POLITICAL ETHICS CODE. The Andre Perez sexting scandal may become a game-changer. Already the Belize People’s Constitutional Commission (PCC) was considering anti-corruption provisions. Then the sexual texts that Blue Economy Minister Andre Perez sent to a local attorney went public. They came with allegations of sexual harassment and possible abuse. Now many are calling for the PCC to put a code of ethics for all public officials in the Constitution.
But Belize hasn’t even enacted the UN Commission Against Corruption that it signed in 2016. At that time the Chamber of Commerce worked with the government to fast-track the UNCAC. Yet since then progress has turned into a slow crawl.
When the new government took power in 2021, they continued the slow crawl. The CEO of the Ministry of Constitutional and Political Reform recently says, “Our ministry has been arduously implementing measures that will lead to the implementation of UNCAC.” Sounds like instead of implementing UNCAC, they are still “implementing” preliminaries.
We need to put the UNCAC into the Constitution so it becomes the undeniable law of the land. We should enforce its provisions for whistleblowers and independent investigations. Because we can’t trust any government to investigate its own. And we don’t yet have independent judiciary to prosecute such cases. Until we do, judges will wonder if any ruling against the government will end their jobs.
The constitutional process presents a rare opportunity to correct systemic injustices. And to hold public officials to account. Otherwise, this week’s scandal will become next week’s entrenched practice.
Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash
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