Gov’t must get cracking on anti-corruption plans

Ralph Ramkarran speaking at the TIGI dinner

Since Guyana will in the future be an oil producing country with a Sovereign Wealth Fund, former Speaker of the National Assembly Ralph Ramkarran on Saturday urged the APNU+AFC government to swiftly establish anti-corruption mechanisms to prevent dishonest dealings.

“In a few short years we will be joining the club of oil producers. If we allow Guyana to enter that club with an ingrained ethic of corruption still festering, no amount of posturing about the securing and protecting of oil profits in a Sovereign Wealth Fund will prevent the skimming off from the top, before the funds reach the Sovereign Wealth Fund, of a significant portion by corrupt deeds and transactions,” Ramkarran warned.

He was at the time delivering the feature address at the Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc (TIGI) annual fundraising dinner, held on Saturday evening at the