Recently the law enforcement community, among them the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime and the Police Service, have indicated that complex crimes such as money laundering, fraud and cyber crime, are proving to present a formidable challenge.
While we acknowledge the hard work that goes into law enforcement, we wish to express our concern at the extent to which such complex criminal activities are emerging.
We think that with the increasingly globalised world, undesirable elements within and from other countries will increasingly find this country a fertile ground for very costly mischief. This calls for a more technically adept and well-trained police force, especially at the investigation level.
It also calls for much more coordinated work among all the relevant government departments. There is no reason why a businessman without a work permit should be able to open a business. There is no reason why a business that has not satisfied tax requirements to the revenues department should be able to continuously get work permits for its workers from the immigration department. This would only show that the various hands of the government do not work together.
We also think that the legislative environment needs to advance. We need laws to address issues of competition and corporate governance.
We do not think the private sector will improve standards without government setting legal benchmarks. Corporate standards have to shift from the mere legal to the much more modern standards of ethics, morality and fair practice.
The current legislative environment does not help the fight against white-collar crime.
Lastly, it is our view that the Freedom of Information Act law should be adopted. This would help public discourse by enriching the amount of information available to the public.
Journalists serve a central role and the fact that up to now they still cannot gain access to even the most elementary of information from the private sector means that the private sector is functioning without any sort of oversight.
While para-statals and government departments have to be transparent, it seems the private sector has been left to its own devices.
This has ensured the current secrecy in the business community and hence the current spate of white-collar crimes. There is no other way to solve the current problems without taking the above measures.
Today's Thought
