OAS to probe state of corruption in Guyana

Sep 21, 2013 News

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The state of corruption in Guyana will be placed under the microscope next month when MESICIC, the mechanism for follow-up on the implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, undertakes an onsite visit here.
Moreover, the mechanism, which is a body of the Organisation of American States (OAS), will require that seven oversight bodies appear before it including the: Audit Office of Guyana; the Public Service Commission; the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board; the Director of Public Prosecution; the Judicial Service Commission; the Integrity Commission and the Commission of Information.
Thus far, of the seven agencies identified for scrutiny, only five have agreed and have proceeded to name their representatives to meet with officials of MESICIC, which will include a Sub-Group made up of three representatives from Haiti and one from Trinidad, who are scheduled to arrive between October 6 and 7.
However, the actual review will take place on October 8, 9 and 10, according to Presidential Advisor, Gail Teixeira.
Teixeira made the disclosure when she addressed media operatives at the most recent Cabinet Press briefing on Thursday.  During her deliberations Teixeira said the review is in fact nothing new since Guyana had been subjected to such undertakings in the past.
According to her, Guyana signed unto the OAS Convention in 2001 and is among 31 countries that have embraced this Convention.
Once countries sign unto the Convention they are permitted to name a lead expert to be a part of MESICIC. Guyana has so named Teixeira since 2008. “I sit in the MESICIC as an expert with the Canadian, American and other experts and I am very au fait as a member of that (MESICIC) Committee… what are the inadequacies of other countries including Canada in relation to the implementation and upholding of the obligations under the Inter-American Convention against Corruption…”
The Presidential Advisor lashed out at recent disclosures in this publication made by newly appointed Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, Nicole Giles, who expressed some concern about the state of corruption in Guyana.
According to Teixeira she was “taken aback by the Canadian High Commissioner, who is a brand new person to Guyana, and while she is free to her opinion, and the opinion I assume of her Government, I feel the way in which it is presented it is an unfortunate one in terms of Guyana/Canada relations.”
The commencement of the MESICIC review here on October 8 will entail discussion with civil society organisations. And according to Teixeira a total of 12 such organisations have been invited to interact with the MESICIC officials and undertake the role of umbrella body for entities of labour, business and the legal profession.
Also expected to participate in the discussion will be representatives from the Transparency Institute of Guyana among other organisations. “Four (civil society organisations) have accepted so far and have named their representatives; the other eight we are following-up with them to make sure that the civil society session has a broad representation,” informed Teixeira.
The discussion with the representatives of the civil society organisations will address issues of conflict of interest, systems for registration, declaration of income, assets and liabilities, access to public information and mechanisms to encourage participation of civil society in efforts to prevent corruption.
The visiting team is also expected to craft a report based on its findings which for the following few months will be reviewed by the Sub-Group. And according to Teixeira, Guyana, as the subject country under review, will have an opportunity to make corrections and clarifications before being reviewed by other Member States at a plenary in March.
Guyana, Teixeira disclosed, underwent an initial review in 2006, then in 2008 and a third time in 2011.
Currently all Member States are preparing for the fourth cycle review of the implementation of the Convention against Corruption.
“In 2011 September when we completed the review of all the countries in the third round review, the (MESICIC) Expert Committee decided that the fourth round would include onsite visits to countries and it would follow up on the recommendations made during the first round review in the 2006 period,” disclosed Teixeira.
So far 15 of the 31 countries have been reviewed, and Guyana, according to Teixeira, will be undergoing its fourth review along with Canada, Grenada and Jamaica.
The review of each country will, among other things, entail the examination of hiring practices, rules of hiring, disciplining, promoting, and looking at the oversight bodies within each of the countries.
In addition to the OAS Convention, Guyana has signed unto and ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which was established in 2007, and will be up for a first cycle review next year. The latter, according to Teixeira, has similar mechanisms as MESICIC.

 

 

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