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Gregory Lewin
glewin@bluefieldspulse.com
April 13-2004-On March 25, 2004, a Tipitapa
judge ordered the regional government in the South Atlantic Autonomous
Region (RAAS) to pay 11.5 million Cordobas for a breech of contract to
Italian Amadeo de Nice construction firm. The original contract to build
the government offices across from King’s Park in Bluefields was awarded
by Rayfield Hodgson, governor of the RAAS (1994 - 1998). So far, only the
frame of the building has been build. According to the national
newspapers, Rayfield Hodgson recently traveled to Managua to arrange a
payment plan.
Governor Guy Cox has repeatedly said that he will not
honor the ruling rendered by the court because his administration is not
responsible for paying the money. He stated that Rayfield Hodgson is a
thief who has made deals with the housing department to steal from the
regional government and the poor.
What happened?
In my opinion, situations such as these have never
ceased to dishearten the people of the region, especially the poor. The
housing department have stated that they will abide by the judge’s
ruling and agreed to pay the 11.5 million Cordobas out of the RAAS’
budget. Also, the attorney general’s office issued a statement that it
will not intervene because it too late in the process; the RAAS did not
seek their consultation during this debacle. This move will definitely
cripple once and for all the activities of the government’s programs.
It’s a shame that one administration has to pay for mistakes committed
by another; unfortunately, this is how politics work. I am in total shock.
I cannot comprehend how the responsible individuals continue to make a
mockery of the system and the people. It is totally amazing how they can
continue committing offenses, with personal gains, and go unpunished by
the law.
It appears that ex-president Arnoldo Aleman is the
only one being targeted by the government for fraud against the state and
the poor people of Nicaragua. It appears that he is the only one paying
for all the others who have stolen. There are officials from past
administrations who have been named on numerous occasions for fraud
against the state and the people. Calculatedly, some of them continue to
hide behind the immunity afforded to them as members of the regional
council. Ex-president Aleman’s immunity eventually was revoked. I
believe that we should move forward in having the immunity of those who
enjoyed it revoked as well, so they can be investigated. I wonder how is
it possible that they can take away the immunity from a powerful such as
Aleman while others steal from the people and nothing is done about it. It
causes me to believe that the campaign against corruption declared by
president Enrique Bolaños is a personal agenda against Arnoldo Aleman.
Where is the president when all this mockery is going
on in the RAAS? Does he pay attention to the issues of the Caribbean
coast? It certainly does not appear to be so. The only time you hear the
president address issues on the Caribbean coast is when our brothers in
the North show their solidarity and unity for each other. I ask myself
what is wrong with us in the South? We are never together; we are always
fighting against each other. No wonder, the people of the Pacific have no
respect for us. Why can’t we be unified like our brothers in the North?
You don’t hear them fighting each other. Mostly, what you will hear is
that they are united in fighting for what is rightfully theirs. In the
RAAS, it’s the contrary. We constantly have to be hearing about
corruption over and over again involving the same individuals.
I call on president Enrique Bolaños to order an
investigation to determine the entire regional government activities with
a reward of jail time for any found guilty, so we can weed out the seeds
that are causing our people to suffer. Only when this is done, I will say
that president Bolaños is really serious in the fight against corruption.
And if no one is found guilty of any wrong doings after the
investigations, then he might want the alleged corrupted of the RAAS
government to run the government in Managua because they would be free of
corruption, and they would be the only government body, which have not yet
committed any offense against the state.
Unfortunately, election is not until 2006, but when
that time comes, I hope every eligible voter exercise his or her right to
vote. Voting is the only way to show our abhorrence with corrupt
politicians. Something has to be wrong with the individuals who serve as
our representatives for not reasoning or playing blind to the fact that
every time they do something despicable they hurt not themselves, but the
poor needy people.
Governor Cox should never have to pay for any wrong
doing committed by past administrations. What the court should be doing is
looking into why the building was not completed. What happened to the
money allotted for the construction of the building? Only then can we put
closure to this haunting nightmare caused by selfish uncaring human
beings.
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