Govt. fears exposure of corruption and incompetence

Jul 19, 2025 News

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– Ram at access to information protest

Kaieteur News – Chartered accountant and attorney, Christopher Ram said the government continues to withhold critical information from citizens through the Commission of Information, because it could reveal the administration’s favoritism, partisanship and incompetence.

Continuing a third week of peaceful protest outside the office of the president on Friday, civil society advocates and citizens again called out the president over the implementation of Guyana’s Freedom of Information Act, 2011.

Ram told Kaieteur News that Commissioner of Information, Justice (Ret’d) Charles Ramson Snr, still refuses to provide information requested.

“We graduated from outside of the office of the commissioner of information to the office of the president because President [Irfaan] Ali holds constitutional portfolio responsibility for information and this is why this placard says ‘president Ali is the problem’. It goes beyond the commissioner; the president has been written twice. He’s aware of the concern, he’s aware that nothing is happening and all he said ‘oh I don’t get involved,’ that’s his duty, that’s his constitutional obligation,” explained.

Ram said requests for critical information pertaining to the oil and gas sector, among others have been repeatedly snubbed by the commissioner.

The accountant said he believes all the information is being withheld from Guyanese because the government is uncomfortable with the truth that would be revealed.

“I think some of this might show corruption, it might show favoritism, it might show partisanship, it might show incompetence and the government does not want you to know. They just want you to see that hospitals and roads are being built. But under what circumstances and at what cost,” he related.

He added that the Guyanese public having access to information would allow them to know how their money is being spent and how decisions are being made in their name.

“You know, you make decisions based on information you have. You shouldn’t make decisions based just on emotions and intuition. We should know how we pay taxes. We should know how our money is spent, how decisions are made in our name. The government is an agent of the people and therefore, if they act on our behalf, then they should be willing to tell us what they’re doing. But no, they don’t want to us to know,” he expressed.

Also attending the protest was Alliance For Change (AFC) member Jaipaul Sharma who said that the PPP/C government, while in opposition, had claimed that they were transparent and accountable.

“Why I am out here today is because what was said in opposition is not what they are doing now,” he noted.

Speaking on behalf of the AFC, Sharma said his party will push to ensure that the access to information be made available.

Among those at the protest were head of the Guyana Human Rights Association, Mike McCormack and popular columnist, GHK Lall, Stabroek News’ Editor-in-Chief (EIC), Anand Persaud and members of the public. Briefly, GHK Lall said the office of the commissioner has been stonewalling access to information, vital public information which is not secret information.

“I would like for the president to intervene and to tell the commissioner of information that look, once the document requesting for information are in order and that the information that is being sought do not violate the law or do not violate the protection offered in the law to the government in terms of what is being asked for, then there should be released forthwith, there should be no more stonewalling or foot lagging,” he explained.

Meanwhile, in a subsequent statement about the protest action, Ram said that given the government’s refusal to engage constructively, their campaign now transitions to “pursuing legal redress through appropriate judicial channels, engaging with regional and international oversight bodies and transparency organisations, launching civic education initiatives to inform citizens about their constitutional rights to information, building broader coalitions to strengthen democratic accountability mechanisms, and documenting and reporting to international transparency and governance organisations.”

He explained that the campaign represents more than a dispute about one office and that it is a fundamental defense of constitutional governance, transparency, and the rule of law.

“As Guyana enters an era of unprecedented economic transformation through oil revenues, access to timely, accurate, and verifiable public information becomes essential to democratic participation and public trust. Our group emphasises that access to information is not a favour granted by the state, but a constitutional right essential to democratic governance. The government’s total silence and the commissioner’s systematic non-compliance represent a direct assault on this fundamental right,” the statement noted.

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• Charles Ramson snr, Christopher Ram, Commission of Information, corruption, favoritism, incompetence

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