The corruption curse

Aug 18, 2026 Editorial, News

(Kaieteur News) – The shocking revelations and allegations of corruption continue to enmesh this administration from the highest to the lowest.

In its previous 23-year term, the PPP/C government was dogged by allegations of the giveaway of the Sanata Textile complex, the Fip Motilall debacle; the Pradoville scandal; the witch hunt of NBS CEO; the forest giveaway to Bai Shan Lin and others. No sooner than the party returned to government in 2020, the corruption scandal continued. Its tentacles have touched almost everyone in the government, the President and Vice President have not been exempted. We had the Su-gate corruption scandal exposed by Vice News that entangled Bharrat Jagdeo and now two running scandals involving President Irfaan Ali, his mega farm and now one allegedly involving a relative.

As we have said in a previous editorial, it is nauseating how often the names of top-ranking officials in the government are called in some corruption context. For the most part, neither elected officials nor the ones that they select to support their work are spared. Often, there’s the overpowering sense that national governance has deteriorated to the machinations of a gang of thieves. The skullduggeries are most pronounced in procurement for public works.

In its 2025 report, Transparency International said that the state of Guyana has been captured by the economic and political elites, fostering misappropriation of resources, illicit enrichment and environmental crimes. 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. The report also noted that 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.

For years, ordinary Guyanese have watched as public resources are siphoned off, contracts are handed to friends and political loyalists, and accountability is treated like an inconvenience rather than a duty. The oil boom was supposed to be a blessing, but it risks becoming just another gold rush for the political elite while the average citizen sees little change in their daily life. Transparency is a word politicians love to use in speeches, but in practice, it’s a mirage. Procurement processes are routinely bypassed. Major projects are green-lighted without genuine oversight. Under this government important questions in Parliament are often dodged, audits have been delayed, and whistleblowers intimidated.

When scandals break out much like the one involving the president and his farm or even the MV Barima tragedy, the standard playbook kicks in: government officials even the President would deny, distract, and wait until the public moves on. Law enforcement and regulatory bodies, instead of being independent guardians of the public interest, often appear as tools to protect the powerful and punish dissenters. The lines between government, business, and party are blurred to the point of invisibility. Foreign investors quickly learn that “greasing palms” is not just an option but a necessity if they want to operate smoothly.

Meanwhile, the country’s social services remain underfunded, so much so that we have to borrow money from the IDB to fix the water systems. The healthcare systems despite the construction of new hospitals remain strain, and infrastructure in many communities is crumbling. The wealth gap widens while a political class entrenches itself, living far removed from the struggles of the people which they claim to represent. Guyana’s potential is enormous, oil wealth, fertile land, human capital but corruption is the parasite that keeps draining it. Until the PPP is forced to face real consequences for abuse of power, the cycle will continue: the rich and connected will get richer, and the majority will be left with promises, excuses, and little else.

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