SARA seems unwilling to investigate anything connected with this Government

Jun 07, 2018 Letters

Dear Editor,
I read the report from the Stabroek News about the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) working with regional administrations to ensure that budgetary funds are properly spent and accounted for. This support role is a new turn when you consider what the SARA law is mainly focused on.
The SARA law, when you read the reports from the Department of Public Information, stipulates the functions of SARA to include investigating whether state property was obtained through unlawful conduct involving a public official or any other person and the tracing and identifying of property wherever situated, suspected to be state property obtained from unlawful conduct involving a public official or any other person.
But SARA isn’t talking about taking the Regional Executive Officers (REOs) to court over overpayment on contracts and that sort of action. All Guyanese have seen the unwillingness of SARA to investigate anything connected with actions of this Government, even the last week’s media reports about Government ministers selling passports and work permits and setting up front companies to benefit from taxpayers’ monies.
So if SARA isn’t going to probe the government ministers, why would they go after these REOs who are acting contrary to the laws, right?
Or is it because most of the REOs were appointed by the same government that appointed the people running SARA? Aubrey Heath-Retemyer himself said that SARA is not in the regions to “run things,” but is there to “point out” where there are things that are going in the wrong direction.
Or it is that SARA knows that if it takes cases against these REOs, or even Government Ministers, to court it would not win the case? The SARA Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) are in positions, despite what the law says about how appointments to these positions should be made. Everyone was of the view that a new Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) would be appointed, once the Bill was passed last year. Their functioning of Aubrey Heath-Retemyer and Clive Thomas is unconstitutional and in contravention of the law.
Editor, these are serious issues that raise many worries for Guyanese people. The SARA law gives much power to the people running it and, since the people running it were handpicked by this APNU-AFC Government, the SARA Bill gives much power to them.
Attiya Baksh
Editor’s note: There is no recollection of last week’s media reports about Government ministers selling passports and work permits and setting up front companies to benefit from taxpayers’ monies. Rumours and suppositions are often ignored by this newspaper.
We make an exception today.

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