Complaint of Widespread Corruption

Jan 31, 2024 Letters

Dear Editor,

The level of corruption under this government has become an overpowering stench on Guyanese as well as among other Caribbean people.

The stench is overbearing and will follow Guyanese everywhere they go. Caribbean investors in Guyana speak about the huge bribes they pay to get business licenses and government contracts as well as to purchase or lease state lands and in general to do business in Guyana. They also speak of certain government officials on the take. We are being seen as very corrupt people by other Caribbean nationals because of the uncontrolled corruption and greed of a few government people; only a few top government people are spared of the corruption brush.

The recent perception is akin to how Guyanese were viewed throughout the region during the 1970s thru 2000s as they desperately sought to earn a living in other territories. They did whatever was prudent to survive. They were looked down upon, seen as hustlers and con men and con women, and as bandits who preyed on Caribbean citizens. And they were scorned by other nationals because of the Guyanese governments of the day.

Perception was changing positively for Guyanese during the mid-2010s with the change in administration until the refusal of the coalition government to step down after its defeat in the no confidence motion and its feeble attempts to publicly rig the election of 2020. Racism and authoritarianism have been pushed aside. Since 2021, the stench of widespread corruption and nepotism in awarding contracts has brought to a full circle how our people are viewed by other Caribbean nationals. How and when will the perception of our people ever change if government folks are on the take and steps not taken to punish the culprits?

There are countless cases of corruption. In a recent case just two weeks ago, it has been brought to my attention that a female minister received $15M. She was imbibing with her friend and appeared stoned and out of control at MovieTowne where the political elite socialize. She was boisterous and spoke of her new-found wealth. Indeed, almost every top government official who came into government penniless has become a billionaire. The behaviour of the young female minister was brought to the attention of her political bosses in town. Apparatchiks from her party headquarter were sent to MovieTowne to get her out of there, of course with the dough. There are so many other cases of corruption being talked about.

Contracts were given to inexperienced, unqualified, and unsuitable contractors that lack the capacity to do the work. Hundreds of billions of dollars were wasted on projects to the detriment of the nation and that need to be redone. Also, many billions were paid out for contract work never done. And many major projects are at a standstill waiting for the ‘right deal’ while the country is stagnated or robbed of benefits if these projects were set in motion. This year, the budget is much larger than the preceding year and every year under this and the last administration, it got bigger. So can the population expect more stealing from government officials? Will the nation ever see a let up in theft of our wealth?

Yours truly,

Rudesh Jodha

Caribbean, corruption, Guyanese, Rudesh Jodha, widespread

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