All concessions must be published – Minister of Governance

Sep 27, 2015 News

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The administration is adamant about bringing a fresh approach to every tier of governance. In this vein, Minster of Governance, Raphael Trotman, issued a stern call to the country’s auditor General, Deodat Sharma, to respect the laws of the country.

The Auditor General must also ensure that all concessions as stipulated in the law are published.

For years the AG has failed to publish the concessions despite calls from various quarters for him to respect this requirement.

Minister Trotman made it clear that such behaviour shall be wiped out. The APNU+AFC Government remains committed to returning transparency and accountability.

Trotman said, “We are bringing a fresh approach to everything and it takes time but it can’t be done instantly and the Auditor General is quite aware that things have changed.

“We have no difficulty transferring the level of transparency and accountability needed in every area. We believe in openness but we need your support, patience and this is going to take time.”

Trotman said that he is now seeing, for the first time, some of the concessions that were granted across the board under the previous administration. He said that he is in the process of analyzing them.

Trotman said that in due course, the publishing of concessions granted within the year will be done as per law.

He emphasized that Government is going to ensure this is done. Trotman said that for the time being, he has ordered a report on all the concessions which were granted under the previous administration.

The Minister of Governance added, “We are combing through the systems to do a report on all concessions which were granted.”

He said, too, that the Guyana Revenue Authority should also be made to report on the duty free concessions which were granted to re-migrants on a yearly basis.

Presidential Advisor on Sustainability, Dr. Clive Thomas, had commented on this matter, stating that concessions granted during the year should not only be tabled in the National Assembly as the law stipulates, but also published in the newspaper.

In fact, the Economist feels so strongly about this that he intends to make recommendations to the Minister of Finance and President David Granger for this to be done.

He had told Kaieteur News that the “secrecy” and “level of unaccountability” which prevailed under the previous administration in that regard should remain as a mere characteristic of that “dark past.”

Professor Thomas had said, “Under the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), you had the former Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh and the Auditor General, Deodat Sharma, showing disregard for the laws in this respect,” Professor Thomas said.

“Sharma failed in tabling in the National Assembly, the concessions which would have been granted to foreign companies as stipulated by the country’s Investment Act. I am of the belief that all concessions must be published in the newspapers so that the people can see what is really being granted and then they will be able to later assess if the nation was properly compensated.”

Dr. Thomas continued, “I certainly believe that the people have a right to know this and there should be no objection to this. It should not only be tabled in the National Assembly but also published in the papers so that it can reach a wider audience, it can be subjected to constructive criticism and confidence in the system and the process can be restored.”

Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram had also criticized Dr. Ashni Singh, the former Finance Minister and the country’s Auditor General, for having failed, over several years, to adhere to the country’s investment laws.

Ram was referring specifically to the sections of that Act that call for transparency surrounding the monitoring and disclosure of tax concessions granted to foreign and local businesses annually.

Ram emphasized that both financial officers have ignored their statutory duty and stressed that this needs to change in the new era of governance.

The lawyer said that Sharma has been pressured on several occasions to report on the tax concessions as stipulated by the country’s tax laws, but he has continuously turned a blind eye to the issue.

Guyana’s Investment Act, Section 38 (1) states that the Auditor General, or any suitably qualified person, designated by him for the purpose, shall annually carry out a procedural or process audit of incentives granted under Section 2 of the Income Tax (In Aid of Industry) Act to an investor or an investment enterprise.

It goes on to state that the report of the audit carried out, shall be laid in the National Assembly within six months after the end of each financial year. This has never been done.

Further, Section 37 of the said Investment Act says that the Government shall publish in the Gazette, information regarding all fiscal incentives granted under Section 2 of the Income Tax (In Aid of Industry) Act.

The Chartered Accountant had said that given the failure of both Dr. Singh and Sharma to respect and obey the country’s laws, it becomes imperative for the whole matter of tax concessions to be part and parcel of the tax reform process with the aim of minimizing the cases for which exorbitant concessions are granted in an ad hoc fashion.

He said that the rules need to be made tighter and applied across the board. In doing this, the lawyer asserted that the country would stand to benefit more from greater revenues.

When Sharma was contacted by this newspaper to explain why he failed to report on the incentives granted annually, his response was, “I remember they used to be published in the papers between 2007 and 2008 but my memory of that is vague.

“I am not sure why it has stopped. I would have to go into office to see and check the laws. I am not in a position to say why this was stopped or why a report was not tabled in the House.

“There was a report on the re-migrant duty free concessions. So that’s one. But I really think your question should be posed to the Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority, Khurshid Sattaur.”

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