Third party needed for good Governance

Mar 23, 2024 Letters

Dear Editor,

Reference is made to your news reports (March 19, 20) on Tuesday’s forum held by United Nation Commission on Human Rights (in Geneva) querying the failure of Guyana government to investigate credible allegations of corruption and violations of rule of law in awarding contracts. The UN Commission hearing laid bare the state of affairs in Guyana. Corruption has been on the increase since the change in political administration. The country is increasingly being governed like an autocracy a la Putin’s Russia with no accountability. Putinesque style of governance is being used here. It must be stopped unless Guyana further descends into a dictatorship.

The country and its people have been abused for sixty years. One party majority rule in Guyana has failed the nation. The solution to abuse of power and proliferation of corruption is to prevent any party from getting a majority of seats (33) in parliament. This would require a credible ‘third force’ or the small parties to capture enough seats away from both major parties to ensure that no party wins an outright majority.

The third force and or small parties must campaign on an anti-corruption platform. They must firmly promise to investigate all past contracts and ensure prosecution of the corrupt. They must commit to piloting legislation to increase the penalty for corruption, confiscate all corrupt gains, and bring all the corrupt to justice – Ministers and all other government functionaries and their families and friends who are enjoying the loot. The public will gravitate towards parties that make such promises, giving them sufficient voter support to prevent any party from winning a majority. They will attract votes from both sides of the political divide to get enough votes or seats to either form the government or deny the two behemoths a parliamentary majority.

The UN Commission questioning of Ms. Texeira clearly showed that the procurement commission is biased and dysfunctional with complainants not getting justice. The commission seems to be hurting honest businessmen who bid for contracts. There has not been a satisfactory investigation of complaints filed at the PSC on awarding of contracts to companies that did not meet the minimum criteria.

Take the instances of awarding of major pump station contracts to individuals who lacked minimum requirements to qualify for awards much less being considered final evaluation. And while on the topic of corruptly awarded contracts on pump stations, the Ministry of Agriculture was unable to respond to several criticisms in the press of contracts to certain favored companies and individuals.

The Ministry also failed to explain the recent holiday trip to Las Vegas of a large group of engineers from the NDIA; the trip’s expenses were covered by corrupt contractors with whom some engineers worked in league. The Ministry has been unable to defend the award of the contract for the dredging of the Pomeroon River and the use of NDIA’s equipment by the private contractor who did some work.

The allegation of payment of huge sums of money to the son of a functionary at the Ministry of Agriculture for works not done is very troubling. Some contractors lacking capacity to do work tend to sub-contract projects. These are done in a most substandard manner and some not done. State money has been moving from the treasury into the pockets of functionaries.

The UN Commission didn’t touch on the rights of political association and forming parties. The VP, about him questions were asked on corruption, threatened those thinking of forming political parties. It is not an empty threat. People are known to be victimized. Several prominent individuals who were thinking of forming parties, fearing for their safety and denied avenues for a decent livelihood, packed up and left. The public would like to know why Yog Mahadeo suddenly abandoned politics and left Guyana.

Courageous people must step up to fill the void; credible third parties are needed to stem corruption and provide good governance.

Yours truly,

Michael Robinson

governance, Michael Robinson, Nation, Russia, United Nation Commission on Human Rights

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