The Integrity Commission is continuing to identify public officials who have failed to submit declarations of their assets and liabilities as required by law and its Chairman Kumar Doraisami yesterday said many of those named so far have since complied with their obligations.
A list of 80 defaulters comprising senior officials of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has been published in the November 24th Official Gazette, which states that as of November 19th, 2018, they had not submitted their declarations to the Commission.
The Integrity Commission Act mandates the submission of declarations by various categories of public officials on or before June 30th each year.
The law requires that the names of the defaulters be published in the Official Gazette and a daily newspaper.
Doraisami, who earlier this month disclosed that approximately 300 declarations were received after 1,300 forms were sent out, yesterday expressed satisfaction with the improved rate of submission of declarations following the publication of the first list of defaulters on November 10th. He could not give an exact figure but stressed that it was a “good amount.”
The former Land Court judge said too that those who submitted subsequent to the publication of the first list included persons from other categories of public officials.
Upon receipt of the declarations, the documents will be examined by Doraisami, who is now in private practice as well as attorney Rosemary Benjamin-Noble and Pandit Rabindranath Persaud, who are the other members of the Commission. The three commissioners took the oath of office in February this year.
Asked about the examination process, the Chairman said that work is being done in this regard. He explained that he and his fellow commissioners met on Wednesday. The initial arrangement was that they would meet once a week but it has since been decided that meetings will take place at least thrice a week.
Doraisami told Stabroek News that at the last meeting, there were in-depth examinations of a few of the declarations. Based on those examinations, he said, a request will be made for the submission of other documents. “So, it is tedious situation,” he noted.
He said that no request for additional particulars have been made since the commissioners want to have a second look before making a final decision on which “one is more important… once we get that sorted out, we will send them a notice and give them some time to bring it in.”
He also assured that the names of defaulters will be published both in the Official Gazette and the newspapers until all have been named.
New list
On the new list are
- Fitzroy Corlette, Head of the Law Enforcement and Investigation Department (Former);
- Sese Fungai Jones, Head of the Information Technology Department;
- Patrick Hyman, Deputy Head of the Customs, Excise and Trade Operations Department;
- Hissaun Yasin-Nandlall, Deputy Commission of Inland Revenue, Legal Services Department;
- Joy Persaud, Deputy Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Legal Services Department;
- Robert James, Deputy Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Tax Audit Department;
- Rohan Beekhoo, Deputy Commissioner of the Customs, Excise and Trade Operations Department;
- Yonette Heyligar, Assistant Commissioner of Customs, Excise and Trade Operations Department;
- Simone Beckles, the Assistant Commissioner of Customs, Excise and Trade Operations Department;
- Marcia Searwar, Senior Manager, Information Technology Department;
- Jewel Maughn-Joseph, Senior Manager, Internal Affairs Department;
- Ulanie Durant, Assistant Commissioner of Inland Revenue Department;
- and Sherel Isaacs – Senior Manager (ag), Large Taxpayers.
Included also are:
- Wendy Vyphuis, Assistant Commissioner, Planning, Risk and Analysis Department;
- Joy Joseph, Assistant Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Tax Exemption Process and Verification Department;
- Kirby Cantzlaar, Assistant Commissioner, Customs, Exercise and Trade Operations Department;
- Jacqueline Williams, Assistant Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Tax Compliance and Enforcement Department;
- Lavina Walrond, Assistant Com-missioner of Inland Revenue, Tax Audit Department;
- Alika Austin, Assistant Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Tax Operations and Services Department;
- Asif Karim, Assistant Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Tax Operations and Services Department;
- Waheeda Ali – Assistant Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Tax Audit Department;
- Sean Richmond – Assistant Commissioner, Customs, Exercise and Trade Operations Department;
- Delroy Carrington , Business Analyst, Information Technology;
- Shawn Corney, Operations Manager- Information Technology;
- Debbie Stewart-Fraser, Principal Manager, Entry Processing Unit, Customs, Excise and Trade Operations;
- Gerald John, Principal Manager, Custom, Excise and Trade Operations Department;
- Wesley Inniss, Principal Manager, Tax Compliance and Enforcement Department;
- Fiona Hamilton, Junior Legal Officer- Legal Services Department;
- Kieron Massiah, Database Administrator 11, Information Technology Department;
- and Kevin Sukhdeo, Business Analyst, Information Technology Department.
