Public Trust Erodes When Standards Fall

I was very concerned by the appointment of Jagdeo Singh as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Whenever I saw or heard his name, I remembered that he had once been imprisoned. The Speaker of the House of Representatives was once convicted on corruption charges, sentenced to seven years, and lost his appeal. In 2005, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council overturned the conviction due to misdirection during his trial. Despite this, I kept asking myself, “With all the bright, capable, and reputable people in our country, why couldn’t someone else be chosen for such an important position?”

If we want to truly develop our country, we must raise the standards of those we place in leadership. The Speaker is meant to be a symbol of fairness, dignity, and integrity. Someone should hold this office with an unquestionably positive reputation. Choosing a person with such a controversial past is likely to cause us to lack confidence in the current government.

And this is not the only worrying example. After ten years of legal battles, we are now told that the extradition order against Jack Warner was legally flawed and unconstitutional. Millions of dollars in public funds have been spent on this case, built on what is now said to be a non-existent agreement with the United States. To make matters worse, there are claims that successive Attorneys General and senior state lawyers may have misled both our courts and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Whether this was done deliberately or not, it shows serious carelessness at the highest levels.

We are a developing country, and we cannot afford poor examples of leadership. Every appointment either builds or breaks public trust. Our young people deserve to see leaders who are honest, ethical, and dependable. If we want a better future, we must do better now.

Appointing a leader with a tainted history, such as Jagdeo Singh, and supporting the failed extradition case of Jack Warner erodes public trust. Our developing nation deserves ethical, respected leaders who inspire confidence, not controversy.


#LeadershipMatters #IntegrityFirst