If this is happening, who's fault it is and how can the nation correct this situation?

You have nothing else to do but raise questions that have no basis in fact? Get a life. 

Like yuh tiefin guilt huttin yuh.

is owed about $2.46 billion in taxes, mostly business and corporate

Just like yu pappa. Yu see ah same ting me tell yu. Ah dem rich pepple ah tief moe. Show yu pappa dis article. You an you pappa should na invoke de lard name in vain.

When I posted this question I was more interested in what people have to say about the south africa experience vis a vis Guyana.

Then I found this:

Is there a textbook policy?

When the PPP/C came to power twenty years ago in 1992, the then President promised a ‘lean and clean’ government and the populace added in ‘mean’. Five years later, that President was dead, and with his death the leanness and the cleanness passed away.  Thirteen Ministries in 1992 and 20 Ministries in 2012.
Everybody in the society (from senior official to the man-in-the-street) knows of the corruption in the land.  Some cases of corruption are disguised or subtle and some are not so disguised or subtle. And the man-in-the-street, who must not be taken for granted, can often smell a rat.  He sees and knows of the millions of dollars passing hands and how that money is being spent. There is more money nowadays in the National Budget, yet his children cannot get textbooks in school and at times he has to resort to ‘pirated’ texts.
Even from 1992 the PPP/C Administration began to reap the benefits of the ERP (Economic Recovery Programme), when the Central Bank was accumulating increasing amounts of foreign reserves. Thereby more money became available for education resources. Early in 1990s locally written textbooks were printed for the Ministry of Education and distributed to secondary schools.  But today there is a shortage of textbooks in our schools.
We hear from all over the world that education is important for the development of a country.  We know that a sure way for a low-income family to pull up itself out of poverty is for the children to be successful at school, primary and more so secondary. But in many of our secondary schools students do not have the necessary textbooks to carry home in order to do homework.  In the case of Mathematics a student needs a textbook to do extra practice at home. Maths is not learnt like History or Literature or Social Studies.  When certain Maths skills are not learnt at the Primary level or at early Secondary level, it is late and sometimes too late to spend millions of dollars in remedial Maths classes at Forms Four and Five in preparation for CSEC examinations. Very often the students (and teachers too) have developed a dislike for the subject.  Therefore, it must not be a policy of better late than never!
Now, there is no doubt that a shortage of textbooks exists in our public schools. Since March 2012, Ms Cathy Hughes, M.P. asked the Minister of Education in Parliament for the number of Level Seven students provided with individual textbooks in the four core subjects. Seven months later or after more than 200 days the Minister of Education cannot tell Parliament what the number is. It means that EITHER the Minister and her officers do not know what is the state of play with regards the supply of Level Seven textbooks OR she knows the answer and is too embarrassed to tell Parliament. One must now ask whether the Ministry has a policy of acquiring textbooks on a regular basis to ensure adequate supplies to schools AND what this policy states about distribution of textbooks to individual students in the core subjects.
When the Government of Guyana and the World Bank agreed in 1990s to the SSRP (Secondary Schools Reform Project), textbooks were purchased so that each student in Levels 7, 8 and 9 of the twelve Pilot Schools would get individual textbooks in the four core subjects to have and to hold and to use in school and at home. It was also expected that Government would replicate this policy for all schools. Obviously, for reasons not made public, this has not been done, and now many students in school today are at a disadvantage, not to mention those who fell through the cracks and have gone their way.
Today, it is Government’s declared policy to acquire ‘pirated’ textbooks.  This is not the solution to the problem.  This manner of procurement has serious implications, and grave repercussions for the near-sighted. In the first place, Government is condoning and encouraging wholesale illegal activities of openly violating copyright laws.
The culprits in the past and present of this illegality and future violators of similar or other laws would expect coverage from Government. In the second place, writers would see it as a disincentive to write textbooks for fear of being robbed of their just rewards after years of sacrifice, toil and investment. The publishing of textbooks by our local writers would further dry up, unlike the scenario in other Caribbean countries. Government should acquire textbooks by the proper means and put the books in the bookstores at subsidized prices for the same parents to buy who were willing to buy the ‘pirated’ books.
With more lean and clean government, the money could be found.  One ready source is the proposed investment in the Marriot Hotel venture. This is not a priority, unless the real objective is to spite the owner(s) of the nearby Pegasus Hotel by giving them unnecessary competition.  But that is never the role of any proper government. Adequate books are more important!

AND THIS

Bidding document requests ‘Pirated’ textbooks for Education Ministry

-  Luncheon says once technical aspect satisfied, Government goes for best possible deal

The majority of all texts used in the school system, in both public and private schools, are pirated copies. This was further underscored when the Education Ministry requested in a bid document for the supply of text books that “the covers must be in full colour and the text must closely resemble the original text.”

Bids for the supply and delivery of textbooks for the Primary and Secondary Levels were opened by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB), Ministry of Finance, Main Street, on Tuesday.

