EDITORIAL

The Necessity of Transparency

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

The recent announcement of the award of the debris removal contract to a foreign company was bound to raise hackles in the community. Now the situation has been made much worse by virtue of the inconsistent information proved by the Government Information Services, presumably at the behest of the Central Tenders Committee.

According to the government press release on the subject, the company awarded the contract, MC Restoration, is based in Tampa, Florida. This does not appear to be true, according to investigations conducted by Cayman Net News.

The contractor is further described as having experience and case history in dealing with similar operations, access to specialized and heavy equipment, and financial standing. 

If the contractor is indeed the company established in the Cayman Islands under the name MC Restoration barely three weeks ago, it clearly has no experience and case history in dealing with similar operations and no financial standing.

Coincidentally, we had intended to revisit editorially the topic of transparency in government following the recent news that the Law Reform Commission in the British Virgin Islands has now submitted its report on the proposed Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation in our sister British Dependent Territory.

This is a subject we have commented on in the past and is now even more timely as a result of what seems to be a distinct absence of transparency in relation to the debris removal contract.

A desire to govern in secret seems to have been a common characteristic of administrations in the Cayman Islands over the years and this view has certainly not changed in the recent aftermath of Hurricane Ivan. If anything, the government has come in for international censure for its widely perceived failure to handle the media aspects of the disaster appropriately.

An issue that achieved prominence as a result of Hurricane Ivan is the free movement of media workers. Freedom of movement for regional media workers is a stated aim of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and if we ever aspire to be a truly open and transparent society, we cannot impose restrictions on visiting foreign media.

Any attempt to do so will always backfire sooner or later. Those in power may try to influence or sanitise the content of news by various means, including restrictions on who can report it, but the truth will always be revealed and then embarrassing questions arise as to why the attempted suppression of reality and by whom.

Furthermore, such blatantly obstructionist tactics tend to promote spiteful and/or ill-informed articles and commentary, which is something the Cayman Islands can well do without at this point in time.

The FOI legislation as proposed in the BVI will provide members of the public with the right of access to official Government documents, but there will be exemptions to safeguard such matters as security, defence, international relations, the economy, personal privacy and law enforcement.

However, there is also a provision, intended to enhance the culture of openness within the public service, that allows the disclosure of even exempt documents in special circumstances.

A statutory right to information and a properly implemented FOI regime is expected to enhance democracy and development in the BVI; lay the foundation for accountability, transparency and good governance; and foster greater public trust in elected representatives.

These benefits seems eminently desirable to us and, if a British territory with just half the population of the Cayman Islands can achieve this, then why cannot we have similar legislation?

As always, our suggestions in this respect will fall on reluctant ears in the Government and, as we have said in the past, the impetus for such legislation will never come from the politicians and civil servants. It can only come from the people.

Fortunately, there is an election coming up in some six months time and this is yet another issue that deserves discussion and commitment on the part of those aspiring to be elected or re-elected office.

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