Former AG launches second book on public accountability

Jul 05, 2015 News

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Given the growing perception that public accountability in Guyana is constantly being eroded by various forms of corruption, the launch of a book which addresses this among other related matters by former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran, was greatly appreciated by members of the business community and even the Granger administration.

“Public Accountability at the Cross Roads-The Guyana Experience” will be Goolsarran’s second book. Volume two of this edition is expected to be launched by next month. His first book was “Improving public accountability: The Guyana experience 1985-2007.”
Goolsarran launched his book in fine but simple style on Friday last at the Pegasus hotel which drew the presence of several high profile members of the society. Included in the audience was Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo; Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan; Junior Finance Minister, Jaipaul Sharma; Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Keith Scott; and Business magnate, Dr. Yesu Persaud.
Chairing the programme was Attorney-at-law and director of Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc (TIGI), Gino Persaud.
In his introductory remarks of the author, Persaud said that Goolsarran has over 30 years of professional experience in public sector financial management at both national and international levels.
He said that Goolsarran served as the Auditor General from 1990 to 2004, playing a leading role in the restoration of public accountability in Guyana after decades of neglect and deterioration.
Persaud noted that the anti-corruption activist was also the architect of the Guyana Audit Act 2004 and was also the chief resident auditor of the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations in Sierra Leone and Liberia for two years.
Goolsarran is a past president of TIGI. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants with a Masters and a Doctorate degree in Business Administration.
The Chartered Accountant said that his book is a compilation of published articles in the Accountability watch column of the Stabroek News. He explained that the book has five sections; General managerial matters; Public financial management; State audit and accountability; Governance, Transparency and Accountability; and On Corruption.
The former Auditor General said that the first chapter looks at approaches to decision making while the second focuses on an overview of the budget process, financial papers laid in the National Assembly, the procurement process and understanding public debt.
In the third chapter, he deals extensively with the role of the Public Accounts Committee , state auditing and the Auditor General’s report while his fourth chapter deals with published articles on accountability of statutory bodies , NICIL , the Specialty Hospitality , the Marriott , Radio licenses, the National Insurance Scheme, the Amaila Falls Hydro Project and the Guyana Power and Light Inc.
The last chapter looks at understanding corruption, the two anti-corruption conventions of which Guyana is a signatory and anti-money laundering.
The Foreword of the book was written by Dr. Yes Persaud who took to the podium to deliver brief remarks.
He lauded the contributions of the Chartered Accountant in the fight against corruption and said that Guyana needs more persons like him who have fearlessly spoken out against the abuses which took place under the previous administration. He said that it is time for an environment to be created where citizens can speak courageously about anything they believe is against the law.
“The time is right for us to express ourselves and say things as they are. Too many of us hide behind a veil,” the business magnate added.  He lamented that the problem Guyana struggles with is the lack of ethics “from top to bottom” and emphasized that this needs to come to an end.
Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, who later took the floor also agreed with Dr. Persaud’s comments. He hailed Goolsarran as the “Messiah of anti-corruption.”
On behalf of the Government, Nagamootoo commended Goolsarran for the “impressive compilation” of articles and said that he would recommend that it be made compulsory reading at secondary and tertiary levels of education.
“Having read several of these articles, I can’t see how anyone pursing a course in governance or management or politics or even accounts would want to escape benefitting from this book which outlines what not to do.
“If you were to enter into public life, much of what he wrote was born out of a reality of what went wrong in Guyana,” said the Prime Minister.
He added, “I welcome the articles which Goolsarran has put into one volume speaking to the various acts of corruption which are still eating away at every part of our society. We have to be able to set up the system to detect corruption and encourage ordinary folk to report corruption.”
He said that Cabinet has started the process by introducing a Code of Service with strict guidelines for upright behaviour “which will trickle down right down to the Neighbourhood Democratic Councils.”
“We are the image of the clean face and if we are not guided by high ethics then we will contribute to the contamination of the new image we fought so hard to project. So we need constant guidance from those like Goolsarran as they continue to implore us to take the high grounds of accountability transparency and good governance.”

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