Honest employees are really important, but no less important that accountable, robust systems

The Post's editorial, "A Whistle Heard," gets it 100% wrong today in the conclusion:

It is clear from how this scheme was said to be structured that the District still has some way to go in improving its system of checks and balances to prevent theft and fraud. Nothing is more effective than having workers willing to blow the whistle on wrongdoing.

The #1 course of action is to have strong independent contracting and procurement regulations. That's by far the most effective policy that can and should be in place.

The fact that OCTO, the Office of the Chief Technology Officer, is able to let contracts for up to $500,000 with no checks--an amount five times larger than normal contracting guidelines adhered to by other agencies of the DC Government--should have been a red flag years ago.

But the Post has always been in the camp of whoever has control of this office.

The lesson should be pretty clear: allowing for exceptions to contracting procedures creates an environment that can abet abuse and fraud.

But yes, it's better to have honest employees than dishonest employees, sure.