Guyana captured by corrupt business and political elites

Feb 13, 2025 News

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Transparency Int’l report… 

…attacks on dissenting voices, activists, journalists common

…country ranks 92 out of 180 countries on corruption index

Kaieteur News-The state of Guyana has been captured by the economic and political elites here, fostering misappropriation of resources, illicit enrichment and environmental crimes, the global coalition against corruption- Transparency International said on Tuesday.

The body also stated that Guyana has lost ground in the fight against corruption moving from 40 points last year to 39 this year, ranking it 92 out of 180 countries on the Corruption Perception Index. “In Guyana, state capture by economic and political elites fosters misappropriation of resources, illicit enrichment and an environmental crime,” the Transparency International report said. It added: “Although the country has created anti-corruption institutions and laws, transparency and law enforcement are very low, and attacks on dissenting voices, activists and journalists increasingly common,” the body stated in its report.

The Transparency International report on Guyana is significant, given widespread complaints of massive corruption in government and accusations that billion-dollar contracts are being handed out to friends and families of government officials. Several government ministers are also fingered in corruption schemes – some allegedly owning construction companies, hotels and other businesses and have assigned persons to front them. The report also comes on the heels of a massive scandal of corrupt allocation of state lands, which has forced the resignation of the Chief Executive Officer of the Central Housing and Planning Authority, Sherwyn Greaves.

In its 2023 report, Transparency International had said that the fight against corruption here had stagnated in recent years after the country had dug itself out of the morass during the years of the previous PPP/C government. When the PPP/C had demitted office back in 2015, the country was scoring below 30 points, however during the years of the APNU+AFC that score steadily improved reaching 41 by 2020. Four full years since the PPP/C returned to government, the ranking had stagnated at 41, before now dropping to 39.

UN CONCERNS

Back in March 2024, the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) had released its findings on Guyana, expressing concerns over the nation’s institutional framework to combat corruption. The report acknowledged Guyana’s adoption of laws and regulations to tackle corruption, including the establishment of a Special Organized Crime Unit (S.O.C.U) within the Guyana Police Force (GPF). However, it highlights lingering concerns regarding the effectiveness of the institutional setup to prevent and prosecute corruption, particularly within the police force and among high-level public officials. Specific concerns outlined in the report include instances where the Commissioner of Information failed to address public requests and the delayed enforcement of the Protected Disclosures and Witness Protection Act.

To address these issues, the Committee  urged Guyana to intensify its efforts to promote good governance and combat corruption at all levels of government. This includes addressing the root causes of corruption as a priority, ensuring impartial investigation and prosecution of all corruption cases, enhancing the independence, transparency, and accountability of anti-corruption bodies, guaranteeing effective access to information held by relevant authorities, and expediting the implementation of measures to protect whistleblowers and witnesses. Additionally, the Committee calls for thorough investigations into allegations of corruption in the management of natural resources, particularly within the oil and gas sector, highlighting the importance of transparency and accountability measures in this critical area. Moreover, the Committee had expressed concern over reports of corruption and lack of transparency in the management of natural resources, particularly within the oil and gas sector. It calls for thorough investigations into allegations of corruption in this sector and emphasises the importance of transparency and accountability measures.

BARRIER TO GOOD GOVERNANCE

Meanwhile, the annual CPI report highlights how corruption remains a significant barrier to good governance and equitable development in the country. Transparency International underscored the deep connection between corruption and the global climate crisis, warning that corruption obstructs efforts to mitigate climate change.

The lack of transparency and accountability increase the risk of climate funds being misused or embezzled. Additionally, the undue influence of polluting industries on decision-makers, coupled with conflicts of interest—such as politicians holding shares in oil and gas companies—have obstructed ambitious policies aimed at addressing the crisis.

“The corruption crisis is a huge obstacle to solving the climate crisis,” the report states. “These factors have favored the interests of narrow groups over the common good.”

