Leading by example

Saturday, 9 April 2016 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A NEW Code of Conduct proposed for Members of Parliament prohibits assault, harassment or intimidation and introduces sweeping new transparency on personal finance, which could dramatically improve accountability.

The Code states that whenever a Member has a personal or specific pecuniary interest (direct or indirect) in a matter being considered by Parliament or a committee thereof, he or she shall declare the nature of such interest notwithstanding any registration of his or her interests in the Register, and shall not participate in any debate taking place in the House or its committees before making such declaration. It adds that Parliamentarians should be as open to the public as possible about all decisions and actions that they take and give reasons for their decisions and restrict information only when the wider public interest clearly demands.

MPs are also required to act in good conscience, respect human rights and intrinsic dignity of all, act as to merit the trust and respect of citizens and community, give effect to the ideals of democratic government, abide by the letter and spirit of the Constitution and uphold the separation of powers and the rule of law, hold themselves accountable for the conduct and duties for which they are responsible and exercise the privileges and discharge the duties of public offices diligently and with civility, dignity, care and honour.

Corruption and politics are considered by many to merely represent two sides of the same coin in the moral and ethical wasteland that is Sri Lankan politics. The pervasive nature of this belief, which cuts across the total spectrum of Sri Lankan society, is the direct result of decades of rampant political corruption perpetrated by members from all major political parties at one time or another.

It is in this context the public must now look at the newest move to usher in a higher calibre of politician. Parliamentarians routinely fail to even be polite to each other during debates much less upholding principals of good governance. Efforts to clean up the political sphere and reduce corruption have been hamstrung by legal constraints, lack of resources and efforts by party leaders to shield their own space by protecting loyalists. The buck passing is not likely to stop and the public are fast losing faith in the change that promised so much.

There is little to no doubt over how an elected member of Parliament should behave, but there are several question marks over the repercussions suffered by those who fail to adhere to the law of the land. At present, there are few if you are part of the present administration. Therefore what we need from this new Code of Conduct for MPs is, more than guidelines for conduct, guidelines for accountability.

The Code of Conduct, at least on paper, is progressive, but it will need to be strongly implemented and backed by political will to hold MPs accountable. Sri Lanka often has good laws but fails to implement them in a timely manner, creating loopholes that result in loss of public faith. For its part the public has to ensure that they hold their representatives accountable.