Dear Editor,
 
Recently the media has reported on a number of issues suggesting that there is fraud, waste, abuse and corruption involving public officials and public accounts. Specifically, there were references to a public servant who built a house that could not be supported by the individual’s public service income, and the suggestions that certain equipment was acquired at exorbitant prices through the tender process. Moreover, there are general allegations of unaccounted public monies.
I believe that the Auditor General has the authority to investigate these matters. Therefore, I call upon him to do so and send a strong message that he would not stand by and allow Guyana to be characterised as a country with kleptocrats and retinues. I am sure that the Performance Audit/ Value for Money units have acquired the necessary skills to do an exemplary job.  In fact, the Auditor General is statutorily permitted to criticise the government without fear of persecution. So, in the words of Dr. Nanda Gopaul I would say to the Auditor General “If you believe in freedom of speech, express yourself freely. If you believe in truth, tell it. If you believe in a free and open society, act in the open.”

    Yours faithfully,
    Dexter Harding