Low level, self-serving corruption is endemic and accepted at many levels in Guyana

Jul 24, 2009 Letters

Dear Editor,
The story which follows is one, which as a Guyanese living abroad, I have heard too may times before.
After my father Judaman Seecoomar died in 2006, his collection of academic books, were shipped from the UK to be given to the University of Guyana, for use by Guyanese students, in accordance with his wishes.
The books were an excellent resource for students of Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies
In March 2008 two barrels containing 357 books were collected by a senior member of academic staff at the Berbice campus of the University, who I will refer to as Dr. X. He wrote to thank me and acknowledged what a valuable academic resource the books were.
He said that he had handed them over to the librarian for cataloguing and noted how they would contribute to the University’s work in the study of Conflict Resolution.
He even sent me a copy of a “press release” expressing the University’s gratitude to my late father’s estate.
He said that the University was so impressed by the collection that it would create a Reading Room in my father’s name to house the books.
He did say that this would be more likely to happen if I could guarantee that I would be able to provide ongoing support in terms of financial and other resources to the university.
I was very happy to provide this assurance and later set up The Seecoomar Trust – a charitable Trust based in the UK whose aim is to help advance education in Guyana.
Dr. X put a number of proposals to the Trust and we agreed to all of them including that the Trust would fund resources to ensure that the reading room would be developed into a centre of excellence for research into and the study of Conflict Resolution
Our first donation to the University was a sum of £550 sterling. The cheque was made payable to Dr. X personally.
I visited the University’s Berbice Campus on 21st April 2009 and I discovered that of the 357 books collected by Dr. X, only 136 had been given to the library.
Further, the librarian informed me that there was no Judaman Seecoomar Reading Room and that the University had no plans for one.
Indeed, the University knew nothing of any of the plans that Dr. X had made with the Trust on its behalf.
When I confronted Dr. X with these facts, he offered no explanation.
On my return to the UK on 24th April, I contacted the Registrar at the main University Campus and explained the situation. He agreed that the matter was very serious and required further investigation.
On 20th June, I received a paragraph long “report” from the Registrar.
The contents of the report demonstrated quite clearly that an effective investigation had not taken place.
The chair of the Trust, Dr P.A. Squires, wrote to Vice Chancellor Carrington, expressing her concern that the matter had not been investigated satisfactorily. The response was, again, cursory and dismissive.
It was quite clear that there was no attempt to review the evidence and substantial documentation sent by myself to the Registrar or any will to challenge what is clearly a misappropriation of resources.
In the end, this saga of low-level corruption, obfuscation and complacency leaves a number of specific, unanswered questions. Namely:
• How could a member of University staff request and receive funds and materials on behalf of the University without the University’s knowledge?
• It is unchallenged that Dr. X had created a “press release” about a non-existent Reading Room, accepted a personal cheque for £550 and failed to hand over the majority of books entrusted to him. In these circumstances, what level of corruption would attract censure from the university authorities?
• In the light of these concerns, has the University taken any action to ensure that this situation is not replicated in the future?
• Do key members of the University establishment have any concerns at all, that the international reputation of the University is seriously undermined by events such as these?
• What does it say about the example set to the youth of Guyana by the highest educational institution in the land, when such clear-cut fraud and dishonesty go unchallenged and unpunished?
The broader concern is clearly that low level, self-serving corruption is endemic and accepted at many levels in Guyanese society.
While this remains a dominant culture, it is little wonder that stories such as these are commonplace.
Agnes Seecoomar

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Low level, self-serving corruption is endemic and accepted at many levels in Guyana

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