Dear Editor,
Do you need guidelines to say what an inappropriate gift is? Really!!!!
To be appointed as Ministers and Members of Parliament, and to be addressed with the exalted title of “Honourable”, and still could not fathom what an appropriate gift from the public purse was, then it was crystal clear that you were never fit to hold that office.
For the Opposition Leader to excuse the wanton spending on gifts by asserting, that there is a need for clear guidelines to gifting reflects the moral bankruptcy of the APNU +AFC Coalition. Every holder of public office should possess an innate moral compass as to the appropriateness of accepting gifts. It is commonsensical. You are placed there to oversee the spending of taxpayers’ monies in a way that will enrich and better their lives and their community. Never should the public funds be spent personally on public officials.
You are adequately compensated by way of a grand salary, Prado, housing, etc. Furthermore, it is from an electoral pledge of wanting to give service to the public altruistically that makes one an incumbent Minister. It is all about public service and not personal aggrandizement. You do not need guidelines to tell you, that once you are in high public office, it is inappropriate to accept personal gifts.
I always wonder if we will ever have a leader like José Mujica, who drove his old Volkswagen Beetle to work when he was the President of Uruguay, lived on his farm and never took a salary or “gifts” during his presidency. I wonder what clear guidelines he needed to be humble, honest and dedicated to selfless public service? Guess you do not have leaders of his calibre anymore.
Yours sincerely,
Reggie Bhagwandin
