OPPOSITION LEADER Edward Seaga on Tuesday said the People's National Party (PNP) Government has lost its morality to speak on behalf of Jamaica, in wake of the widescale crime and corruption he charged were dogging the country.
Noting that high taxes, bureaucracy, and complicated ways of paying taxes invite corruption, the Opposition Leader said corruption will first have to be dealt with at the highest level before it can be tackled anywhere else.
Mr. Seaga was speaking against the background of the 204 persons killed since January, and the recent NetServ and Operation PRIDE controversies in which millions of tax-payers' money have been wasted.
"In truth, Mr. [P.J.] Patterson presides over the Government of the greatest outbreaks of sustained criminality ever, the greatest source of corruption ever," he said. "In summary, he presides over the most corrupt government ever and that will be his legacy."
The Opposition Leader was speaking at the Jamaica Labour Party's (JLP) G2K seminar on fighting corruption with good governance, held at Hilton Kingston Hotel.
Mr. Seaga used the opportunity to again press home his case for an independent Police Services Commission (PSC) to fight corruption within the Constabulary and promote efficiency among policemen and women. He also called for a more effective Public Defender who will prosecute persons who infringe citizens' rights.
"If there was a Public Service Commission that reflected a non-partisan composition, indiscipline in the police force would have been rooted out and inefficient police transferred," Mr. Seaga said, repeating a suggestion he made earlier this year at a press conference at the JLP's Belmont Road headquarters.
Turning to the issue of accountability, Mr. Seaga told the gathering that the JLP believes laws and systems are more effective in running a country than politicians, but that "corruption cannot be defeated by law, it can only be defeated by the moral determination to wipe it out."
He also batted for impeachment proceedings which he said would have been invoked in the NetServ fiasco in which $180 million was disbursed. "Impeachment has to become a part of our system to ensure that where it is not a criminal act or a civil violation, it is still an abuse of power we will not tolerate," he said to several rounds of applause.
