Dear Editor,
The main view articulated by Ms Fidela Corbin in her letter regarding Mr Khemraj Ramjattan’s call for information on her father’s overseas treatment, which was published in the Stabroek News on May 21, 2009, respectfully, should not be allowed to contend.
It is not my intention to engage in a disputatious exchange on this issue. Personally, while I wish Mr Corbin well and a full recovery, I have no interest in seeking or absorbing information beyond what his office or family currently chooses to make public. However, I do wish to promote an advancement towards an open, transparent Guyanese society in which there is good governance and judicious accountability.
One recognizes that the Guyana has not yet evolved into an open society that espouses an acceptable level of full disclosure by public officials as practissed by so-called Western democracies. However, this breakdown of our polity should not preclude prudent public policy, and decent, right conduct by public officers, or disproportionately prejudice the public’s reasonable right to know.
Mr Corbin is indeed entitled to his privacy. However, the supposed level of privacy to which he is entitled is relative to his decision to be a public official, thereby thrusting aspects of his private life into the realm of public business.
If the public scrutiny concomitant with public life is not palatable to his family under certain inconvenient circumstances, then Mr Corbin has to make a determination about his continued involvement in public life and balance his need for privacy with the public interest and right to know.
It is a civilized course to accurately and adequately inform the public of the health and general well-being of the Opposition Leader of Guyana – a constitutional officer of the state. This should include a summary of his diagnosis and prognosis. This is especially de rigeur in light of the circumstances and speculation surrounding his medevac from Georgetown to New York.
It is naïve to say it is a private matter, when Mr Corbin, as a political leader has supporters and a constituency whom he represents and who are concerned about his health and welfare. I do not believe that a credible or convincing case can be made otherwise. The secrecy and apparent elusiveness which have characterized public pronouncements by various assumed spokespersons for Mr Corbin have been disobliging and irresponsible, and have only fuelled more speculation.
I believe strongly that Mr Corbin is entitled to government paid health care. Specifically, I also feel that disclosure of the cost of Mr Corbin’s medical treatment and attendant issues should be subject to extant policy and prevailing practice on such matters, and the discretion of the government and Mr Corbin.
In this regard, Fidela’s implications that in this context there should be full disclosure by and for all is therefore apposite.
There is a difference between freedom of information and public disclosure, although freedom of information can lead to full disclosure.
The status of Mr Corbin’s health is a moral issue that requires full disclosure. In this context, full disclosure means making public all information/facts that are material to a public official, ie, facts that are pertinent to Mr Corbin’s life and his office. Generally these are facts that allow the public to make its own, uncoerced judgment, in this instance about Mr Corbin’s health. Disclosure therefore must be seen as a prerequisite to public integrity and clean, honest conduct.
On the other hand, freedom of information facilitates free, open and transparent governance. Disclosing information about the total cost of Mr Corbin’s medical treatment to taxpayers is a relevant governance issue to which the government may be obligated under its responsibility to freedom of information.
It is Khemraj Ramjattan’s job as a Member of Parlia-ment to pursue this course .
Information about Mr Corbin’s diagnosis, prognosis and overall health is an appropriate matter which requires full disclosure. It is the responsibility of Mr Corbin’s office to facilitate this.
Yours faithfully,
Rickford Burke
