Civil society group Article 13 has issued a call for the government and opposition to commence the process of restoring the guardrails and institutional framework designed to prevent corruption.
The group’s call comes on the heels of International Anti-Corruption Day, which was observed last Thursday.
It implored the leaders to at least take the steps to commence the process of tackling the scourge of corruption in Guyana.
A statement from Article 13 pointed out that its call is neither political nor academic, while stressing that corruption has grave consequences.
“It is a distortion and misallocation of human and economic resources, is seen as a species of tax by corrupt businesspersons, reduces government revenue and therefore physical and social expenditure, and perpetuates and exacerbates a culture of corruption which then becomes more difficult to contain, let alone reverse. In the final analysis, it is the poor who suffer, unable to take the opportunities which the expanding economy offers,” the statement read.
Referencing the Anti-Corruption Day statement by US Ambassador to Guyana Sarah-Ann Lynch, in which she said that government should take a strong stance on corruption as a demonstration of its commitment to transparent institutions, the civil society body added that the role of institutions is imperative to the fight. It explained that unless Guyana establishes, appoints, finances, defends and holds responsible those institutions, then it will be like “whistling in the wind.”
The body said it is satisfied that the country has enough constitutional and statutory mechanisms on the record to tackle corruption. It highlighted agencies, such as the Office of the Auditor General, and the Procurement Commission and the Procurement Commission Tribunal, as institutions on the fore of tackling corruption.
“The country’s financial rules are set out in the Financial Administration Act and the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act and related subsidiary legislation. Then there is the Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Integrity Commission Act. In the National Assembly, there are the Public Accounts Committee and the Committee of Supplies. And apart from the Procurement Commission, there is a tiered structure of Tender Boards while in terms of fairness and with the object of bringing accountability to elections, there are campaign finance requirements under the Representation of the People Act. Just for good measure, our tax laws provide for the exchange of information between the authorities, including the USA and Guyana,” it pointed out.
However, it noted that the stark reality is that many of those institutions and instruments are either non-functional or cannot operate independently, competently and effectively.
They called on President Irfaan Ali to commence the process of tackling corruption immediately and by looking at the functioning of those same institutions and the implementation of the requisite laws.
Alluding to President’s Ali speech to US President Joe Biden’s virtual Summit for Democracy, Article 13 noted the non-acknowledgement of the significance of International Anti-corruption Day. It has also taken note of the President’s commitment to strengthening the foundations and pillars of democracy, respect for human and political rights and freedom of expression, and adherence to the rule of law.
It reminded that the PPP/C does not enjoy a favourable record when it comes to corruption, while pointing to Guyana’s rankings during PPP/C rule on the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (CPI). However, it did note the improved ranking under the APNU+AFC despite some allegations of corruption. When the PPP/C left office in 2015, after 23 years in government, Guyana had a CPI score of 29 and ranked at 119 and when the party took office, again, in 2020 the country had a score of 41 and ranked 83.
It commended the police for charging the persons that recently offered a bribe to drop an investigation and also said it is keeping a close eye on the investigation of alleged corruption relating to the former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs.
