We need not only a change of Govt., but a complete change in system of Govt.

Jun 22, 2009 Letters

Dear Editor,

I welcome your editorial, “There must be an investigation,” (June 20), which is helping to keep this hot button issue in full view of the public.

I have written a few letters also calling for a public probe and even urging the Auditor-General (AG) to use his constitutional powers to conduct an audit of CLICO (GY) scandal. I would now like to suggest that depositors find some good lawyers in Guyana who will help lead their fight to get to the bottom of this scandal that the President thinks he can make disappear by simply promising depositors their claims will be honoured and then had his Government move to Parliament to have the Insurance Commissioner’s office (including CLICO Guyana) placed under Bank of Guyana supervision, likely blocking public access to CLICO (GY)’s records.

With Allen Stanford being indicted in the United States, I think it is only right that Guyanese investors know what sort of investment arrangements existed between Ms. Geeta Singh-Knight of CLICO (GY) and Mr. Allen of the now defunct CLICO (BH) in which Guyanese lost US$34M (your editorial said US$36M).

Initially the Prime Minister of The Bahamas and the liquidator said there were no records of money transferred from Guyana to The Bahamas but we have since learnt that the transfers appeared to have been a movement of cash between individuals, and in light of this, depositors should know who in Guyana were responsible for wiring money from Georgetown to the bank in Florida and who were the persons in Florida to whom the money was wired. That is, unless this was a huge money laundering scheme in which some Guyanese depositors were knowing participants, so they would have reason not to want a public probe.

But private persons were not the only ones with monies in CLICO (GY); so were hundreds of thousands of Guyanese at home and abroad, whose NIS contributions were invested in CLICO (GY) that ended up in Florida. And what should be highlighted is that it is unfair for the Government to be borrowing money from taxpayers to fill the hole created by CLICO (GY)’s losses with a promise to have it repaid over 10 years, because the public is losing twice here!

Even if the Guyana Government refuses to concede to a request for a forensic audit by the AG or a public investigation by a commission of enquiry, depositors who dealt in good faith with CLICO (GY) should still have their lawyers seek information from the FBI to determine the name of the bank in Florida and the names of the persons in Georgetown and Florida who were involved in sending and receiving monies. America is not Guyana and so the authorities in America will allow information to be released under the Freedom of Information Law, and who knows if this may be the first step in a process to get to the bottom of the CLICO (GY) scandal that is appearing to have political fingerprints and efforts at a cover-up all over it.

In fact, that probably explains why no one has so far been brought to books in Guyana, because while Ms. Singh-Knight served as CEO of CLICO (GY), she was also Chairman of the Berbice

Bridge Project and a board member of GuySuCo – both Government appointments. But here is the irony of the justice and fair play system in Guyana: Ms. Singh-Knight knowingly violated Section 55 of the Insurance Act when she allowed in excess of 15% of her company’s funds to be invested overseas, but neither she nor CLICO (GY) was ever criminally prosecuted or punished.

And (former?) Insurance Commissioner Ms. Maria van Beek knowingly failed or refused to impose punitive sanctions against Ms. Singh Knight personally and CLICO (GY) as a company in accordance with Section 9 of the Insurance Act, but she was never cited by her boss or bosses for failing to do her job which wound up costing Guyanese US$34 (or US$36M).

Should the Government not see the wisdom in allowing a public probe in CLICO (GY), it opens itself to accusations of having something to hide and undermines its efforts internationally as a potential recipient of money from donor governments and organisations towards avoiding deforestation in Guyana.

Because if it is not transparent with money belonging to its citizens how can it be expected to be transparent with money given to it under agreements where trust is required?

And if the Auditor-General refuses to mount a forensic audit of CLICO (GY) he opens himself to being accused of failing to do his job or caving to the political dictates of the Government for fear of losing his job as acting Auditor-General. Because if he can conduct the Fidelity probe at the request of the President and the amount of money involved there was far less than that involved in CLICO (GY), then he needs to be reminded that he has constitutional authority to conduct probes of Government-related activities involving public funds without needing permission from the President and should go ahead and audit CLICO (GY). The courts in Guyana and the Caribbean will back him one hundred percent.

Mr. Editor, the way this Government is set up and being run today is not only conducive for an emerging dictatorship but ongoing state-sanctioned corruption that can be easily covered up, either by presidential interference or intervention and through parliamentary involvement, and this is why we need not only a change of Government in 2011, but also a complete change in the system of government.

Emile Mervin