Dear Editor,
US Ambassador Lynch is to be applauded for her strong statement in observance of International Anti-Corruption Day, which is an annual opportunity to bring attention to the continued importance of combating corruption, ensuring accountability, and fostering transparency. Around the world, corruption threatens security, hinders economic growth, and siphons away public and private resources.
In Guyana, a root cause of corruption is that we have political parties whose reason for fighting to get into government is to loot our rich national natural resources. Such corruption has kept us poor. We have “holey” roads, garbage everywhere, poor water, constant blackouts, poor health care, a failing education system, and the litany of woes is long. We have parties who argue, “You guys thief more than we guys.” Truth be told, both major parties had become kleptocracies when they lost in 2015 and 2020. During the election campaigns they tell you, “time for a change,” “we will have honesty, decency and integrity,” and when they get in, they behave as if there is no tomorrow. The new change is instead an “exchange.” We exchange one set of dullards for another set. In one term, the Coalition tried to outdo what the PPP did in 23 years. They squandered all the goodwill crossover voters placed in them and lost that support, and when they saw they were losing, they tried to steal the election in plain sight of a watching world.
Nation, why does the richest, most endowed, largest country in CARICOM have the lowest standard of living, and the lowest currency? Even the tiny Eastern Caribbean islands with very little natural resources have a higher standard of living, and their currency have a higher exchange rate? Why did so many of our people leave this blessed country and go live and work in other tiny islands? Please explain that. We dreamed of the day when Guyana would find oil and we would all be rich. Now we found oil and Exxon, Hess and CNOOC are dancing all the way to the bank, and the poor minimum wage worker – the working poor- still catching hell to make ends meet. And the folks we voted in, because they said they would renegotiate the bad oil contract signed by the bad Coalition government, have drawn a line in the sand against the Guyanese people and are siding with the oil companies, saying adamantly that they will not renegotiate the oil contract. Never mind the President had said, “We must not remain a rich country of poor people.”
If accountability and transparency are the handmaidens of anti-corruption, then this Government scores an “F” for both “transparency” and “accountability” especially relating to oil and gas. The government failed to audit $US 9.5 billion in oil expenses sending a strong message that they would be lax in accountability. The group – OGGN (Oil and Gas Governance Network) has asked the Minister for data on what tax certificates have been issued to the oil companies, and there has been no response. The government is more committed to secrecy than full disclosure of information. The OGGN has also asked the Internal Revenue Service of the USA what tax breaks, if any, have been given to Exxon and Hess. Maybe Ambassador Lynch can help with that request. For transparency, why aren’t we trying to change the laws whereby major business deals that involve enormous, high value natural resources are discussed in Parliament and subject to the review of civil society groups? That would be a good anti-corruption practice as no party would be able to cut secret deals for the benefit of friends, families, and campaign financiers. How about a law that Government must fulfill public information requests in a stipulated time or face sanctions? In this anti-corruption week, we must ponder on these things. Wake up people! Ongoing corruption steals the good life from you.
Sincerely,
Dr. Jerry Jailall
