Another round of disinformation begins

Sep 26, 2008 Features / Columnists

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It would seem as if people are bent on making Guyana under the People’s Progressive Party to be the worst country in the world; it is as if a refusal to do the bidding of the big powers is enough to condemn an entire people.

So a group calling itself Transparency International has decided that Guyana is the second most corrupt country in the Western Hemisphere.

Investigations would demand that all evidence be presented, that a proper survey is conducted and that people who have no vested interest be interviewed, so that in the final analysis an accurate report could be presented.

Many of these things were not done in the case of Guyana, simply because the people conducting the survey might have encountered what is called officialdom. Others who presented the information had political axes to grind.

Nearly three decades ago the now deceased Desmond Hoyte, when he was Finance Minister, issued a directive that prevented public servants, unless authorized, to speak with anyone who was not a part of the organization.

Initially, this was intended to mean that they should not speak on policy decisions when they are not qualified to or so authorized.

However, this order has been extended by the very workers to mean that they will not speak on any issue.
So entrenched has this position become that even some politicians have taken it to be the rule of law.
It is this that must have contributed to the rating that Transparency International handed Guyana.

But the greatest contribution must have come from the locals who, like those that gather information for the human rights reports, applied their subjective analysis, and since they are always quick to blame the government, one could not expect an unbiased analysis.

The first reports were worrying to the government because internally, the political opposition had been making charges of corruption but for all the requesting that those making the charges present the evidence, no such thing was forthcoming.

People were writing to the Office of the President with similar reports, but they all declined to confront the people against whom they were making the allegations. Without their evidence the charges could not stick.

Indeed, the government is quick to recognize that there is a tradition in Guyana where people pay for favours even when they do not have to.

People applying for documents such as birth certificates would offer money although such applications fall within the purview of the employee whose task it is to provide the document.
Soon the employee began to expect compensation. When the corrupt were caught they were dealt with condignly.

Policemen have been accused of corrupt acts and indeed some of the accusations have been well founded.
The records would show that those caught in the act have been prosecuted. Many are before the courts.

Senior officials caught in corrupt acts have also been dealt with in a most severe manner but often when the government takes action, the critics would claim that the government is acting in a manner inimical to the interest of the very people caught in the corrupt transactions.

The most recent high profile swoop on corruption involved the Guyana Revenue Authority where a number of officers have been sent home.

Instead of recognizing the need to stamp out corruption, and cognizant of the fact that for years the people who work in the Customs and Trade Administration were deemed to be among the most corrupt in the country, one would have expected support from the public. This has not been the case.

Further, the government has installed financial accounting systems that allow close monitoring of any financial transaction in the government sector and any irregularity is immediately discovered.
How then could any group conclude that Guyana is a most corrupt country?

The headlines in recent newspapers screamed the findings of this group and without doubt, the international financial organizations that know otherwise would still be inclined to take note of the recent findings, to the detriment of this country.

This is the plight of a poor small country that is doing its utmost to ensure that every dollar is accounted for.

The government rejects the findings of this group of European investigators, many of whom did not come to the country but relied on information presented by those whose sole purpose in life is to blame the government.

Without a doubt, this issue is going to be addressed at the appropriate time, but one must ask, “To what end?” The critics would only find another opportunity to sully the reputation of the government and the country.

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