We do not have any Ombudsman law in Anguilla.
We lack any form of efficient and inexpensive mechanism, other than a
prohibitively expensive law-suit, for a review of the lawfulness of
administrative acts. Our citizens have
no practical channel for challenging government actions which adversely affect
them.
The integrity of our public officials is
under constant pressure in a variety of ways.
We need an ethics code
tailored to our social conditions.
Integrity testing has a role to play.
The assets and liabilities of officers at particular risk need to be
constantly monitored.
Chief Minister’s office building at
the Quarter, generously rented by him to the Ministry of Health
Unambiguous procedural statements and codes
of conduct have to be put in place to deal with conflicts of interest,
nepotism, and cronyism at all levels of the public service. This includes Ministers of Government,
parliamentarians, the boards of statutory corporations, cabinet appointed committees
and the civil service. It is particularly
important at this time for the political leadership of our island.
Procurement
procedures have to be simplified and monitored and made more difficult to
manipulate in corrupt transactions.
Environmental Health Unit renovated by
the Chief Minister’s friend and political campaigner Mr Harold Ruan for the
Ministry of Health
Our public
accounting systems are poor, disconnected and untimely. They virtually incite fraud. We have to amend the appropriate laws and
regulations to introduce good financial management practices.
East End Clinic renovated by the
public-spirited Mr Ruan free of cost
Informed
judgment and appraisal by the public, press, and legislators are
frustrated if government’s activities are hidden from view. We need improved regulations easing public
access to information. Official records
have to be made more readily available.
West End Clinic renovated by the
doubly-blessed Mr Ruan
Our citizens have to be better informed of their rights, and be encouraged to claim them,
and to be prepared, when necessary, to complain, without fear of eventual
oppression. Public interest legislation
and channels for complaint have to be provided.
Competition
policies can help to contain and reduce corruption. Competition laws have a vital role tin
protecting and promoting economic activity and integrity and in ensuring this
happens in the best interests of society.
New laws need to be put in place to fight
corruption. We need enforceable
provisions to require individuals with inexplicable
wealth to explain its sources. We
need to train specialists in tracking and seizing the proceeds of corruption.
Corrupt acts are generally conducted in great
secrecy. Corruption surveys in other countries have proven a useful tool for
determining levels of corruption in a section of society that would otherwise
remain in the dark. Corruption surveys
address serious issues, and not only raise levels of attention accorded to the
problem as a result of increased awareness and pressure, but also provide
information as to where interventions are needed.
In Anguilla, we lack a political leader such
as Jamaica’s Bruce Golding. Indeed,
Anguilla today famously has no Opposition
Leader because the two elected members of the opposition cannot agree on
which of them should be the leader. We
could do with a sensible Constitutional provision to the effect that when the
members of the Opposition in the House of Assembly do not agree, the Governor
shall appoint the one who garnered the highest number of votes. The Jamaica Observer of 2 March 2006 carried
a story on Bruce Golding’s complaint that Jamaica’s Corruption Prevention
Commission was powerless and non-functioning. He secured majority support for a resolution
to set up a committee to make recommendations to correct the problem. Anguilla not only lacks a corruption
prevention commission, we have not begun to educate or inform our people of the
evils of public corruption and the need to address it.
So, is there a point to the stories I told
you about Mr Fleming? Is there a lesson
to be learned? Yes, and it is this. Mr Osborne Fleming is at essence one of the
most decent men I know in politics in Anguilla.
I believe that he has always tried to do what he thought was the best
thing for his country. He is sure in his
own mind that there is no conflict between his serving as Chief Minister and as
Chairman of the Board of a commercial bank at the same time. I know that because he has assured me of
it. He has been taught that these are
not conflicts of interest: they are
convergences of interest. And, no one in
the public service has ever told either him or Mr Harrigan otherwise. No British Government official has ever
explained to either of them that they are in an intolerable position. No one who should have known better has ever
taken the trouble to point out to them that they could not properly justify
maintaining those conflicts of interest in any other country in the
Commonwealth.
In the United Kingdom public service, there
are conventions and Codes of Ethics binding on Ministers as well as
parliamentarians. There are regulations
enforceable by law. There are watchdog
bodies and independent regulators keeping an eye on things. There are frameworks and mechanisms set up to
encourage and enforce proper behaviour at all levels of the public
service. In Anguilla, we have nothing to
encourage, far less ensure, high standards of ethics in the public service.
It is simply not good enough for the FCO
big-shots to be content to receive dispatches from Governors in Overseas
Territories describing the appalling state of their governments, and then to
lean back in their ergonomically designed chairs in their plush, mahogany-lined
offices and to shake their heads in dismay and to say to themselves, “Those
ignorant Colonials! Can’t expect any
better of them!”
Ethics and proper behaviour are not embedded
in our chromosomes at conception. They
are not among the nutrients absorbed when we are babies at our mothers’
breasts. They are concepts and practices
that are taught. They are learned
behaviour. They are products of
education and training. They flourish
when they are instilled, maintained, and developed by intensive and repeated
courses of training coupled with institutional support.
Such corruption as exists in the Anguillian
public service is the full and direct responsibility of the modern-day
Mandarins in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office who have, by their lack of
action, either deliberately or negligently encouraged and produced it. To what purpose, I am still in a puzzle.
A presentation at an "Ethics and Integrity in
Government" Workshop, held in Antigua, March 13th – 15th,
2006, with participation from Anguilla and other BOTs in the Caribbean.
[1]
Transparency
International’s website: http://www.transparency.org/
has been invaluable in putting together the following recommendations.
