Accountability Watch

Where public resources are concerned or where the public interest is involved, there must be the highest degree of transparency in relation to the actions of both elected and non-elected public officials.

The news out of Nigeria, an oil producing nation, is that the court has ordered the seizure of a luxury apartment block owned by a former Minister of Petroleum Resources bought for US$37.5 allegedly from ill-gotten gains.

(Trump’s departure) doesn’t change the bigger picture: the moral, political, and economic incentives all seem to be aligning in favor of staying with the Paris agreement… It would be a morally criminal act for the world not to do its part.

It is right to save the future for humanity. It is wrong to pollute this earth and destroy the climate life balance.

The Board of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) investigated the circumstances surrounding the procurement of drugs and medical supplies early this year in the sum of $632 million.

Last week we began the examination of the Protected Disclosures (Whistleblower) Bill 2015.

This column has been following closely the deliberations of the just concluded symposium at the Guyana Pegasus on “Public Corruption and the Oil Curse”.

Last week, we discussed the concept of a servant-leader and the ten key characteristics underlying such leadership.

The Earth is under threat from so many areas that it is difficult for me to be positive.

In last week’s article, we referred to the two recognized methods of accounting for costs relating to the exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas: the “successful efforts” (SE) method and the “full cost” (FC) method.

In our article of 15 May 2017, we referred to the announcement by ExxonMobil of “a world-class resource discovery of 1 billion oil-equivalent barrels” in Guyana’s waters.

The pollution produced by companies which operate in less developed countries in ways they could never do at home, in those countries in which they raise their capital: We note that often the businesses that operate this way are multinationals.

Last week, the authorities in Gambia obtained a court order to freeze and place a temporary hold on all known assets and companies directly linked to former President Yahya Jammeh.

In the news last week, more than 2,000 Tunisians protested in the country’s capital against proposed legislation that would provide amnesty in exchange for reimbursing the embezzled funds for officials being prosecuted for alleged corruption.

The U.S. Embassy in Kenya has suspended approximately US$21 million in assistance to Ministry of Health because of concerns about corruption.

Demerara Waves reported Dr. Kalim Shah, Climate Change and Energy Policy expert, and Professor at Indiana University, as having stated as follows at a recent conference held in Belize: Even though our countries are not responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions in the global scheme of things, we are experiencing and projected to experience many of the effects of climate change on the frontlines.

… we are conscious of the disproportionate and unruly growth of many cities, which have become unhealthy to live in, not only because of pollution caused by toxic emissions but also as a result of urban chaos, poor transportation, and visual pollution and noise.

During the last week, there were two items making the international news headlines on the corruption front.

Our last two articles dealt with the Integrity Commis-sion, its proposed amendment and revision of the Code of Conduct.

The Kaieteur News carried the results of an interview with Engineer Charles Ceres who expressed the view that contractors executing shabby works should be prosecuted.