Elected officials everywhere need protection from themselves

Premier Andrew Fahie has argued that elected officials everywhere “need protection from themselves” because of the prevalence of greed.

“Because if you’re not careful as an elected official in politics anywhere in the world, the greedy will never let you get to help the needy,” the Premier said during the House of Assembly recently.

The Premier made that argument against the backdrop of what he felt was the badly needed Integrity in Public Life legislation that was recently passed by his government.

With the passage of the new legislation, the Premier argued all elected officials will be stopped from being ruthless with the people’s business and in handling the territory’s finances.

According to the Premier, such legislation not only ensures that persons’ rights are protected but it also ensures the public purse is protected as well.

An Opposition in hiding

He accused the political Opposition of hiding when important legislation such as the Integrity in Public Life Act was being debated in hopes that it would not pass so that they could continue being ruthless with the people’s affairs as they had in the past.

The Premier also chided the Opposition for having spent more than a decade in power without bringing forward any similar legislation.

Meanwhile, the Premier said many political battles around the world are being fought without any consideration of the needs or aspirations of the people in mind.

“It’s just how to get back at each other and make sure that their greedy friends be the ones on top,” the Premier said.

My government isn’t corrupt

He further denied charges by the Opposition that his government was engaged in any similar behaviour, arguing that its policies have been transparent and open.

The Premier challenged detractors to demonstrate that any friendships existed between contractors and his government through a list of projects from the Recovery & Development Agency (RDA) and the Ministry of Finance.