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Ramotar on corruption … ‘Let the law take its course’
As he prepares to lead the incumbent People’s Progressive Party (PPP) into this year’s general elections, Donald Ramotar says that the law should take its course if persons are found to be guilty of corruption.
“If you find real corruption in society, let the law take its course,” Ramotar said at a press conference at his party’s Freedom House headquarters in Georgetown.
The PPP government has come under scrutiny for its record on corruption, and Ramotar did not deny there is corruption in the society. However, he says corruption is exaggerated in the press and in some cases alarm bells about corruption could be mistakes.
Donald Ramotar
For example, when a newly constructed road goes bad, he said this cannot be counted as corruption, because the PPP government has taken a hands-off approach when it comes to the award of contracts.
He said that the Cabinet – the council of Ministers chaired by President Bharrat Jagdeo – only takes a “no objection” vote on contract awards and is not responsible for the eventual award of contracts.
In the recent case involving the construction of the Enmore Sugar Packagaing Plant, for which the government backpedaled on its decision to facilitate a forensic audit, Ramotar said there was no corruption.
Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud, had invited chartered accountant Christopher Ram and Kaieteur News to undertake a forensic audit into the construction of the US$12.5 M plant after comparisons were made with a plant built in Kenya.
Ram had noted that Kenya’s largest sugar miller, Mumias Sugar Company (MSC), was recently built at a cost of US$3M, and consisted of a new 11-machine, state-of-the-art packaging plant with a daily capacity of 700 tonnes of sugar, or 200, 000 tonnes annually.
In comparison, the Enmore plant was built at four times the cost of the one built in Kenya and would be producing five times less sugar.
Ramotar, who sits on the board of GuySuCo, said that the comparison was made without considering the total scope of the Enmore project.
GuySuCo has stressed that the US$12.5M is the total cost of Project Gold, an initiative which includes the upgrade of the Enmore factory and the supply and installation of packaging equipment and warehouse, among other things.
“Everything in that regard (the construction of the Enmore plant) was (above) board,” Ramotar stated.
But while defending the Enmore sugar project, Ramotar believes that safeguards against corruption need to be tightened and that those guilty of corruption be brought to account. “If people are practising corruption, they must pay the penalty for this,” Ramotar declared.
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