Govt. never purged State apparatus hence source of corruption- Ramotar

Jun 15, 2010 News

General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party, Donald Ramotar, whilst conceding that there is some level of corruption in Guyana, has said that it is blown out of proportion.
He also seated blame at the fact that when the ruling administration acceded to the seat of government it did not purge the state’s apparatus’, adding that when allegations of corruption are leveled there isn’t the distinction between PPP and PNC.
“Everybody blames the PPP.”
Ramotar was at the time speaking to the fact that the most recent (Caribbean Research and Development Services) CADRES publication said that the inability to deal with crime and corruption is implied as the Achilles Heel of the administration.
He said that while crime was a valid concern of the people of Guyana, it was more centered on the post ‘jailbreak’ period and ended at around 2005.
As it relates to the fact that the Poll has said that the ruling PPPC is recognised as the party that can grow Guyana’s economy, Ramotar said, “We don’t need a poll to tell us that.”
He said that ever since his party took the reins of power in 1992 it has transformed Guyana.
Ramotar pointed to the many roads and bridges built, using as example the four lane highways among others.
He said that another example of the progress that is being made under the current administration is the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project.
According to a report to the media by Peter Wickham of CADRES, the entity asked respondents to identify the national issue of greatest concern to them and in that instance, 43 per cent of Guyanese are most concerned about the cost of living.
The opposition parties have been carping on the issue for several years now as well as the issue of employment, which 13 per cent of respondents identified as a main concern,
“These data are similar to other CADRES surveys conducted across the Caribbean which reflect a preoccupation with issues of an economic nature primarily.”
He said that in Guyana the single largest group of respondents that identified a non-economic issue was concerned about crime. “However, there is no comparable data available which allows us to determine if any individual issue is of greater concern now than a year or two ago.”
It was pointed out, also, that in addition to the major issue of concern, respondents were asked what they thought was the PPP/C government’s major strength and weakness, and in this instance people believed that the government’s major strength is their ability to enhance the infrastructure of Guyana, “and this view is shared by persons who support all political parties.”
The poll found that the PPPC’s major weakness “is less obvious, however, and respondents were split between its inability to tackle corruption, fight crime and create employment.”