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Legal framework and corruption
Editorial…
Kaieteur News- There is much that former Speaker of the House and Senior Counsel, Ralph Ramkarran, that we agree with on the issue of massive government corruption. For starters, he posited that the legal framework is weak, and that procurement systems need urgent reform. In his own words, “I don’t think the laws are robust enough, but it’s not only a question of laws, it’s a question of systems. The procurement system needs reforming in many ways and the Procurement Commission, the laws need reforming to enable the Commission (to carry out certain functions).”
Ramkarran highlighted reforms needed to take aim at corruption infesting taxpayers’ money. We take the position that a complete overhaul is what Guyana’s circumstances demand. The legal framework, the Procurement Commission’s powers, the composition of those placed to man the ground-level contract award system, and those in oversight bodies all call for an overhaul. From politicians to the common people, all have been talking about corruption cancers that have weakened this country’s potential, and all but destroyed any claim it could make to standards. The grim reality is that government after government, and leader after leader, have all failed to address the corruption cancer, with Guyanese taxpayers feeling the pain. A million dollars lost through corruption represents a million in benefits not reaching citizens.
New laws are in operation, yet they always seem to lack the kind of teeth necessary, as though loopholes are left as they are in the drafting process. An invitation to raid the nation’s coffers is how we see developments such as those. The Natural Resource Fund law stands as a good example. The PPPC Government had the wisdom to insert provisions to penalize those who commit wrongdoing with the Fund, but it was wiser in neglecting to incorporate penalties for those who touch the oil money of the people in an improper way. How can a real fight be mounted against government corruption when the government itself could be so clever as to do something of such a slippery nature? There is a Public Procurement Commission to oversee the national tendering and award processes, yet its powers only go so far. It is tantamount to putting a lame duck to look over a sick dog, the latter being a solid description of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).
Ramkarran also called for something that makes sense. He pointed out that NPTAB, as it is currently constituted, is mostly made up of public servants. To a considerable extent, public servants are not respected by Guyanese as being paragons of virtue. Therefore, to have a body as sensitive as NPTAB, one that oversees the award of contracts totaling hundreds of billions of budgeted funds, run by mainly public servants, is to give a green light to corrupt practices. When the Guyana public service has earned its way back into the regard of citizens, there can then be some reconsideration of this position. Recent high-profile examples of contract awards that failed to meet eligibility requirements have resulted in NPTAB looking very disreputable, an agency not to be trusted. The Belle Vue pump station, awarded by NPTAB, stands above the others that give off the stench of politics and cronyism, and the corruption that is all but inevitable when the two are in operation. There was a contract award for $865M for the Belle View project that has been ripped to shreds, but the claim is that everything is stuck right there, since nothing can be done. After all the noise about accountability, this is where close to a billion dollars hang unresolved. The PPPC Government is paralyzed by either its loyalty to friends and people who do dirty work for it, or by its behind-the-scenes endorsement of corruption.
The political opposition has been clamoring for a seat on NPTAB, which should make a difference; slow down the corruption cancer. Our position is that elements from civil society and other citizens who are known for their independence must be present in the government’s procurement system. When public service evaluators on the front end of bids and State engineers at the back end have compiled a less-than-reliable record, then people from other areas are needed to stem the corruption tide.
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