The people that are put in these positions have a moral and legal responsibility to be seen to be transparent and I understand that there can be discrepancies but these people are in positions of responsibility. They are informing the public and such controversies just lead to mistrust among the general public. How can we trust the news and corporate organisations? I feel the current BBC controversy is just the tip of an iceberg. The paedophilia allegations and the alleged cover up have come as a bombshell for many people but for others may be not. Obviously there have been cover ups in the past and there have been other instances and a lot more going on than meets the eye and only when it is exposed in the media do people find out.
It would be too obvious to say that the watchers need to be watched and in that case we would need more and more layers of watchers, and the system becomes self-defeating.
Instead, the people who are watchdogs should have the highest level of integrity and accountability. I don’t think it needs another level of oversight. If the watchdogs are found guilty of breaking laws, they should have the book thrown at them. They are in that position where you have to have the highest level of integrity. Also, if the watchdogs need watchers, I’m not sure where you go after that to be honest. If we can’t trust the people who are in charge then who can we trust?
- The reader is a teacher living in Sharjah
