Minister of Governance, Raphael Trotman, today met with a visiting team from the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) at the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment’s Boardroom and heard a proposal for Guyana to be considered as the host of a regional anti-corruption academy.
A release from the Ministry of the Presidency said that the UN team was headed by Regional Representative of the Regional Office for Central America and the Caribbean for the UNODC, Amado Philip de Andres. He was accompanied by the United Nations Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme Resident Representative, Khadija Musa and Programme Coordinator- Operations and Programmes for the UNODC, Olivier Inizan.
Musa, the release said, told Trotman that the UN has recognised the new government’s interest in fighting corruption and crime and as such, the meeting was organised to see how best those efforts can be aided.
“Since we know that there is a government which is interested in the fight against crime and drugs, and all those issues are paramount here and on the international front, we felt since you are now establishing your framework and structure, that it was important that UNODC come and share what they can do or in what areas they can assist so we initiated the visit,” Musa said.
de Andres, proposed to the Minister, the setting up of a Regional Anti- Corruption Academy, which will target transparency and accountability in the Caribbean. “We were discussing options to help Guyana and one of the options was to establish a Regional Anti-Corruption Academy for the Caribbean and Central America. It is a carbon copy of the International Anti- Corruption Academy, located in Vienna. We want to set up a pilot country and that can be possibly be Guyana,” de Andres related.
He also said that the UNODC is working on an Anti -Corruption and Transparency Diploma course for civil servants, which will be tailor-made to suit each other on board the initiative. The release said that he also expressed the world body’s support in tackling and addressing environmental crimes.
Trotman, on behalf of the Government, welcomed these proposals, noting that they will be considered for the good governing of the country.
“These are very good proposals, especially an institute where we can train multiple compliance officers, to sensitize them to identify and eradicate corruption. We welcome your support and pledge the Government’s willingness to explore these going forward,” Trotman told the team, the release said.
