Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Feb 25, 2012 Letters
DEAR EDITOR,
Let me get this right: the PPP spent $5.7 billion out of the Consolidated Fund during the last three months of 2011, which happens to be right smack bang in the middle of election season and it wanted the opposition to legitimise that level of spending without being able to properly explain how, what, where, when and what is tied to that spending? How does Luncheon expect any rational individual to support this kind of fiscal irregularity and recklessness?
Kaieteur News is reporting that $90 million was supposed to be spent on the police when it apparently wasn’t and investigations are ongoing. How would Luncheon like for John Public to go to his private bank account, withdraw $5.7 million without his knowledge, spend it recklessly and carelessly or have portions of it disappear while under its watch and then show up at Luncheon’s office and ask him to sign a document stating that he approves without question what John Public has done?
Would President Ramotar, Roger Luncheon, Ashni Singh, Gail Teixeira, Juan Edghill or Clement Rohee be absolutely fine and completely condoning if the public does that to their bank accounts held at the private banks? No, they will not approve of it. So, the PPP should properly prove the spending or they don’t get approval.
Luncheon is out to lunch on the PPP’s recent nonsense it tried to pull in Parliament. He is essentially saying that financial irregularity should not be reprimanded by Parliament. For Luncheon to offer the limp excuse of the fact that financial irregularity has existed for time immemorial in Guyana is ridiculous. Every government and its Parliament must strive to fight and eradicate financial irregularity. Luncheon’s laissez-faire attitude on financial irregularity reflects the attitude of the PPP.
Financial breaches are not problematic in the sight of this regime as long as something gets done. The problem with that perspective is that while something gets done, the lack of fiscal oversight and auditing protectionism means that it gets done at a prohibitive cost with corruption, squandering and outright thieving occurring.
Luncheon must know that the PPP cannot every year collect in excess of $100 billion in taxes from 450,000 hardworking people of every political ilk, whether PPP or PNC/APNU or AFC or GAP, who are lurching under the tax burden of 33% income taxes, 16% VAT and other taxes and then blithely dismiss financial irregularity as if it is a minor matter.
Corruption is at the heart of the disease, slowly killing the PPP and the country along with it. We have had to deal with this beast for 20 years now. The people welcome some accountability and transparency.
For Luncheon to suggest that a matter of $5.7 billion approval after questionable and sometimes unproven expenditure should be relegated to a Parliamentary sub-committee is not just insulting, it is gravely egregious. This was a warning shot to the PPP. It took $5.7 billion of taxpayers’ money and cannot account properly for it. That is $12,666 per working taxpayer in this country spent by the PPP without any reasonable accounting for it.
Luncheon should stop peddling foolishness about these actions jeopardising the well-being of Guyanese. The overwhelming majority of Guyanese live within their means, many suffer and many more sacrifice to save. A PPP government that spends like a stark raving madman without responsibility is not like the majority of Guyanese.
People want progress based on accountability, transparency and financial cleanliness. Luncheon should stop the foolishness. The PPP’s financial irregularities are an epidemic. When a country is bleeding billions without accountability, it pays a serious price. People have to pay twice and pay more for basic things.
This Parliament will not be business as usual. Come clean or don’t come at all. It is high time somebody brings some transparency to the runaway train of corruption, financial shadiness and monetary avarice the PPP has become.
M. Maxwell
Please share this to every Guyanese including your house cats.
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