Guyana’s expected large spending from oil proceeds brings the propensity for corruption, former speaker of the National Assembly Ralph Ramkarran has warned and he is advising the government to act swiftly on safeguard recommendations given by international agencies, civil society and watchdog bodies.
Ramkarran, who said that being sidelined and abused by the PPP/C for being vocal on anti-corruption measures needed in 2012 forced him to leave the party, is pleading with the government to not ignore criticisms of alleged corruption. He urged too that people complaining not be victimized but that the government does introspection and seeks to have anti-corruption measures implemented.
“Apart from infrastructure, overall expenditures in the entire gamut of social services and social benefits have multiplied by gargantuan proportions. Consequently, nepotism and corruption now have far more fertile soil in which to flourish,” Ramkarran wrote in his weekly “Conversation Tree” blog which is published in this newspaper’s Sunday edition.
“Facing a brick wall of denial and confronted by challenges to prove it when alleging corruption, most people have given up in frustration in their efforts, not to blame anyone or to expose any individual, but to seek government’s support for additional measures. Many also fear government retribution,” he added.
Ramkarran said that Guyana has now achieved a high international profile as a richly endowed oil producer, poised to make a substantial economic and political impact on the Latin American and Caribbean region. This country, he also noted, currently serves on the United Nations Security Council and with the projected growth and future international profile, it should not risk tainting its image.
“In 2012 the PPP could afford to ignore and penalize a leading member for raising the issue of corruption. If the government ignores the ICCPR Report, it runs the risk of jeopardizing its influence and stature. Unfortunately, if the past is a guide, the government will act only if there is a crisis, such as being viewed as a corrupt oil oligarchy. But no such crisis is imminent,” he posited.
Referencing the recent report by the ICCPR, he pointed out that wide-ranging recommendations were made, including some in relation to corruption. “The state party should expand its efforts to adopt and implement efficient, and prompt measures to promote good governance and combat corruption and impunity at all levels of government. In this respect, the committee urges the state party to: (a) adopt concrete measures to address the root causes of corruption as a matter of priority…,” he quoted from the report.
He also pointed out recommendations related to constitutional issues, the Optional Protocol, implementing the Human Rights Commission, and many others.
“Fray”
Ramkarran said that local and international efforts to restore democracy in Guyana since the 1970s gave rise to a growing body of civil society individuals and groups committed to the promotion of civil and political rights, unity and democratic principles.
“These groups worked with past PPP governments and collaborated with US institutions to promote electoral and constitutional reform and civil rights,” he noted.
However, he highlighted that relations with the PPP and civil society groups “began to fray” and “along with the PNCR opposition, [they] followed the path
that had been earlier charted by the PPP and other opposition political parties,
by reaching out to the international community”.
The former speaker of the National Assembly believes that current APNU+AFC opposition is now beginning to make an impact on US Congressional and Executive opinion and that the PPP/C should take note.
“The recent criticisms of the Guyana Government on the issue of ethnic discrimination by Hakeem Jeffries and Letitia James and the calls of the US Government for inclusive policies are reflective of this trend. Civil society has extended its focus and is becoming more adept in utilizing those international resources that are available and place high value in the work and opinion of civil society groups. The recent engagements of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in connection with the events at Chinese Landing Village and that of the UN Human Rights Committee on Guyana’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Guyana is a signatory are the product of this work,” he said.
Ramkarran reflected that in 2012, as an executive of the PPP/C he had written an article for the party’s newspaper arguing that “while the government had done much to curb corruption, the time had come to consider additional preventative measures.
“The exponential growth of public expenditure, I suggested, provided fertile soil for the growth of corruption which had by that time become ‘pervasive’. I commended the government for the measures it had implemented during the previous twenty years but suggested that they had become inadequate. I had met President Ramotar after the article was sent to the Mirror and before it was published and mentioned it to him. He said that it was ‘ok’. A few weeks later at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the PPP, chaired by President Ramotar, I was drawn over the coals and, as if that was not enough, I was attacked, abused and humiliated in a manner that I had never experienced or encountered,” expressed.
“I was forced to resign from the PPP which was the most painful decision I had ever taken up to that point. The government’s refrain on the issue of corruption has been to ‘prove it’, or to suggest that it is not as bad as claimed,” he added.
He believes that the Guyanese society is “riddled with nepotism and corruption” and that even now it would be hard to end but waiting only makes that reality more dismal.
“It has now become so firmly entrenched as part of our culture that it would be now extremely difficult to eradicate,” Ramkarran posited.
Urgency
Meanwhile, Guyana’s former auditor general Anand Goolsarran also pointed to the recent UN Rights Committee questioning and recommendations for this country in the area of corruption.
He too noted that the government’s “go to” whenever faced with corruption allegations was that persons have to bring formal complaints and they needed to be proven.
With precedence right here as an example, Goolsarran recalled that deceased PNCR president Desmond Hoyte had initiated investigations of corruption without a formal complaint to the police.
“We refer to the response by Guyana’s Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance to a question posed by the United Nations Human Rights Committee. The question relates to allegations of corruption against a very senior member of the current administration and the failure of the government to initiate an investigation into the matter. In response, the minister stated that no formal police report had been filed and that without such a report, law enforcement authorities were unable to launch an investigation,” Goolsarran stated.
“One recalls when allegations of corruption were made against a minister under the Hoyte administration, the [then] president appointed a Commission of Inquiry to examine the matter, and the said minister had to resign to facilitate the investigation. President Irfaan Ali should therefore do the same if his government is serious about fighting corruption and bringing about the much-needed improvements in Guyana’s standing on Transparency International’s Corruptions Perceptions Index,” he added.
He said that if the report of the commission indicates criminal behaviour or breaches in Guyana’s laws, it should be forwarded to the law enforcement agencies for further action.
“The first task, therefore, is for the President to appoint a Commission of Inquiry as a matter of urgency,” Goolsarran said.