Also on the list are:
- Dawn Punche, Assistant Commissioner- Integrated Regional Tax Offices;
- Leander Floyd, Network Engineer- Information Technology Department;
- Roslyn Corlette, Manager, Tax Exemptions Processing and Verification Department;
- David Hermonstine, Manager, Customs, Excise and Trade Operations Department;
- Gillian Henry-Moses, Manager, Tax Compliance and Enforcement Department;
- Lorelle Rogers, Manager, Tax Operation and Services Department;
- Fay Rutherford, Manager, Debt Management Division;
- Mashava Knights, Manager, Human Resource Management Department;
- Erica David, Manager, Large Taxpayers Department;
- Mahadeo Ramjag – Manager, Customs, Excise and Trade Operations Department;
- Clifton Rollox, Manager, Internal Audit Department;
- Lowell Gibson – Manager, Internal Audit Department;
- Roystone Nelson, Manager- Integrated Regional Tax Offices Department;
- Naresha Bobb-Semple, Manager, Debt Management;
- Gavin Primo, Manager, Operational Support Services;
- Kesta Kissoon, Manager, Operational Support Services (Former);
- Alvin Howard – Manager, Revenue Protection Department;
- Lloyd McAlmont-Daniels – Manager, Tax Compliance and Enforcement Department;
- Gail Butcher, Manager, Tax Audit Department
- and Luana Wyatt, Manager, Large Taxpayers Department.
- Shondell Dick- Grant, Manager, Debt Management Department;
- Nicole Williams, Manager, Large Taxpayers Department;
- Cordwell Henry, Manager, Customs, Excise and Trade Operations Department;
- Cheryl Bunbury – Manager, Tax Operations and Services Department;
- Carol Baldeo-Worrell, Manager, Tax Operations and Services Department;
- Karen Greene, Manager, Tax Operations and Services Department;
- Marcelene Fields, Tax Operations and Services Department;
- Mellissa Romeo, Manager, Tax Compliance and Enforcement Department;
- David Josiah, Manager, Training & Development Department;
- Marcia Harris, Manager, Operational Support Services Department;
- Melissa Baird, Manager, Operational Support Services Department;
- Selma Garnett, Manager, Tax Audit Department;
- Maria Lall-Denny, Manager (ag), Tax Audit Department;
- Wayne Austin, Assistant Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Tax Audit Department;
- Sharon Carrington; Assistant Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Large Taxpayers;
- Venieta Stewart, Manager, Integrated Regional Tax Offices;
- Nandi Husbands, Manager, Integrated Regional Tax Offices;
- Miriam Mohamid, Manager, Tax Audit Department
- Darwin Joseph, Manager, Integrated Regional Tax Offices;
- Bonita Roopnarine, Group Leader- Planning, Risk and Analysis Department;
- Joanne Holder, Group Leader- Operational Support Services Department;
- Beverley Haynes, Group Leader-, Tax Compliance & Enforcement Department;
- Densha Paul, Tax Auditor, Tax Audit Department,
- Jagdesh Singh, Tax Auditor, Large Taxpayers Department;
- Tracey Peters, Tax Auditor, Integrated Regional Tax Offices Department;
- Georgeana Pryce-Roberts, Enforcement Officer, Legal Services Department;
- Juanelle Marks, Auditor, Integrated Regional Tax Offices Department;
- Olanie Quick; Auditor, Internal Audit Department;
- Glendon Harris, Head, Human Resource Management Department
- and Ingrid Ross, Assistant Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Objection and Appeals, Tax Operations and Services Department.
On November 10th, the Integrity body published the names 87 officials in the Guyana Chronicle. Included in that list were 15 ministers and other government and opposition Members of Parliament (MPs), the Speaker of the National Assembly as well as the Clerk and Deputy Clerk, several presidential advisors, Permanent Secretaries and Deputy Permanent Secretaries along with Mayors, Deputy Mayors and Town Clerks.
Some of the persons on that list have admitted that they did not submit declarations and cited various reasons. Others claimed that they submitted their documents to the office before the ad was published.
According to the Integrity Commission Act, every person who is a person in public life, not being a member of the Commission, is required to file a declaration every year on or before June 30th and in cases where such persons cease to be a person in public life, within 30 days from the date on which the person ceases to be a person in public life.
“A declaration under subsection (I) or (2) shall give full, true and complete particulars of the assets and liabilities as on the relevant date, and the income during a period of twelve months immediately prior to the relevant date, of the person filling the declaration (whether the assets were held by that person in his own name or in the name of any other person) and of the spouse and children of such person to the extent to which such person has knowledge of the same,” it further states.
The Act also states that the Commission or the President, as the case may be, shall receive, examine and retain all declarations and documents filed with it or him under the Act; and make such enquiries as it or he considers necessary in order to verify or determine the accuracy of the financial affairs, as stated in the declarations of persons who are required to file declarations under the Act.
It states that those officials who fail to submit their declarations or submit declarations that are false or incomplete shall be liable, on summary conviction, to “a fine of twenty-five thousand dollars and to imprisonment for a term of not less than six months nor more than one year, and where the offence involves the non-disclosure, by the declarant, of property, which should have been disclosed in the declaration, the magistrate convicting the person shall order the person to make full disclosure of the property within a given time and on failure to comply with the order of the magistrate within the given time, the said offence shall be deemed to be a continuing offence and the person shall be liable to a further fine of ten thousand dollars for each day on which the offence continues.”
