Several persons arrested in relation to housing scams

Nov 25, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – Several persons have been arrested in relation to corrupt practices at the Ministry of Housing and Water, subject minister Susan Rodrigues disclosed on Friday.

On her Facebook page, the minister said that staff from her secretariat was implicated in the corruption allegations and on instruction, she has been working along with the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to uncover solid evidence against staff members or outsiders who were suspected of conducting illegal transactions.

“Today, their efforts have led to the arrest of several persons. This will no doubt assist the police to further their investigations. Unfortunately, the reckless and vindictive postings on social media, which prove nothing, have compromised months of tedious investigative work which could have potentially led to more arrests,” the minister stated.

Minister Rodrigues in her statement said that she is committed to rooting out corruption. Notwithstanding, she said, that regrettably, members of the public continue to encourage the practice of offering bribes and willingly participate in these illegal transactions and when they lose their money without receiving the “favours” they expected, they take to social media to complain, instead of going to the police.

“There is little or nothing we can do with social media postings that bear no evidence,” she stated while adding that “Naresh Sugrim (one of the persons allegedly implicated) is a patriotic, hardworking, and diligent public servant who did not deserve to be defamed. I have advised him to take private legal action in this regard. It is my hope that this embarrassment does not discourage him, and other honest public servants, who do not engage in such illegalities.”

The minister highlighted that eliminating corruption from a Ministry that distributes land is a near impossible task, but they can reduce it significantly with help from law-abiding citizens.

“We cannot do it alone. I am therefore imploring the public to desist from participating in bribery. If you have any information or evidence that can lead to the arrest and conviction of staff members or anyone who claims to have contacts in the Ministry that can assist with land allocation in exchange for money, please report it to the police or come to my office and I will contact the police to facilitate a full investigation,” she explained.

Following the allegations surfacing on social media, the ministry on Thursday had published a statement encouraging persons to come forward with “solid evidence” involving its staff of corrupt activities.

In light of the allegations, the ministry said it is “committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and service” in the execution of its mandate in the housing sector. The agency said it “take these allegations with utmost seriousness.”

The ministry said it will not condone any form of unethical behaviour or corruption, adding that any of its employees who is “found to be engaging in corrupt transactions will face serious disciplinary action and also the full force of the law, where appropriate.”

In light of the allegations, the ministry noted too that it has intensified “monitoring of the activities in the areas highlighted to ensure that all procedures are strictly followed.”

As a reminder, the Housing Ministry said that all applications for house lots are processed directly at agency and its regional offices by authorized employees. “The Ministry does not have any middlemen or external agents who are authorized to conduct business on its behalf,” the agency noted.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo told reporters at a press conference that there are “a lot of scams” and many people have been duped.

He said reports of scams should be reported to the police while advising that victims “put it on social media”.

The Vice President said he doesn’t have a problem with the latter move, since it will be investigated by the authorities.

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arrested, corruption activities, Guyana Police Force, Ministry of Housing and water, Susan Rodrigues

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