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Corruption
Kaieteur News – Corruption is gnawing away at the fabric of Guyanese society. Corruption is chewing on the soul of this nation, ripping it into shreds. The problem is that it is all over, and just below the surface in countless disguises.
Though they may be well camouflaged, Guyanese are so seasoned to corruption that they can smell it and the people who are engaged in it from a distance. Yet very little is done about the local epidemic of corruption, and this is despite the bright promises and stirring claims of leaders in this PPP/C Government to be thoroughly and powerfully against corrupt practices, and those who are part of such.
Recently, a man came out with some sharp claims about deception and corruption at a State entity that drains the nation’s coffers, so limping it is, so much of a helping hand it needs. The man is not a regular Guyanese, but one who served on the board of directors of this State corporation, until he couldn’t take it anymore. He resigned in disgust and came out in the public domain to state where he stood with corruption in this country. He could not have been clearer or harsher with what he put before every Guyanese to consider. In substance, he said that he had never seen corruption in this country, given the levels at where it is today. Where corruption has been in the last two years is the worst that he has ever seen it to be.
This is a man who knows how this country works, a man who has grown up around business and where huge amounts of money are discussed and spent with specific objectives in mind, and what kind of conduct makes those objectives achievable. In other words, it is how to push for, and insist, that the benefit of every penny is had from every dollar spent. With that kind of background and experience, this man knows corruptions when he is around it, when it is in play, no matter how sophisticated the schemes may be. This is because he has seen it all, and it became so bad that matters exploded inside the State agency first, then spilled over into the media and before the public.
Many billions in scarce taxpayers’ dollars are employed to prop up this State corporation, which means that Guyanese are entitled to the very best use put to every single dollar, except that they are not getting that return from their investment, so to speak. Because it is a struggling State entity that is under the public microscope with these scorching allegations, Guyana’s President didn’t have the luxury of sticking to the sidelines in the pretense that it is none of his business, and that it is a matter for the board to work out to the satisfaction of all the clashing parties, and their claims and counterclaims.
The latest development in the media is that the President is readying to move have some meeting of the minds of the warring parties in the State entity, viz. the board of directors and the senior management officials, so that some sort of shaky peace can return and lead to more agreeable relationship going forward. Though this is commendable in terms of leadership initiative, it is our thinking that the President is going about this in the wrong way, in that he has his priorities wrong. This is not a matter of Presidential peacemaking, but one that, of necessity, should be focused on getting to the bottom of the savaging claims of corruptions laid on the table.
Our simple thinking is that if there is some truth to what the former director has said, then it is an open and shut case of what must follow next. Once there is corruption present, then those responsible must be dealt with in the sharpest way possible. Hard punishment would be required, the only choice available, regardless of who is involved. This is how corruption is handled, if a start is going to be made in cleaning the clogged corruption stables, with strong messages sent. The first is don’t even think about it, for there will be accounting and it will be transparent.
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