Jagdeo, Ashni and other PPP Officials were not Honest as the Funny Fellas & Crab Louse claiming........

UN had many problems with PPP/C-led administration on anti-corruption response – UNODC Rep.

Representatives of the UNOCD, Amado Phillip de AndrÉs and Olivier Inizan along with UN Resident Coordinator Khadija Musa in discussion with Attorney General Basil Williams yesterday

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has said that numerous problems were encountered with the previous People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C)-led administration when the body had pushed for anti-corruption measures to be implemented in the country.

Regional Representative of the Regional Office for Central America and the Caribbean for the UNODC, Amado Phillip de AndrÉs, yesterday told the local press, yesterday, ......

that they had never received any response from the previous government on corruption, despite it having signed onto the United Nations Convention Against Corruption some years ago.

“It is also important to mention that with the previous government the UN (United Nations) had a lot of problems because the Government of Guyana is party to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption."

"Now we are reviewing the implementation by the Guyanese authorities of this convention.

We never obtained any response, and now with the new government we are obtaining strong responses that the fight against corruption is real,” de AndrÉs intimated.

These disclosures were made to the media shortly after a UNODC team comprising de AndrÉs and Programme Coordinator-Operations and Programmes for the UNODC, Olivier Inizan, and United Nations (UN) Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) Resident Representative Khadija Musa met with Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General (AG) Basil Williams at the Ministry of Legal Affairs, yesterday.

Both parties said that the meeting was on a series of issues, with specific emphasis on anti-corruption, aspects of assets recovery, anti-money laundering and transnational crimes, including Trafficking in Persons (TIP).

de AndrÉs said that his team has already had meetings with Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo and Minister of Governance Raphael Trotman.

“We were talking on two aspects, one is prevention and the other one is prosecution and investigation for corruption and money laundering,” said AndrÉs.

He said that discussions yesterday with the AG focused on options related to asset recovery and specialized anti-corruption investigations. “One option is to support the government and more particularly, the Attorney General, with the establishment of some kind of UN advisor and prosecutor on corruption, working to basically mainstream legislation and ensure that future investigations into corruption, which are more sophisticated are carried out in the right way,” de AndrÉs said.

According to the UNODC Regional Representative they have already discussed their intention to support the government in the establishment of a network of Compliance Officers, following practice in other countries where line ministries are required by UN Standards to nominate up to three Compliance Officers.

“For example, in the Ministry of Planning or Public Works where you have public procurement you always have one, two or three Compliance Officers certified by the United Nations,” he said.

The UNODC Representative said they also explored the option of these Compliance Officers having Anti-Corruption Diplomas, with specialization in transparency.

This, he said, could be the entry-door to good anti-corruption practices for government officials at the technical level in any line ministry.

According to de AndrÉs, the body is also interested in working with the private sector given their role in the country as it expands over the next five years.

“We will like to explore how the private sector will work hand-in-glove with the Government of Guyana and the Attorney General’s Office to prevent and also to fight corruption,” he said.

He said they will be working through the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator, who will lead the UN efforts in the country and proposals will be forthcoming in the upcoming weeks.

The onus will be on Government to approve or make recommendations, said de AndrÉs.

These initial steps could be completed in October and the project, providing that funding is available for the needs of the government, could kick-start between December 2015 and January 2016.

Meanwhile, Williams reminded of the government’s interested in implementing anti-corruption measures. He said that while in Opposition, the now government fought “valiantly” against corruption in the People’s Progressive Party/Civic-led administration.

“We have welcomed the proposals and these discussions have really opened some avenues that we could follow,” said the Attorney General.