Guyana’s anti-corruption credentials to be tested 

Oct 03, 2023 News

…as OAS group prepares to conduct review this month

Kaieteur News – Guyana will be undergoing its sixth-round of on-site review this month through the Follow-Up Mechanism for the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC).

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira

The review is in keeping with Guyana’s treaty obligations under the Organisation of American States’ Inter- American Convention Against Corruption (IACAC).

MESICIC is the Anti-corruption Mechanism of the OAS, and it brings together 33 of the 34 Member States to review their legal frameworks and institutions in light of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (IACAC). The MESICIC Experts from within the member states, with assistance from the Technical Secretariat, review domestic laws and institutions to determine if they accord with the provisions of the Convention and if they are effective at preventing and combating corruption. As part of this review process, the experts visit the country being reviewed, where they meet with government officials and civil society organizations to gather more information to compile their report of that round of review.

This report typically contains recommendations for the State to strengthen its anti-corruption architecture to prevent and combat corruption. Guyana ratified the IACAC in 2000 and as such has an Expert on the MESICIC which meets twice yearly. According to a release from the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, experts from the Republic of Suriname and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago have been selected by MESICIC to conduct the review of Guyana, and will be conducting the requisite consultations and meetings which form the “on-site review” from the 2nd to the 5th of October, 2023 in Georgetown, Guyana. The experts conducting this sixth round of review will be supported by staff of the OAS Technical Secretariat.

The ministry said the national exercise requires the involvement of civil society actors, private sector organisations, and public sector and state agencies. The following state agencies are expected to participate in this national review:

1. Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance

2. Ministry of Public Service
3. Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
4. Financial Intelligence Unit
5. Audit Office of Guyana
6. Ministry of Finance
7. Public Procurement Commission
8. National Procurement and Tender

Administration Board

9. Special Organized Crime Unit
10. Attorney General’s Chambers
11. Integrity Commission
12. Bank of Guyana
13. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

14. Ministry of Home Affairs
15. Director of Public Prosecutions

The following civil society organizations have also been invited to participate and make presentations:

1. Private Sector Commission
2. Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).

3. Guyana Bar Association
4. Guyana Association of Women Lawyers (GAWL).

5. Guyana Public Service Union.
6. Institute of Chartered Accountants of Guyana (ICAG).

7. Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana.

8. Transparency Institute of Guyana (TIGI).

9. Guyana Bankers’ Association
10. Guyana Gold & Diamond Miners Association

11. Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association

12. Guyana-America Chamber of Commerce

13. Guyana-UK Chamber of Commerce
14. Guyana-Canada Chamber of Commerce

15. Civil Society Forum
16. Article 13

The press release started that the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance has compiled and submitted Guyana’s most recent report under the Inter American Convention Against Corruption in May, 2023. Furthermore, the Ministry chairs the National Coordinating Committee (NCC) on the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption (IACAC) comprised of 17 agencies involved with the anti-corruption framework of Guyana. This body continues to play a pivotal role in training these agencies and preparing the compilation of these State party reports under Guyana’s treaty obligations at the regional and international levels, including those at the level of the MESICIC. The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance is the Government of Guyana’s lead agency on anti-corruption treaty reporting, and in that regard, is the coordinating agency of this MESICIC Sixth Round On-Site review.

• Attorney General’s Chambers, Gail Teixeira, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Private Sector Commission, Special Organized Crime Unit