Last week’s article completed our “stock-take” on where we stood in terms of public financial management. We gave a favourable assessment of the seven months’ efforts by the new Administration on this front, considering the state of affairs it inherited following the 11 May national and regional elections, and the efforts it has made so far. Two areas have, however, shown little or no progress: (a) the establishment of the Procurement Commission; and (b) ensuring the effective functioning of the Integrity Commission. Last month, the Parliament Office had publicly advertised for interested persons/organisations to nominate individuals to serve on the Commission. However, the response was below expectation, as few names were put forward. It is now left to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to conclude the exercise by identifying five persons who in its opinion are best suited to serve on the Commission. The names of these individuals have to be presented to the National Assembly for ratification by two-thirds majority after which the President makes the appointment.
Guyana is a signatory to the Inter-American Convention against Corruption and the United Nations Convention against Corruption. Both conventions require us to take concrete measures to minimize the extent to which corruption is perceived to exist among politicians and senior bureaucrats. This is done through,
