Govt MPs criticised over non-declaration of taxes

By Devina Samaroo

Government has been hit with an immense public backlash after refusing to implement mechanisms for all Members of Parliament (MPs) to put under public scrutiny information on their income taxes returns and available assets over the last 10 years.  
Civil society groups and political commentators pilloried the Government’s decision, underscoring that its obdurate rejection goes against the very basis of its campaign which was to promote transparency and accountability; and that it weakens their allegations of corruption against the former People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration.

On Thursday last, the PPP/C presented the motion for debate in the National Assembly, underlining that an endorsement would mean that all parliamentarians were agreeing to implement greater levels of transparency and accountability; and that every “no vote” would mean that individual has something to hide.

The Government MPs, in essence, contended that the motion is a “massive political diversion” from “what is really necessary” to unearth corruption and consequently shot the request down.
But this action has certainly ruffled the feathers of civil society, who are now questioning the real motive for disallowing a motion that could have changed the entire political culture and undertone within the country.

Former Government Minister, Dr Henry Jeffrey, in an invited comment, stated frankly that this decision might have contributed to the destruction of Government’s credibility with respect to their anti-corruption movement.

“I don’t think this would do anything to enhance Government’s credibility in terms of their anti-corruption campaign. And they were the ones before elections who were talking a lot about transparency and corruption and so on,” Dr Jeffrey reminded.
The political commentator also indicated that the move demonstrated a sense of hypocrisy within Government given that its members have constantly accused the former Administration of being corrupt and yet they disallowed an opportunity to expose the former Ministers.

“This is not good for the Government, the PPP opened the door in terms of their own credentials; they are not closing doors, they opened doors… And in a sense, they are letting the PPP off the hook because they are now softening the perception people have of the PPP corruption. You’ve been running around and saying that the PPP is corrupt and now the PPP is saying to you, ‘look I am going to show you’, and now you are going to say no I can’t do that,” Dr Jeffrey posited as he tried to understand the rationale.

He speculated too that the Government’s supporters may very well be suspicious of their actions and that these doubts could result in losing its political advantage.
“I believe it will hurt them,” he said.

Accountant and Attorney Christopher Ram, an inveterate critic of the previous Administration, also opined that the Government could have seized the moment to prove their purported credibility to the nation and exposed the PPP/C’s alleged corruption.

“I think with salaries having become an issue, when the matter of the 50 per cent increase came up, it would certainly have bolstered their claim which was that this was the kind of earnings that they’d been accustomed to… This would have been one way of demonstrating that that was indeed the case,” Ram stated.

He noted however, that the situation is a matter of voluntary action and Government was not compelled to vote in favour of the PPP/C Opposition.

“There is no statutory requirement on the part of the Government side to do it… I think there is no compulsion and if that is how they voted then that’s their wish. Moreover, while careful not to make any specific pronouncements on the situation, Ram said civil society should generally demand as much transparency from our public officials.
“In lots of other jurisdictions those are matters a disclosure requirement… In Guyana it is not and perhaps it should be time

for us to get there,” he stated.
Additionally, Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc (TIGI) President, Reverend Compton Meerabux said the matter is of grave concern and should not be allowed to be swept under the carpet.

He noted that in keeping with the interest of transparency and accountability, Government should have supported the motion; especially in light of the fact that the coalition campaigned on the very issues.

“By voting against it, just plain like that, is against transparency and accountability,” Reverend Meerabux said. He added that, “at the same time, even if you voted against it, they should definitely take concrete steps to set up to Integrity Commission.”

The TIGI President explained that if Government’s objection to the motion was based on confidentiality concerns, then the least they should have done was taken steps to set up the Integrity

Commission which would preserve one’s privacy.
On this note, Reverend Meerabux called on the Administration to act swiftly in setting up the Commission and employ qualified staff in order to bring an end to the witchhunting saga.
Meanwhile, the motion was brought before the National Assembly by the PPP/C in light of the many accusations against its members about having large sums of monies hidden in private accounts.

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, when he first spoke of the motion, had explained that if Government were genuine in its accusations levied against the PPP/C and about its claims that its ‘hands are clean’, then they should have no hesitation in supporting the motion.

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