With corruption growing in both scale and complexity, Transparency International warns that over two-thirds of the world’s countries now score below the midpoint on the CPI. This ongoing crisis not only exacerbates inequality but also fuels instability, human rights violations, and the weakening of democratic institutions.

“Corruption is an evolving global threat that does far more than undermine development – it is a key cause of declining democracy, instability and human rights violations. The international community and every nation must make tackling corruption a top and long-term priority. This is crucial to pushing back against authoritarianism and securing a peaceful, free and sustainable world. The dangerous trends revealed in this year’s Corruption Perceptions Index highlight the need to follow through with concrete action now to address global corruption” said François Valérian, Chair of Transparency International.

Americas

Transparency International said that the Americas must take urgent action to control corruption. The absence of effective measures promotes human rights violations and increases the influence of economic and political elites and organised crime in public affairs. This environment fosters impunity and weakens countries’ capacity to address climate change, with dramatic consequences for their populations.

Leading the region this year are Uruguay (CPI score: 76), Canada (75) and Barbados (68) – all relatively stable democracies with high levels of transparency and participation. At the other end of the index, states ravaged by organised crime and human rights abuses hold the lowest scores – Haiti (16), Nicaragua (14) and Venezuela (10).

In the Americas, widespread corruption thwarts efforts to combat climate change, denigrating the environment. People, too, endure the repercussions, as the right to live in a healthy environment – mandated by the United Nations – is threatened, and the ancestral territories of Indigenous populations are devastated.

Weak institutions and lack of transparency allow criminal organisations to control wide swathes of the region, where they exploit natural resources with no care for the consequences. This manifests in environmental crimes, from illegal logging in Ecuador (32), and illegal mining in Chile (63) and Colombia (39), to wildlife trafficking in Brazil (34). The organised criminals responsible depend on corruption and money laundering to sustain their operations. In Brazil, for example, a recent report identified 24 instances of fraud, corruption and money laundering stemming from the wildlife trafficking trade.

But it is not just organised crime. Political and economic elites also exploit the weakness of the system, using procurement fraud, bribery, and the manipulation of environmental policies for their own benefit. In Peru (31), for instance, experts suggest that the modification to the Forestry and Wildlife Law in 2024 responds to particular interests and will encourage illegal deforestation.

Civil society and environmental defenders are crucial in raising awareness and demanding government action against corruption and environmental crime. Despite the commitment of 25 Latin American countries to the Escazu Agreement to protect environmental defenders, the region remains the most dangerous for these activists. In Honduras (22), recent investigations have uncovered the coordinated involvement of business people, politicians and organised crime in at least three recent murders of environmental defenders, who had exposed corruption schemes involving these actors.

Shrinking civic space and restricted access to information

Increasing restrictions on public information and participation are one of the most significant setbacks across the region. In Argentina (37), a new decree redefined concepts of public and private information, limiting the people’s access to information, while the quantity and quality of responses from the executive branch to requests for information declined.

In El Salvador (30), which has dropped nine points since 2015, a new procurement law limited public access to information, allowing significant leeway for the discretion of individual decision makers and hampering accountability in the acquisition of public goods and services.

Weak and complacent judiciaries

Across the region, weak and opaque judiciaries restrict effective enforcement and justice. Mexico (26) is on a downward swing, dropping five points in just one year as the judiciary failed to take action in corruption cases like Odebrecht and Segalmex, which involve human rights violations and environmental damage. Despite former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s promises to tackle corruption and return stolen assets to the people, his six-year term ended without any convictions or recovered assets. The United States (65) also dropped four points amid criticism of its judicial branch.

The Supreme Court instituted a new ethics code in 2023, after a number of high-profile and widely publicised ethical scandals, but serious questions remain about the lack of meaningful, objective enforcement mechanisms and the strength of the new rules themselves.

(Guyana captured by corrupt business and political elites)

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• corruption, CPI, Guyana, transparency international

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