IN the letters column of The National last Dec 24 was a letter by former ombudsman Peter Masi titled Application of laws must be applied equally. In his letter, Mr Masi claimed that several leaders in the current Government and the Ombudsman Commission had compromised and delayed the referral of some politicians to the Public Prosecutor, and called for an immediate investigation into this issue.
If there is any degree of truth in his allegations, the people should know that this menacing development will spell disaster for State authority and democratic values embedded in our Constitution.
It is like opening the floodgate of corruption and will result in gross abuse of power by leaders.
As inscribed in the PNG Constitution, the Ombudsman Commission is given the responsibility to manage the Leadership Code, and to make referrals if leaders breached the code.
The Ombudsman Commission, an indispensable democratic institution, is the watchdog of people’s power against the tyranny of those mandated. The Ombudsman Commission, therefore, plays a significant role in protecting citizens from the abuse of power by representatives, both nominated and elected to public institutions.
However, if the credibility of the very institution tasked to uphold the integrity of leaders is seen doing the contrary, the protection of people’s power and resources become vulnerable to the cartel of few politicians in government.
It is very evident in the NA-led Government that a handful of politicians, using the privilege of numbers, have created a political hegemony, even to the extreme of defying the rule of law.
On the other hand, the letter by Mr Masi was received with misgivings. As a former Ombudsman commissioner, he could have dealt with this political subversion by fighting it ferociously from within rather than blowing the whistle from the sideline. Imagine the snowball effect this allegation will have on the public, which by now would render him a champion of democracy.
Perhaps, Mr Masi may have his own reasons for not tackling the issue internally, rather than spilling it to the media only when replaced as commissioner. People know very well that corruption is endemic even in institutions less suspected of such contagion like the judiciary and the Ombudsman Commission, which are considered custodians of justice.
Thus, there is a need to fight corruption from within by destroying the cordon sanitaire set up by people washing each other’s dirty laundry in State institutions.
The imperative nature demands that Parliament quickly legislate a whistle-blower’s Act in order to protect people who wish to expose corruption from within.
The case of Mr Masi speaking out in the media to grab public attention is very common among people employed in public institutions. These people speak about evil and corruption in public institutions only when they find themselves at the wrong end of the rope. It is common to find people in public institutions washing each others’ dirty laundry only to exhume the dirt when displaced.
Indeed, public employees possess two sets of ethics or have a moral conscience that is definitely split. These public employees are silent about corruption as long as they are part of the deal or even beneficiaries of it. Only when they are barred from being part of the vicious circle, do they seem to become advocates of justice – an instantaneous moral conversion unimaginable.
However, in reference to Mr Masi’s letter, common perception seems to support his insinuation. Over the few years, individuals in the Somare-led Government had committed serious breaches of the Leadership Code as well as the precepts in the Constitution that the Ombudsman Commission, for whatever reasons, has procrastinated its investigations or failed to make referrals to law enforcing agencies.
Perhaps, the one that needs immediate attention concerns the deflation of the account of the National Parliament. It is alleged that many electoral officers of national parliamentarian have not received their pay as a result of this deflation.
It is not, therefore, the intention of this column to create an elephant out of a letter by a former ombudsman. Nonetheless, being in the system, he feels that there is political influence infiltrating the working of the Ombudsman Commission and called for public condemnation to this menacing development.
The Ombudsman Commission is meant to be accountable to the people by guiding leaders to adhere to the Leadership Code. We have heard a lot about the difficulties and pains the commission is going through by lack of funds, and successive attempts by government to circumvent the scope and force of its activity.
However, these unfortunate occurrences should not be used as cover for politicising the operation of the commission.
The Ombudsman Commission since its establishment has done a tremendous job, even to the derision of many politicians. Such professional accomplishments should not be tainted by the greed of a few politicians and senior officers in the Ombudsman Commission.
For this reason, it is imperative that an investigation be undertaken before the Ombudsman Commission loses all credibility. The commission should understand that if it leans toward compromise, gross abuse by politicians of public funds and resources would become rampant.
Finally, we are dealing here with an ill-fated precedence, when people start questioning the operations of the Ombudsman Commission.
The insinuation by Mr Masi and the commentary in this column are not meant to discredit the hard working staff of the Ombudsman Commission who have faced risks and sacrificed sleep in doing what is required. However, the onus is on those responsible for making referrals, and they should be seen to do so without fear or favour.