The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Governance reformers yesterday warned the police chief’s call for all persons solicited for bribes to “speak up” is unlikely to succeed unless backed by tough anti-corruption and ‘whistleblower’ protections.

Matt Aubry, the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) executive director, while backing many of the measures unveiled by Clayton Fernander, the Royal Bahamas Police Force commissioner, in Sunday’s national address warned that they would “have a better chance of sticking” if The Bahamas had taken a proactive rather than reactive approach to the corruption fight.

The Government and Mr Fernander, stung by the US federal indictment that levies charges of drug trafficking and related bribes against 11 Bahamians - including the police chief responsible for aviation and overseeing airport security including at Lynden Pindling International Airport (LPIA) and a Royal Bahamas Defence Force chief petty officer - have promised swift reforms and an anti-corruption crackdown.

However, Mr Aubry told Tribune Business that the solutions offered to-date are “too simple” to be effective in the long-term and need to be supported by the necessary systems and legal frameworks that give anti-corruption ‘whistleblowers’ confidence their identities will be safeguarded, they will be protected from retribution and the information supplied will be investigated in the proper and confidential way.

And, while backing many of the reforms outlined by Mr Fernander as well as the commissioner’s reminder that corruption-related woes extend far beyond the police force, Mr Aubry said several of the measures discussed - such as civilian oversight of the Royal Bahamas Police Force - are nothing new and have been suggested many times in recent years.

Pointing out that a reactive, knee-jerk approach is unlikely to produce sustained long-term solutions, the ORG chief added that The Bahamas has seemingly missed numerous opportunities to get ahead of events such as last week’s US federal indictment through fully implementing and enacting reforms such as the Integrity Commission and Ombudsman.

Mr Fernander, in his address, identified the ‘pay-to-play’ culture that is rife through many public sector agencies when it comes to companies and individuals seeking the necessary permits and approvals required for them to move forward.

Referring to a recent Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) report, whose findings were disclosed in Tribune Business, the police commissioner said: “Unfortunately, corruption in our country goes beyond law enforcement. According to a recent IDB report, nearly three-quarters of Bahamian firms admitted to paying bribes to obtain permits or access basic public services.

“This report is a damning indictment, not just of the systems we’ve allowed to fester, but of the culture we’ve let grow in our country. I’m asking you now: if you’ve ever been asked to pay a bribe, come forward, no matter how big or small. We need to know whether it was for a permit, a favour or to make something happen faster.

“The sooner people start speaking up, the sooner we can start breaking the cycle. The IDB report confirms what we already know: Corruption has become normalised in too many corners of our society. It will take all of us working together to change it. This approach is about creating a system in which honesty has a chance to flourish, and wrongdoing has no place to hide. A fairer, more just society benefits everyone.”

Mr Aubry, agreeing with the sentiments voiced by the police commissioner, told Tribune Business: “That’s the root of the problem; this thing being ingrained in the culture. Because the change needs to be systemic, when it’s done proactively it has a better shot at sticking, but when it’s done in response to something like this the solutions tend to be situational

“This requires a whole of society approach so we can start bringing to bear the resources of all sectors.” Mr Fernander on Sunday night gave “full support” to the Government’s proposal for independent civilian oversight of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, but Mr Aubry said such recommendations had been made from at least 2020-2021 when he was on the body currently responsible for this.

And he recalled that weaknesses and deficiencies with the police complaints and corruption branch were identified in a United Nations report back in 2018. The ORG chief urged The Bahamas to be proactive, rather than be reactive and forced to take action in response to events, if anti-corruption and integrity reforms are to take root and gain buy-in from the majority of Bahamians.

“Where these reports do come up, we recognise them as opportunities to take action before we get to these crux points where something happens or we are in the midst of a highly-politicised case,” Mr Aubry told this newspaper. “We’ve had many opportunities to do so and it should not be seen, because we’ve hit the wall, that we need to do something.

“I think the note about the culture is important. You and I have talked about it before, because of the potential incidents and how hard it is to track these things when they happen, but there’s also the perception [of corruption]. We know that in 2018 Transparency International referenced The Bahamas as the top in the Caribbean for paying bribes without even being asked.

“That definitely indicates a problem with the environment where this is the way things are done. That definitely creates a vulnerability where people take advantage of the system. It’s something we have to work against across the entirety of government and all sectors.”

As for Mr Fernander’s call for persons to step forward if they have been solicited for bribes, Mr Aubry said: “I think it’s an important call but I think we have to build a system that incentivises people to do the right thing when they are not being asked, and we have to figure out a way to integrate the many pieces of legislation and frameworks we already have in place.

“To just put out a call now is probably too simple to provide a long-term solution.” He added that to root out, and eliminate, corruption The Bahamas needs to commit itself to a long-term approach that does not change and lasts well beyond just one government administration.

The ORG chief also pointed out that, given Trinidad & Tobago and its million-strong population had struggled with working out how best to protect whistleblowers, this issue is likely to be even more acute in The Bahamas with just 400,000 persons.