I wish to congratulate the Caymanian Compass on its 13 April editorial “Anti-Corruption concerns”.

The Cayman Islands still has the opportunity to get its new anti-corruption legislation right.

Regrettably, strong anti-corruption legislation establishing an Independent Commission against Corruption has become absolutely necessary.

Previously concluded corruption investigations have not resulted in convictions and the ongoing corruption investigations seem to have great difficulty in uncovering wrong-doing.

This of course does not mean that there is no corruption. Contrarily, it is still alleged that there is widespread corruption, but the “fraternity within the system” protects their own.

Unfortunately these investigations have cost our people tens of millions of dollars and will cost even more before this flurry of corruption investigations is over. 

Then what?

Why have the investigations failed to find what even the casual observer knows exists?

We all know that gambling operates with impunity, protected by negligible fines and RCIP officers being told to not investigate gambling. 

Politicians have openly adopted the “Doctrine of Retreat” with the position of surrender to the gamblers “because a lot of people are violating the law”.  If that is a good policy then let us abandon laws against speeding, theft, no parking and murder because those laws are also violated.

 Even preteens know where to purchase illegal drugs.

Corruption within the over 100 boards is many times no longer even viewed as corruption. It has become just “the way Caymanian business is conducted” – the “Black Box” corrupt systems.

Corruption is not unique to the Cayman Islands, it is in all countries – the difference is that many countries now recognise the devastating cost of corruption to people, their quality of life, national security, personal security, world peace, indeed their very survival.  Uninhibited corruption eventually devastates economies, just look at our neighbouring countries. 

A study of corruption fighting organisations worldwide reveals that, to be successful, the Anti-Corruption Commission has to be an Independent Commission Against Corruption,  reporting its findings directly to and accountable to the people and to the Legislative Assembly. As examples see www.icac.org.hk and www.icac.nsw.gov.au 

The UK and the Cayman Islands was slow to join the worldwide fight against domestic and cross border corruption, delaying taking action as long as we could.  In playing “catch up” the Anticorruption Law (2008) was enacted in the Cayman Islands coming into effect in 2010. 

The Cayman Islands Governance system does not have the constitutional democratic principles of separation of powers, this is confirmed on the Government website “...In many forms of parliamentary government, executive and legislative branches are not totally separate”.  

The deficiency of no separation of powers in parliamentary democracy governance systems directly contributed to the suffering of tens of millions of people with failed political dictatorship regimes in “independent” Commonwealth countries. 

Unfortunately, the Cayman Islands Anti-Corruption Commission is NOT independent, which is now the worldwide-accepted best practice. 

Independence and separation of powers are integral and necessary parts of good governance systems established to investigate and fight corruption and to work towards truly good governance systems for the benefit of the population as a whole and not to protect just the usual crooked “chosen few” with the right political connections from prosecution. 

Without independent watch dog commissions, outside of the direct UK and Cayman Islands political and civil service control, it is impossible to avoid the inevitable conflict of interest within the UK and Cayman Islands governance systems and to safeguard separation of powers.

Cayman’s Anti-Corruption Commission is totally directed and controlled by the UK Government’s instructions via directions from the FCO to the Governor.

The UK Government has demonstrated that they can no longer be trusted to follow the principles of the Rule of Law.  The UK Government/BAE/Saudi Arabia corrupt bribery case exposed that whenever the UK’s interests are at risk then the UK has and will in the future violate laws to achieve objectives deemed to be in the UK’s “best interests”. See www.controlbae.org

As the UK Governance system cannot be trusted to be honest, the Commission must be made into a modern Independent Commission against Corruption not under the control of the UK or local politicians or civil servants.  Compliance with the fundamental principles of the Rule of Law must be an unwavering standard for Cayman Islands governance.

Legislators do the right thing for our Islands; make the Anti-Corruption independent. Let them get on with the job unfettered.

William Adam