Political Corruption
The Auditor General Report 2020: Political Accountability and Good Governance
“The whole point about corruption in politics is that it can’t be done, or done properly, without a bipartisan consensus.”
- Christopher Hitchens
Addressing the endemic nature of political malpractice
During its embryonic stages, Integrity Group Barbados (IGB) met in October 2016 to discuss the urgent need for a watchdog organisation as a response to the stupefying levels of political corruption, deficient accountability measures and the inaccessibility of transparent budgetary and financial information. Indeed, these persistent institutional failures are directly interrelated with inefficient mechanisms to detect, control and to punish those administrative and public officers who contravene rules by inflicting political abuse at the expense of the masses. The persistent abuse of funds irrespective of the political party in office is suggestive that not only is corruption stubbornly entrenched in our model of government, but it is also intentional and calculated.
The last general election was situated in an atmosphere of collective disgruntlement that had been a prevailing feature of the Barbadian political climate for some time. In contrast, May 25th, 2018 signalled a shift to re-emerging hopefulness, a palpable sense of expectancy, and an overall celebratory mood ushered in by the change of government. However, by utilizing the 2020 Auditor General Report as a point of reference, this article will explore the reasons why there has been increasing disgruntlement reminiscent of the pre-Mottley political era by some sections of the population, as observed from comments on various social media platforms.
The IGB’s and the general public’s hopefulness that governmental compliance to safeguard public interests would be prioritized by the current administration has since descended into disillusionment, which has been exacerbated by the publication of the report of the Auditor General. For this reason, the IGB categorically condemns the government’s lack of political will in addressing the malpractices and abuse of public funds as is the constitutional obligation of all governments to adhere to good governance and transparency.
Undermining of the political system through acts of corruption
Moreover, in a context where socio-economic issues are compounded by the negative economic consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic, the Auditor General’s report has once again disclosed the alarming extent to which public funds and financial documentation are mishandled, pointing to the defectiveness of the entire democratic system. For example, a cursory perusal of the report of the Auditor General shows that there was a recording of BD$209.4 million under what can only be described as a dubious category of Other Equity Investments in the financial statements. This misrepresentation and opaque classification that should have been immediately publicly addressed by officials (we have had national press conferences over arguably less grave issues) was instead met by unusual silence, disregard, deflection – clear evidence of elements of the political game of responsibility avoidance.
Further, the value of the investment into the Four Seasons Hotel Project has been recorded as remaining unchanged for several years in of spite of continuous deterioration of the plant’s infrastructure. We are further alarmed by the debt write off for the Four Seasons Hotel. This therefore points to the irreconcilability of the expenditure records and the true nature of the Four Seasons operation. Similarly, a “Special Project Account” balance in a general ledger indicated a glaring difference of BD $51 million from the confirmed balance, leads to more questions than answers.
More astonishing is the report of the Auditor General that the Poverty Eradication Fund which was established in Barbados in 1997 to assist impoverished persons who would fall far outside of the scope of privilege and who otherwise are denied access to financial resources has been abused by its principals. The Auditor General’s report is clear that information about this Fund is not widely circulated, and thus potential beneficiaries are unaware about this avenue of assistance. Evidently, this Fund has been inappropriately designated as a “poverty eradication fund” since its disbursements included payments towards mortgage arrears, a marriage seminar, and the sponsorship of shows. It is therefore no longer a matter of conjecture that state officials are engaging in infelicities which undermine our democratic political system but also in so doing ensure that the marginalized groups in our society remain in the most desperate of economic conditions.
The need for firmer accountability mechanisms
By all accounts, the Auditor General’s report was replete with examples of blatant misclassifications, arbitrary undercharges and overcharges, non-submission of critical documents for audit, non-corresponding bank statements coupled with failure to explain ambiguous expenditure trends, and the non-adherence to the Public Finance Management Act. Although these inconsistencies validate charges of the persistence of negligence, administrative weaknesses, and corruption, they also reveal a more disconcerting reality. Without an adequate instituted accountability apparatus, we are left unaware of the real cost of corruption. This ineffective state control and monitoring of governmental revenue cannot be overlooked. Such deeply entrenched deliberate corruption demands radical and equally deliberate political action. We therefore reiterate our support for the Office of the Auditor General, which has produced a relatively comprehensive report, notwithstanding the severe organizational limitations under which it operates. Over the next few weeks, the IGB will continue to revisit the report. We are also anticipating the government’s official response in implementing the recommendations outlined in the report by the rectification of inoperative inherited systems as recommended by the report, and the holding of persons accountable for the recorded accounting failures.