There we go again. On the heels of the discovery of 4.4 tonnes of cocaine neatly packed and concealed in pits near an illegal airstrip in Matthews Ridge, allegations of corruption have surfaced in the last week in least at two State agencies – Guyana Marketing Corporation and the Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA). In relation to the former, the General Manager has reportedly stated that she noted discrepancies between the information provided by the accountant and that of the Special Projects Manager and that it was she who initiated the investigation, and not the Ministry of Agriculture. The main issue relates to allegations of smuggling of chicken and eggs into the country, the details of which are sketchy.
As regards the MMA/ADA, the main opposition political party, Peoples National Congress Reform, issued a statement alleging that there is a “massive corruption scheme” perpetrated by several staff members of the Authority in collusion with contractors regarding payments for works not undertaken or for overvalued works. The party also referred to the alleged land-grabbing and misuse of the machinery, fuel, staff, and other malpractices levelled against a senior official of the MMA/ADA. Only recently, the Authority was in receipt of supplementary estimates totalling $60 million to assist it with its operational costs. This is in addition to amounts of $473 million and $250 million reflected in the 2024 Estimates as subsidies and infrastructure developments work, respectively.
