Can the President be divorced from corruption in Guyana?

May 14, 2019 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

A number of columnists, letter-writers, commentators, and the Leader of the Opposition, have lamented the APNU+AFC mishandling of the economy, along with the numerous other ills. The President cannot be removed from all the negatives that befall this nation since he assumed leadership of the national economy in 2015. In fact, an argument can be made that Mr. Granger and his administration bask in corruption and other negativity/wrong doings. It would be difficult, if not futile, for anyone to defend his actions; his silence can be seen as acquiescing/promoting corruption among his ranks. Further, he has been tight lipped on the gifting of numerous contracts to supporters, friends and relatives.
The recent damning audit report on SOCU is a case in point. The report exposed clear cases of corruption within SOCU, which came as a shock to the nation, as this institution, which is charged with the task(s) of investigating corruption, is now guilty of corruption. It is interesting to note, that, while the Minister of Home Affairs stated in the press that the guilty among the SOCU bunch would face the consequences of their actions, the President said he will take action if the evidence supported the accusations. Is Mr. Granger for real? Isn’t the report itself sufficient evidence? Apparently, it’s not, for Mr. Granger. Meanwhile, dismantling SOCU may not be the answer; legally sanctioning the guilty officials, and restructuring SOCU would be the way to go.
Further, despite glaring conflict of interests contracts to Ministers Patterson-Yearwood and Hughes, the President remained silent for an extended time before taking action. Even when he decided to sanction such behaviour, he condemned the Minister of Housing but left the Minister of Public Telecommunications to carry-on her functions as usual. How should the nation view such behaviour? Is it an Animal Farm case where ‘one is more equal than the other’?
Finally, in recent days, there have been revelations about the numerous multi-million dollar contracts that were given to selected groups/individuals. Yes, they were selected because they didn’t go through the normal tendering processes. Even more damning is the fact that a few of the contracts were given in the names of the individuals because they don’t have any registered company on records. Perhaps, some of these contracts were given to ‘one spade and a wheelbarrow’ individuals/companies/contractors. Again, the President is silent on these latest revelations. Could these be seen as politicking for upcoming elections?
In essence, the foregoing sample of corrupt activities spotlights the role of the President. While some may attempt to defend the President, for any number of reasons, including casting blame on the previous administration, it would be difficult to absolve him from the rampant parade of corruption under his leadership and administration.

Yours sincerely,
Ronald Singh

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