Accountability Watch

If you take the character of any man, it really is but the aggregate of tendencies, the sum total of the bent of his mind; you will find that misery and happiness are equal factors in the formation of that character.

There continues to be a peddling of the falsehood that the four forensic audits that I had undertaken in 2015 breached the Audit Act 2004 and the Procurement Act.

Last week, Transparency International (TI) reported that former President of Peru, Alejandro Toledo, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for collusion and money laundering.

The signatories to the 2016 Paris Accord on climate change agreed to limit ‘the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2.0°C above pre-industrial levels’ and to pursue ‘efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels’.

In last week’s article, we discussed the proposed appointment of Assistant Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken, to the position of Commissioner of Police.

The United States has barred former Ecuador President Rafael Correa and former Vice President Jorge Glas from entry into the United States because of their alleged involvement in corruption.

Hurricane Helene that hit the southeastern part of the United States has so far claimed the lives of at least 226 persons while hundreds remain unaccounted for, as of last Friday.

The Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, has been indicted on five criminal counts in a corruption probe involving soliciting bribes from wealthy foreign businesspeople as well as receiving illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals.

The Chinese authorities have suspended PwC Zhong Tian LLP for six months and have imposed of 441 million yuan (US$62 million) over the firm’s audit of the failed property developer, China Evergrande Group.

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).

A senior officer of the Guyana Police Force has reportedly been embroiled in a scandal relating to the procurement of goods and services for the Force.

Last week, we reviewed the status of financial reporting and audit of non-Central Government entities which number 180 and comprising public enterprises, statutory bodies, municipalities and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs).

Last week, we concluded our discussion of the two Supplementary Estimates totalling $40.8 million that the National Assembly approved three weeks ago.

Two Fridays ago, the National Assembly approved two financial papers presented by the Minister of Finance seeking Supplementary Estimates in the sum of $40.8 billion.

On 29 July 2024, the Chief Justice ruled that the 30 percent excise tax imposed by the Guyana Revenue Authority’s (GRA) on a vehicle brought into the country by a remigrant on 28 June 2024, was unlawful.

Last Friday’s Stabroek News editorial captioned “The AG and the Judiciary” referred to High Court decision in the case involving the enforcement of an arbitral award by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) against the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA.

A clean confession combined with a promise never to commit the sin again, when offered before one who has the right to receive it, is the purest type of repentance.

Last week, the Minister of Home Affairs stated that: the ‘biggest immediate ongoing problem’ of the Guyana Police Force is allegations of corruption in procurement; and he has an obligation to make sure that ‘there is an accounting for the people’s sweat, wealth and labour which comes to us for the operations and administration of the Guyana Police Force’.

Last Monday, the annual report of the Public Procurement Commission (PPC) for the period ending July 2023 was tabled in the National Assembly.

Last Wednesday, Hurricane Beryl, downgraded from a Category 5 storm to Category 4, was heading for Jamaica after its devastating effects on a number of other islands, including Grenada.