The Commissioner General should have known better

Jul 27, 2014 Letters

Dear Editor,
The Commissioner General of Guyana Revenue Agency (GRA) long, tedious and supercilious letter in Kaieteur News titled: “My children were not given any special or peculiar treatment in terms of position, salary or status” clearly shows he is very upset and angry over the recent statement by APNU MP Joe Harmon. He is not an unintelligent man but his contortions and attempts to strew red herrings on the issue has caused us to wonder whether he is not concealing something more rotten than appears on the surface. His attempt to explain himself has become more obscure and more tendentious.
His response in the first few paragraphs contained so many glaring contradictions that it is difficult to understand what its purpose really was. Joe Harmon’s statement that “Family Affair exists at GRA” is dead on target but the Commissioner’s response that there has been no impropriety or conflict of interest is shallow to say the least. And for him to say that he had nothing to do with the hiring, promoting or determining the salary of his two sons, daughter, nephew and niece is absolutely ridiculous to the point that no one with a sound or rational mind would believe him. Mr. Commissioner, please do not underestimate the intelligence of Guyanese and do not insult them because they are much smarter that you could ever think. Imagination is everything in life and Guyanese in general have a very broad imagination.
For you to threaten to reprimand the person or persons whom you think release the information clearly exposes your high-handed approach to management. Let the truth be told. As head of the GRA, you have not only full knowledge of who is being hired, their salary scale and promotion, but you also have a say in every decision that is made at GRA.
Even though employing his two sons and daughter, niece and nephew seems to be the main thrust of his letter, the Commissioner ought to know that nepotism is alive and well at the GRA. He continues to lament in his extraordinary long diatribe that his actions were transparent and that he has done nothing wrong. Well he is wrong. But he is not alone. Almost everyone in the regime has employed their spouses, children and relatives and is paying them super salaries as contract workers. Despite his denial, it is very clear that the Commissioner General’s children were given special and peculiar treatment in terms of position, salary and status.
The source of the confusion in the statement is not difficult to find. For he has made no attempt to dispel any perception of impropriety or conflict of interest on his part which shows that he was unable to dispel the truth. But there is more. The Commissioner General would also have to answer why, even after the issue was made public, he made no attempt to disclose the information. And for him to say that Mr. Harmon’s disclosure of the salaries of his children could endanger their lives and is libelous is baseless and unfounded. You cannot bully or berate Joe Harmon; he is as tough as they come.
As a public servant, the Commissioner had an obligation to inform the public that he did not only employ one of his children, but three of them as well as his niece and nephew. But he chose not to, instead, he was so contemptuous of the intelligence and common sense of the citizens as to seek to argue that the matter in all respects was transparent, legal and above board. It not only boggles our mind but it is bizarre to think that someone of the Commissioner’s status would even attempt to prove that no laws were broken or there has been no conflict of interest.
No, Mr. Commissioner; the people are not buying your AESOP-FABLES story and they are not going to let you get away with this one. We believe that the reason this has become so controversial is that you are not candid with the public. The fact that the Commissioner goes to extraordinary lengths to explain his actions proved that he is aware that his actions did not pass the smell test. If the people are to judge from his contortions and gyrations, he would receive an “F” grade because he has failed the openness, transparency and impartiality test.
Asquith Rose and Harish Singh

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