A final warning was yesterday issued by the Integrity Commission to former Leader of the Opposition, Joseph Harmon, current MP and AFC Leader Khemraj Ramjattan and a host of senior public servants that they face fines and jail terms if they don’t submit declarations by July 31st, 2023.
A notice in the Official Gazette also listed the following former and current MPs as being in jeopardy of fines and jail terms: Dawn Hastings-Williams, Dr Nicolette Henry, Dr Karen Cummings, Sherod Duncan, Shurwayne Holder, Deonarine Ramsaroop, Vinceroy Jordan and Devin Sears. No government MP is on the list.
Also on the list of defaulters are the Solicitor General in the Ministry of Legal Affairs, Nigel Hawke and Chief Executive Officer of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), Arvind Parag along with senior officials of the Ministry of Public Works. On the list from the latter ministry are Vladim Persaud, Permanent Secretary; Ron Rahaman, Chief Roads and Bridges Officer; Kevin Samad, Chief Sea and River Defence Officer; Patrick Thompson, Chief Transport Planning Officer; Collin Gittens, Engineer (civil); Kester Hinds, Manager – Traffic/safety/maintenance; Andy Mahadeo – Procurement and Contracts Manager.
Others listed in the notice are Ryan Toolsiram, acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs; Donita Fedee, Director, Student Loan Agency, Ministry of Finance; Mark Lloyd Conway, Director on the board of the NPTAB and Dr Narine Singh, Chief Medical Officer in the Ministry of Health.
Diplomats were among those cited. These included George Talbot, Guyana’s Ambassador to CARICOM, Department of Americas; Choo An Yin, Ambassador to China and Donnette Streete, Senior Foreign Service Officer 1, Frontiers. Former High Commissioner to India Charrandass persaud is also on the list.
Others on the list are the Director of the Local Content Secretariat in the Ministry of Natural Resources, Martin Pertab; the Director of Culture in the Ministry of Culture, Tamika Boatswain; George Jervis, Chief Technical Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture; Director of Social Services in the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, Whentworth Tanner and Samantha Jarvis-Wright, Chief Accountant in the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development.
In May of this year, the Integrity Commission issued a warning to public officers who had not submitted their 2022 declarations. Prior to yesterday’s posting of this public notice in state-owned newspaper Guyana Chronicle, the Integrity Commission had disclosed that notices were sent out to several Specified Public Officers for failure to file their declarations. At that time, seventeen Members of Parliament were listed as delinquent, with 108 in ministries, 208 in the regions, and 493 in agencies and departments.
The integrity Commission noted in yesterday’s notice that if these individuals fail to submit their Declaration Forms on or before July 31, 2023 legal action will be taken and they are liable to a fine of $25,000 together with six months jail time or not more than a year,. Further, the Commission stated, a fine of $10,000 per day will be handed out to the same individuals if they still fail to comply.
Another notice was placed in yesterday’s Guyana Chronicle, this time highlighting the names of individuals who are required to make urgent contact with the Commission, on or before July 31, 2023, regarding their declaration submissions. All of these individuals previously served under various ministries or NPTAB. Among them is former Deputy Permanent Secretary within the Office of the Prime Minister, Deborah Mc Nichol-Williams. Failure to make contact as stipulated will result in these individuals appearing on the defaulters’ list in the Official Gazette and a daily newspaper.
