Guyana is fast assuming the title of a “kleptocratic state”

 
DEAR EDITOR,
In Guyana like any other country, every situation presents an opportunity for richness or the opposite. We all have choices and every choice we make has a consequence. This is not a matter of law; it involves sacrifice, decency and integrity because the values we hold are not adjudicated in courts, rather they are etched in our conscious mind.
These values were handed down to us by our parents, teachers and our religious institutions. An imbecile cannot shame us, but an ordinary man may by ignorance, stupidity or ill-intent shame himself, his family and all of us. This is the way life is in Guyana, where the government ignores reality and continues to live in fool’s paradise as kleptocracy reaches new heights in the country.
There is a major trust deficit among politicians of the ruling clique. The abuse of public trust and the reckless squandering of the state resources are at epidemic proportions; only exceeded by the extensive corrupt practices that have engulfed the nation in the past decade.
The cabal has broken all the rules in their never-ending pursuit to spread propaganda, distortions and untruths, as they continue to shamelessly lay hands on the state assets.  For them, it is fair game to squander the taxpayers’ money on shady projects and secret contracts as if it is inheritance left for them by their parents. In most countries, state assets are valued and protected by the government but in Guyana, it is used to enrich some in the ruling cabal, their relatives, friends and business buddies at the expense of the helpless citizenry.
At times the state loses valuable equipment and assets due to corruption and the lack of accountability, and no one in the cabal is held responsible. For example, computers from the One Laptop Per Family Secretariat and office equipment have disappeared with no trace, and so far, no one has been arrested or charged. State assets are being misused and funds misspent without any accountability or legal consequences, because the PPP regime has always refused to prosecute their cronies. Attempts to bamboozle Guyanese have backfired, because we all are now fully aware of their widespread corrupt practices.
Thus, we have concluded that “Kleptocracy” which is a form of political and government corruption, has become the norm, whereby the ruling group has increased personal wealth and political power at the expense of the poor and the working class, often without pretence of honest service. This type of government corruption is often achieved by the embezzlement of state funds and resources.
There are some individuals who have inexplicably moved from rags to riches overnight. The huge properties (palaces) owned by these kleptocrats and the size of their local and foreign bank accounts bear no relationship to their salaries or income earned from their business. Unlike other members of the CARICOM community, Guyana has become infamous for the increasing corruption over the years and the Jagdeo/Ramotar administrations have done absolutely nothing so far to end this blight on the nation.
The two major newspapers are filled with not just rumours, but instances and confirmed reports of widespread corruption in contract awards from state enterprises and ministries to friends of the PPP regime, with astronomical kickbacks being mentioned, and not a word of any official investigation or even a hint or an indication of a polite inquiry. The greater problem lies not only in the corrupt practices which are now endemic, but in its official acceptance. If nothing else, this has laid the foundation for Guyana to become the first “kleptocratic state” in the Caribbean.
Although there is a wealth of evidence of serious wrongdoing, most recently from NDIA and NCN, the minority PPP regime does not see the need to begin serious investigations and, if required, possible prosecution of the alleged conspirators.  Instead we have seen a series of legal opinions by PPP operatives on NCN and other state-owned TV, justifying the unjustifiable.
In Guyana, the taxpayers’ money has no defender. The accountability deficit among government officials is very high. Who monitors the value for money? This lack of accountability means that the state assets and funds are misused, converted, and may be stolen outright to enrich a few.
No one in Guyana can deny that corruption spans all levels of the PPP administration. What is also undeniable is that corruption has been taken to new heights and that, if it is not there already, Guyana is fast assuming the title of a “kleptocratic state.”
Dr. Asquith Rose and Harish S. Singh