Guyana needs an effective tender board and US RICO-style laws

Dear Editor,

 

Letter writer Sean Ori wrote succinctly in yesterday’s SN: “It is all about value for money. Clearly, City Hall erred as they should have put the contracts for garbage clearance out for tendering in the interest of transparency and accountability.”

In many of these non-tender selections of contractors for whatever services (drug storage bonds, road repairs, etc) the government of the day selects their ‘friends’ and favours them with a lucrative contract. No transparency whatsoever. Some of these companies become the financiers for the party’s next election’s campaign.

An effective tender board and United States RICO-type laws are the only known antidote to corruption in certain areas. A Criminal Investigation Department for white collar crimes practically doesn’t exist in Guyana.

(RICO, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act provides for extended criminal penalties that usually lead to confiscations of all the gains from bribery schemes.)

 

Yours faithfully,

Mike Persaud