Govt debunks low Corruption rating

Dec 17, 2013 Sports

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Mr. Dominic Gaskin of the Alliance for Change (AFC) has said that the continued refusal of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s (PPP/C) to accept the results of Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perception Index is the political equivalent of denying the existence of Santa Claus even though his familiar figure is instantly recognizable to most of the world’s population.
Transparency International in its 2013 Corruption Perception Index ranked Guyana as the second most corrupt country in the Americas but the government has taken offence to the findings and as such, has requested that the agency provide the formula and the statistics used to arrive at such a conclusion.

An extract of the notification read, “Having regard to the above, the PPP wishes to respectfully suggest to Transparency International that it should review its information sources on Guyana.”
“It is the considered view of the Party that adequate consideration was not taken by those responsible for providing data and information on Guyana of the several initiatives taken by the current administration at both the legislative and administrative levels to enhance accountability and transparency in Guyana.”
Frederick Collins, Vice President, Transparency International Guyana Inc (TIGI) during the presentation of his findings said that the finding on Guyana is based on surveys carried out by four highly regarded international institutions – the International Country Guide, the World Bank, the World Economic Forum and the Global Insight Country.
Collins had also declared that Guyana has been ranked 136th out of 177 countries, joining Bangladesh, Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and Kenya with a score of 27. Guyana was ranked 133rd last year.
In terms of the Americas, Guyana has been ranked 28 out of 32, while for the Caribbean, only Haiti scored lower, with 19.
While the AFC is not surprised by these results, Gaskin posited that by challenging the results of the Index and attacking the local chapter of Transparency International, the PPP-C government, is positioning itself on the wrong side of the war against corruption.
“This is clearly its comfort zone from which it intends to retaliate against those who speak out against corruption.”
He asserted that Government’s steadfast refusal to establish independent and constitutionally required bodies such as the Office of the Ombudsman, the Integrity Commission and the Public Procurement Commission does little to assure citizens that it has any desire to seriously address issues such as corruption, nepotism and other abuses by public officials.

“Many senior government officials have now accumulated wealth that most Guyanese can only dream of.  Their newly acquired wealth is perhaps easier to comprehend if one actually believes in Santa Claus.”
Also commenting on the state of corruption in Guyana, was the Vice Chairman of the AFC, Moses Nagamootoo.
The politician said that corruption is a disease that is now an epidemic and is one that has contaminated the bloodstream of Guyana.
He said, “The evidence is out there – corrupt procurement transactions, poorly conceived and executed capital projects, allocation of scarce national resources like land and the airwaves to friends and cronies, ostentatious and extravagant lifestyle of a handful, and the erosion of the efficacy of public institutions that ought to safeguard law and order and justice.”
He articulated that no state is born in corruption. “It’s an acquired character deficit among public officials who cannot resist putting their slimy hands in the nation’s cookie jar, grabbing public funds, helping others to grab in exchange for titles, awards and honorarium, selling national assets for self-aggrandizement and practicing nepotism and cronyism to benefit an elite.
“These manifestations under the post-Jagan policy are a criminal indictment of politically exposed persons.”
It was here that Nagamootoo then charged that the fight against corruption must continue to be consistent and steadfast by all.
He said that the cure always starts with a will to fight and overcome corrupt practices. “Apart from political will, we need systems to operate as a protective fence to keep corruption out. Such could be found in the Integrity and procurement bodies which not only have to be established but made fully operational.”
“That no one who holds or has held public office has been prosecuted for any corrupt practices shows a systemic failure. Accountability and transparency must become the norm of how our leaders do business. But in Guyana, every business is tainted by sleaze as we have seen and continue to see.”
The Member of Parliament posits that the obstacle to clean business is that the ‘watch dogs’ are becoming toothless poodle. “A presidency and government in minority acts only for its own constituency and practices political patronage; the majority in parliament is ignored and disrespected; the judiciary is not autonomous and the media – the so called fourth estate — become a partisan propaganda outfit that is uncritical and blinkered.”
The AFC member also contended that while the solution may be a coming together of all in the interest of protection for all, he stressed that there must be no sacred cows in public office.
He said, “We must start now with the public declaration of assets of all persons in public life – from president down. We must have the courage to show what we owned say, 10 years or 15 years ago compared to what we have now.
This requires leadership by example. We need motivational leaders who can by their own selflessness help to re-establish integrity to public office.
“Mediocre leaders who pander to their handlers and cronies will not bring about change. They may end up wallowing in the trough.”
“The time has come for a government of national unity to motivate the fight against corruption rather than being consumed by it.”

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