Lessons in government corruption

(CNS): A number of Cayman’s senior civil servants and those from other overseas territories attended a seminar last month funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office dealing with good governance. Prof. Anthony Clayton (left) the main speaker said that recent financial scandals have revealed the presence of fraud in some governance systems from which lessons can be learned.

Prof. Clayton, who is from the University of West Indies’ Institute for Sustainable Development and a member of the strategic advisory group for the Commonwealth Heads of Government 2009, said the aim of the seminar was to make people who run public agencies in British Overseas Territories more aware about public sector governance principles, and give them tools for strengthening the structures of governance.

“We can learn from recent financial scandals that fraud was present in some governance systems, which enabled organisations to continue their operations for so long. Evidently there is a global need to rebuild these systems,” he added.

The seminar was held at the Cayman Islands Civil Service College (CSC) and the agenda included public service governance elements, principles and challenges, board meeting practices, forms of corruption or bad practice, and oversight of the state accountability frameworks.

Chief Secretary and Head of the Civil Service, George McCarthy, said the presentation was useful, especially in the today’s difficult economic environment. “Anyone in the position of director or board member should know what is expected from his performance, in order to effectively discharge their activities,” he said. 

Portfolio of the Civil Service’s Chief Officer Mary Rodrigues said the seminar was part of the CSC’s growing range of programmes in the areas of leadership and governance, and an opportunity to begin establishing the CSC as a regional resource.