Never in this country’s history has the setting up of Commissions of Enquiry elicited such hysteria as the upcoming ones. And there have been quite a handful of them or so. From the word go there was resistance and apprehension that necessitated a debate in Parliament which did not result in the annulment of setting up the commissions. Subsequent reactions by the main opposition APC have resulted in a Public Notice by the government explaining its position. The rest is history.
In their feverish reactions the opposition has referred to the Commissions as kangaroo courts. The government has countered that statement by reasoning that if that is the situation the parliament that authorized it should also be referred to as a Kangaroo Parliament by the same token. 2019 has kind of ineluctably launched us into unusual fears and hopes over the outcomes of these commissions.
There is no fear without hope and there is no hope without some fear. It depends on one’s predilections. On the opposition side there are justifiable fears that justice will not be served because of a perceived witch hunt. They allege that they have already been declared guilty before the trials; an allegation to be substantiated at the trials. There is no medicine for these fears until they are allayed. These same individuals with fears do not entirely lose hope. They are hopeful that their friends and relatives will be set free, forgiven or given light sentences. While they hope for the best they should prepare for the worst.
It is the hesitation and frantic approach to the Commissions that have raised suspicions of guilt by the concerned public. The APC Press Release alleging that the North West has been targeted was met by the rebuttal that workers of government under the APC were appointed by their party and they were therefore in a better position to give relevant information relating to their assets between 2007 and 2018.
We cannot at this 11th hour when the Commissioners are set to begin make any suggestions that will affect their modus operandi but we are overly concerned with the impact of its results on the electorate for good or ill. With the government’s ulterior motive of reducing corruption to vanishing points, there should be an accent on loopholes and existing structures that breed corruption.
It would be expedient to examine all permanent secretaries and other vote controllers who served under the APC during their rule without exception. The guilty will obviously be discharged thereby obviating the use of the overused cliché ‘’sacred cows’’. They should not be ‘’protected citizens’’ just because they are members of the ruling SLPP.
The credibility of the Commissions depends on the avoidance of exceptions.