AND THIS

Education Ministry text book scam…Baksh: I was not involved in contract awards, payments

Former Education Minister, Shaik Baksh, has distanced himself from what is turning out to be a major scam

Former Education Minister, Shaik Baksh

involving the ordering of text books.
Yesterday, in a statement threatening Kaieteur News with possible legal action, Baksh who was not returned as a Minister or a Parliamentarian under the Donald Ramotar administration, also said that he was not involved in matters pertaining to finances and accounting while he was at the Ministry.
However, he failed to address several critical issues in the article. Rather, he made it clear that the Budget Agency and other senior officials of the Ministry are responsible for tender processes and payments.
“…all matters pertaining to finance and accounting functions, including the implementation of tender processes, contract administration and contract payments are the responsibility of the Head of the Budget Agency and other senior officials of the Ministry.”
The former Minister also did not address several critical accusations raised in the Auditor General’s report, including why cheques for hundreds of millions of dollars were written months before the contracts were approved, or why text books were being ordered from one supplier as is evident from contracts approved by the Cabinet.
The headline story in last Sunday’s edition (February 26) “Dealer blows lid on Education Ministry book scam…” did not accuse Baksh of being involved. Rather, the article merely pointed out that he was in charge, as Minister, in 2010.
The article stemmed from the 2010 Report of the Auditor General on the accounts of Guyana, which includes the Ministry of Education.
According to Baksh, the headline is a total fabrication and wicked in its intent.
Book dealer, Bholan Boodhoo, the local agent for Longman text books, in the Kaieteur News report over the weekend, accused the Ministry of having no clear text policy and as a result, outdated text books and photocopied ones were being ordered and even short delivered, in a deliberate scam…all paid for with government funds.

Text book dealer, Bholan Boodhoo

DEAFENING SILENCE
The former Minister did not address this, but insisted there is a policy. He also did not raise the issue of the government’s policy on the ordering of text books that are photocopied or infringed, an aspect that Boodhoo say is worrying overseas suppliers.
“There is a clearly well defined text book policy and guidelines for the selection of text books.  There is also a text book selection committee which is comprised of senior professional officers of the Ministry and is supported by specialists and educators in the selection of text books,” Baksh said in the statement sent via an email address that he was using while he was Minister.
He highlighted CSEC text books as an example.
“All the textbooks procured for the thirty-one subjects taken by students at the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC), with some exceptions, are based on the published recommended texts by the Caribbean Examinations Council.”
No fraud?
He also said that the Auditor General’s Report has not revealed that a fraud or misappropriation of funds had taken place in this contract.
Regarding the $110M which was written months before the contracts for texts awarded, Baksh argued that since the Ministry sought and obtained approval from the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) to procure the text books from a local supplier at a cost of $110.291M, there was no breach of the tender and award process. He did not explain how the cheques could have been written up months before approval was granted.
The former Minister said it cannot be denied that the PPP/C government has placed much importance in strengthening the Auditor General’s Office and ensuring yearly reports are submitted to Parliament.
“This has contributed to identification of systems weaknesses, breaches of procedures, legislation and irregularities.”
The statement from Baksh also said that in due course, the Auditor General’s Report 2010 will be subject to scrutiny by the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament.
“The Head of the Budget Agency and senior officials will be called upon to explain and account for any breaches of procedures, regulations, law etc.”
Sidelined
Boodhoo, the book dealer, in the article said legitimate businesses are sidelined by the Ministry which used unfair practices to ensure only certain suppliers received contracts.
He called on President Ramotar to get involved.
According to the businessman, the procurement system is deliberately being manipulated in the process.
The Auditor General’s report covering government accounts of 2010, excerpts of which were published in this newspaper a week ago, found instances in which hundreds of millions of dollars were written up in cheques, months before the contracts were awarded.
It not only signaled that there were serious irregularities but also that there was the shocking possibility that the procurement process in Guyana, through the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, may have been compromised.
The report also suggested that books were also being partially delivered.
Kaieteur News was told that people high up in the Ministry of Education and specific dealers awarded the contracts, deliberately delivered short and would split the proceeds.
Text books dealing in Guyana is a billion-dollar business.
According to Boodhoo, the ordering of photocopied text books is a “clear violation of several regional and international laws. It saves money, but how could a ministry and government by extension, sanction an illegality? We have legitimate book dealers in Guyana who are answerable to their companies. We have books that we are scared to even put on shelves because they are being bought and then photocopied or infringed and then resold”.
Many of the contracts awarded are through sole sourcing procurement procedures, meaning that the Ministry has already decided which company will get the contract.
“This is clearly a breach of what sole tendering is all about. For one company to be eligible as a sole tender, the ministry will have to show that it can’t buy from anywhere else and the orders must be with all the relevant specifications included. This may be true if you are ordering a Wartsila engine or Caterpillar set…then you will have to go to the company that makes them.” However, in many cases, the contracts are just being awarded as sole sourcing without evidence being presented that the books are not available elsewhere. And how is it being done?
“On the approval granted by the Cabinet, the list will more than likely have general descriptions of texts, but no names of the books wanted. This is another way in which legitimate dealers are being shafted, because they don’t have a clear idea of what is needed. In many cases, the Ministry of Education just does not advertise for the books.”

What is your point Ronald? Are you another paid AFC/PNC agitator looking to make issues out of thin air? What does missing text books in South Africa have to do with pirated text books in Guyana? 

If this Ronald dude is another Mahen/Davindra character, we need to crucify him. Let's give him the benefit of the doubt for now.