Dear Editor,
The Dharamlall matter, the allegation of rape brought against Govern-ment Minister Nigel Dharamlall, has reached a conclusion that was entirely predictable to anyone following the case. It was clear to see where this matter was going a long time ago. Dharamlall will face no charge and we have no idea what is to become of the girl involved. Mean-while, Mr. Dharamlall remains an apparently valued member of the PPP/C. This case will, no doubt, seriously undermine the credibility of the police, the social protection services and the DPP in the eyes of the public. When weighing the interests of justice for the victim against the defence of a high ranking official of the Government, it is now clear whose protection the authorities in this country serve.
Parents of young girls and especially those of the Indigenous Community must be left to wonder at this development. And almost daily the news bombards us with cases of persons convicted and going to jail for similar offences. Evidently, justice has different rules and standards, depending on your position in this society. The President has emphasized that he allowed “the system” to work and that “we must trust the system”. In a situation of an egregiously unsatisfactory outcome as far as the exercise and administration of justice is concerned, one conclusion is that the system has failed us (yet again!). This is the latest failure to bring home the absolute necessity for institutional reform in this country. People must understand that improvement in our daily lives that we work so hard for in this country will not be realized without major institutional reform, and no amount of oil revenue will change that.
Systemic change that imposes more accountability, structure and order in the way we manage our affairs is absolutely necessary. The President opened his statement by telling us he is in Trinidad and Tobago attending the CARICOM Heads of Government Conference. Evidently, he considered this an important detail. This is not an isolated factor. If my memory serves me correctly, he was in Belize at another CARICOM meeting when he flayed civil society for their challenges to the Natural Resource Fund Bill before Parliament at the time. This, in my view, amounts to a pattern of manipulation to cover himself in a cloak of CARICOM statesmanship while he carries out this act. I hope that the Heads of Government and all the people of the Caribbean are taking note.
Sincerely,
Desmond Thomas, PhD
