IF one were to believe everything one hears in the marketplace of free discussion, the notion that government is bad would predominate.
The rhetoric of the other side of the political spectrum is that government is uncaring, corrupt, incompetent, discriminatory and insensitive. And little that the government says or does to allay those apprehensions prevails.
The reason for all this, some observers say, is that government plays a major role in every facet of human life - so much so that even the beneficiaries of public policies appear to resent too much government.
Yet, there is another institution in our society that is almost as dominant and influential and impacting: corporate Guyana.
While government facilitates business activity, the amalgam of companies in the private sector that we refer to as corporate Guyana is the engine of growth, responsible for providing the bulk of the money and the goods and services that we depend on locally to afford a decent living standard.
We sigh and puff and grind our teeth when corruption is unearthed at the governmental level. Yet, because of the vital growth role private enterprise plays in national life, corruption at the corporate level is deserving of equal attention, and of calls for corporate accountability, by the Guyanese citizenry.
The multi-million dollar fraud that is currently rocking Banks DIH Limited is a case in point.
Experts equate corporate accountability with corporate governance, apparently believing that accountability and transparency in private sector administration hinge on how well managers govern.
J. Wolfensohn, president of the Word Bank has been quoted as saying that, "Corporate governance is about promoting corporate fairness, transparency and accountability.
The message seems to be that plans by companies like Banks DIH should include a process for examining the issue of accountability and transparency and the development of the institutional mechanisms needed to achieve accountability.
A United Nations document titled The Role of Corporate Accountability in Sustainable Development goes beyond strategies companies should implement. It urges government to make greater efforts to ensure accountability of corporations to society. Its conclusion is that corporate responsibility and accountability are essential elements of sustainable development and should therefore include enlightened management and customer demand, or public pressure, on a company for it to voluntarily "do the right thing" - as alternatives to governmental involvement.
We believe that in the same way that the public is expected to hold government responsible for wise, effective, transparent and accountable stewardship, shareholders of public holding companies should also hold private companies responsible for both responsibility and accountability in the management of their operations.