Corruption in Guyana – must be our imagination

Jul 17, 2022 Editorial

Kaieteur News – Top leaders and ministers in the current PPP/C Government are firm in their position. They all say, without exception, that they are against corruption, that they themselves are incorruptible, beyond suspicion or accusation. Senior public servants give every assurance, take sacred oaths, that they are untarnished, in that the corruption virus raging in Guyana has not, and cannot, touch them. It is the same sturdy story with the Guyana Police Force, in the Administrative Regions, and regarding the stewardship of our rich natural resources.This is chorus and song, and on and on it goes, so much so that a stranger would be fooled to think that this is a pure and profound place.

Now, this nation is left with a handful of choices. It is either our imagination, or real circumstances in motion have been subjected to heavy exaggeration, or the power of misplaced perception has led us to unfounded conclusions. It could mean also that most cleareyed, clear-minded, and clean thinking citizens of this country all have it wrong, are barking up the wrong tree. The issue of corruption then puts citizens against leaders and public servants, and boils down to the issue of who has it right. That is, there is unimaginable levels of corruption in every nook and cranny and activity in this country, or claims of corruption are a product of fevered imaginations, nothing but fantasies.

In our almost three decades of news reporting, we have seen incredible amounts of corruption, and many such instances have been brought right to our doorstep. We will not go over what we have covered for the Guyanese people, except to say that they have stood the test of time because they are real, in that they have substance and foundation. So, when somebody, anybody, in this country asserts that there is no corruption, or that they are incorruptible, we know better. They lie.

It could be PPP/C Governments under different leaders, with some worse than others, and of which the records speak volumes. Yet they and their people quickly rush forward to condemn those who point them out for what doesn’t add up. The old PNC, rebranded as the APNU+AFC Coalition, was out of power for 23 years, but came back and lasted just under five, a short period as governments rule in this country. But in that approximate five-year period, some of its senior people in and around the government wreaked havoc on standards, practices, and the national treasury. Like its PPP/C predecessor, and the one that succeeded it to rule today, the people in these governments used their election to office to enrich themselves. We have presented the allegations that have stood, the projects that have crumbled, and the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) discussions that are a stream of revelations of the skullduggeries and crookedness of people in ministries, regions, and those having anything to do with public works projects and many millions spent.

The people in government have selected them and put them in charge of various areas and matters. Guyanese are familiar with our exposés of wrongdoing and maladministration in most places. This starts from tender boards to contract awards to partnerships encircling contractors and clerks and chairs. The list is endless, and the people with their hands dirty are numerous. Yet we are told that there is mostly no corruption in this country and that what we have are clean leaders and clean governance.

What we would like to know is why people are not being made examples of, charged and jailed, and also compelled to make restitution. Why do leaders coddle them? We also would like to ask when would the people who put leaders in power hold them accountable? The Sri Lankans had to face reality: keep condoning the crimes of politicians and fall like flies, after living like flies darting around for crumbs to survive. With rising cost of living pains, this is what ordinary Guyanese stare at, have to confront. Corruption is the cancer that is killing us. We either continue to accept corruption as it is, or we find the courage to get rid of crooked leaders who cheat us, and deceive us. Remember the Sri Lankans.

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