The interview with former Labour prime minister and now MEP Alfred Sant (March 14) dealt with the “friends of friends” notion, giving the impression that this is something inevitable in small countries.
In the annual corruption index issued by Transparency International, the upper echelon has exemplary countries like Denmark, Finland and Switzerland, in addition to other developed nations such as New Zealand and Singapore. Size is no excuse for making the pill of corruption sweeter.
I had the honour of being selected to set up a telecom regulatory authority in Bermuda and be its first chief operating officer. Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of approximately 72,000 and one of the world’s highest GDPs per capita.
The job was advertised in The Economist. It was followed up by an interview in the UK and short-listing to face a day of interviews and presentations in Bermuda in front of a panel made up of a retired judge, the chairman of the financial authority, the principal permanent secretary and an international recruitment company advising the government of Bermuda.
Once selected I had to go through an exhaustive due diligence, giving all the information related to my bank accounts, property owned, any recent inheritance, references, and so on.
The selection of the non-executive directors of the Bermuda Regulatory Authority, like all independent authorities in Bermuda, was made after a call for applications and an interview by an independent selection committee made up of telecoms engineers, economists, lawyers and a retired judge. Once chosen, the directors then selected from among themselves a non-executive chairman for a period of three years.
Bermuda’s population is much smaller than Malta’s, and from a very young age children are taught in school and by their parents that for Bermuda to be a competitive jurisdiction despite its small population, it cannot afford to have any discrimination based on race, religion and political ideas, but the best people need to be chosen for different roles.
Family values are of utmost importance in Bermuda and parents strive to instil in their children the values of honesty and trustworthiness, as well as patience, persistence, a growth mindset, ability to laugh at themselves, empathy, integrity, a positive outlook on life and quality time as a family.
In Bermuda, the family considers it to be a great tragedy if a member of the family is arrested and taken to court, and all are jealous of the family’s good name.
The limitations of small countries can be overcome by choosing the right people for the right job- Philip Micallef
Being a small jurisdiction, Bermuda gives transparency the utmost priority in all its institutions. Transparency is all about knowing who, why, what, how and how much. It means shedding light on formal and informal rules, plans, processes and actions. Transparency helps the public hold all power to account for the common good.
Seeking and receiving information is a human right that can act as a safeguard against corruption and increase trust in decision makers and public institutions. However, transparency is not only about making information available but also ensuring it can be easily accessed, understood and used by citizens.
Some examples of transparency I experienced at the Bermuda Regulatory Authority were the publication of all minutes of meetings held with stakeholders, the publication of all board meeting minutes, and town hall meetings with the public.
Any meeting by senior staff with a stakeholder, be it an operator, politician or businessman, was to be documented and posted on the regulator’s website. All commercial details were not included but could be divulged if requested by a court.
Documenting meetings was not limited to official meetings but also included social meetings such as receptions. Conversations were to be documented even if they had nothing to do with the work of the regulatory authority… even if they were about some football match.
All board meetings, usually held every month, were documented and all the minutes posted on the website with the commercial secrets and financial information blanked out.
And every quarter, the public was invited to attend meetings with the regulator to learn about the work being carried out and ask any questions.
The limitations of small countries can be overcome by choosing the right people for the right job and ensuring transparency is present in all facets of any ministry, authority or government organisation.
Philip Micallef is former CEO of Air Malta, Melita Cable and Malta Enterprise; former chief officer France Telecom and Olivetti.