Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Feb 08, 2016 Editorial
The APNU+AFC Coalition government won the election on a platform to weed out corruption, reduce crime, improve the lives of the poor and provide a better life for all.
The mandate which the electorate gave the government was a call to action. It was a signal from the people that the Government has earned their trust and that it would ease the burdens of increasing poverty, joblessness, a deteriorating standard of living and improve the health care and education systems.
The government was not hollow in words. With the stroke of a genius that would have baffled even Einstein, the government established the State Asset Recovery Unit (SARU) to recover assets that were allegedly stolen from the State by members of the former administration.
It has audited almost every State agency and department to determine whether fraud, corruption or theft of State funds were committed. SARU, led by the most competent Chief Investigator, qualified and former Army Major Aubrey Retemyer, is committed to right the wrongs done to the state by members of the previous administration. So far, he has done an excellent job.
But after eight months, Reteymer and SARU are still powerless. SARU does not have the authority to arrest or charge anyone for alleged corrupt practices or even impound vehicles or assets that were suspected stolen from the state. SARU is no doubt a tiger without teeth. Only recently the government started contemplating giving SARU the authority to arrest anyone culpable of corruption.
Most of the audit reports have reportedly stated that the former administration was structurally corrupt and that governmental systems and practices were at the center of the corruption. Gross incompetence, mismanagement and governance by cronyism immersed into greedy and selfish behavior were also part of the corrupt practices.
The reality is that billions of tax dollars and borrowed funds were secretly channeled into seemingly bottomless conduits for personal wealth. Kick-backs from government contracts and barefaced raping of the treasury were carried out by the financial executioners who operated with great efficiency and impunity.
After spending close to G$150 million on audits, the government appears to be wobbly, not knowing what to do with the audit reports. It has now commissioned the Auditor General to re-do some of the audits in order to have a second opinion. This may seem to be a wise idea. The people have grown tired waiting.
They want to know from the reports whether there is evidence of the misappropriation of state funds, corrupt transactions, abuse of state assets and flagrant breaches of the law. Either the government is second-guessing the work of the auditors or it is not convinced that corruption or the theft of state funds and assets were as rampant or as widespread as initially thought. It is time for the government to act because any attempt to delay the process will result in its loss of the people’s confidence.
The fact that it took the government over eight months to file charges involving the theft of G$639 million against the former Minister of Public Service, her assistant, and the former Deputy CEO of GPL and a Board Member, who illegally took G$27.8 million and $942,000 respectively from the GPL, shows that the there is one set of laws for the rich and another set for the poor.
If a poor person had stolen from the government, he/she would have been charged, tried and sentenced to prison in less than three months. And worse, it was utter slackness and gross incompetence on the part of the Minister in charge of GPL to allow the Deputy CEO of GPL to leave Guyana and is now seeking the services of INTERPOL to return him. Isn’t this backwardness by the Minister?
Students with outstanding loans from UG are not allowed to leave the country but the Deputy CEO of GPL who embezzled millions was allowed to leave. This type of illogical thinking has no place in government. Something is terribly amiss and the government has some explaining to do because the public’s patience is growing thin. It is losing credibility.
Where is the BETTER MANAGEMENT/RENEGOTIATION OF THE OIL CONTRACTS you promised Jagdeo?
Apr 19, 2024
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