Where She Went Wrong...

“Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.”
- W. Clement Stone

The question was never about whether she is entitled to have friends or not or to receive gifts and enjoy hospitality or not, nor can it be about if knowing her should automatically disqualify her friends from bidding for State contracts but about appearances, transparency and integrity.

It should be a no brainer to know that the friends that you spend time with should be different to the friends that you do State business with so as to clearly define the terms and conditions and not muddy the water with the appearances of corruption.

We have just recently come out of an election that was called two years early because the government collapsed under the weight of allegations of widespread corruption, this government must know that the people will not be tolerant of similar behavior in any form or fashion and need to be mindful of that.

The Prime Minister needs to be advised that her close relationship with the Gopaul family ought to be reason enough to debar them from being bidders for State contracts as it would appear that their access to her benefitted them whether it could be proven or not. The decision to insist on the highest standards of integrity in Office is hers alone to make, but it would be marvelous for the country to finally have a leader capable of seeing the world from the people's perspective.

Her handling of both the Nizam Mohammed and Mary King affairs left little doubt with her detractors that she could make the tough calls when needed, and she may well be facing another opportunity to do so now.

From an outsider's point of view I recognize the mischief being made by the former contract holder, and if I were as wise as Solomon I might suggest that it would be best for all if neither Company benefitted further from this matter.

Regardless of the decision she makes here her detractors will make wrong of anything they want to make wrong of; she ought to be guided by doing the right thing in the situation as that is the best any of us can do under the circumstances.

“It's not what we eat but what we digest that makes us strong; not what we gain but what we save that makes us rich; not what we read but what we remember that makes us learned; and not what we profess but what we practice that gives us integrity.”
- Francis Bacon 

Indeed.