By Anna-Rose Madray Tuesday, September 9 2008

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CLOSED: The gates of the Italy Gold and Diamond Jewelry Store on Frederick Street in Port-of-Spain are locked up tight as a prominent "Sorry We're Cl...

MINISTER in the Ministry of Finance, Mariano Browne said since state enterprises now account for approximately $65 billion in assets, the private sector’s good governance practices should be emulated in the public sector.

“From my own perspective, that the state enterprises account for approximately $65 billion in assets, it is essential that the rigour associated with good governance in the private sector should also be brought to bear in all state enterprises,” he said.

Speaking at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Trinidad and Tobago’s (ICATT) breakfast seminar on “Ethics and Governance,” held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain, Browne spoke about the increasing importance of transparency and credibility in all spheres of the society.

He said, “There must be rules of engagement which govern the process which define rewards and penalties,” while he said that he also recognised that “people will be tempted so we must find ways of keeping systems secure.”

On a personal note, Browne said that he, himself, once had to face the challenge of reconciling the practical issues of governance and Ethics in the private sector, but added, “the challenge has multiplied somewhat in my new role as a public figure with oversight responsibilities for managing public money and my previously comfortable position has been far more difficult in the glare of public scrutiny.”

“Governance in the private sector was clearly far easier and the communication issues, far easier to deal with,” he said.

On the pending Public Sector procurement regime, Browne told reporters that he had been scrutinising the white paper and would soon bring the subject to cabinet for discussion.

“I am in a committee responsible for looking at a the white paper and coming up with what you would call the recommendations in terms of how we move forward,” he said.

“That will be the subject of a cabinet note and there is a time frame , we will come back to cabinet this week, during the course of this month , with regard to a methodology and a way forward,” he added.

The white paper on the reform of the public procurement regime has been laid in Parliament since September 2005, with the Ministry of Finance, private sector and civil society participating in its development.

The Government has been dragging its feet on the passing of the reform, which will allow for greater transparency in the public sector. Browne, however said, by the end of the year, more ethical guidelines would be applied to the stock exchange system, to ensure a more “robust framework,” of regulations in the financial system. At the same time, profitable state enterprises, including the controversial Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (UDECOTT), into which a Commission of Enquiry had to be launched, is long overdue, leading members of the public to criticise the lack of transparency, on the part of the Government. Chairman of the TT Transparency Institute (TTTI), Victor Hart, who has been an advocate for the reform also spoke at the seminar. He said that ethics and good governance were key components in the fight against corruption, which manifested itself in the form of bribery, fraud and other unprincipled behaviour in the public domain. Hart said that the disintegration of the Hindu Credit Union (HCU) on the local level, as well as the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the United States were timely signals that, “the risk of corruption has never been bigger.”

He later added, “the writing is on the wall, one day managers, directors and others will have to pay the penalties.”