As indicated in my last week’s column, I was privileged to have been invited to participate in the University College of Cayman Islands Caribbean Anti-Corruption Conference held on 19-21 March 2014. I made two presentations: ‘Accountability at the Crossroads – the Guyana experience’; and another highlighting the work of Transparency Institute Guyana Inc.
Today, I present for the benefit of readers a summarized version of my presentation on the first topic.
Background
Guyana’s history of public accountability since it attained its Independence has been a sad one. A culture of ‘non-accountability’ had developed at almost all levels of government, so much so that by 1981 accountability was brought to a standstill. Although accountability was restored from 1992, the ten-year gap remains a