No leniency for corrupt officials says Ramjattan
In recognition of the fact that the Office of the Auditor General has yet again identified a gamut of financial discrepancies and instances of unaccountability that contravene financial management practices, the Alliance for Change (AFC) is urging its colleagues in Parliament to seize the opportunity to advance good governance and stamp out corruption.
According to the party’s Chairman Khemraj Ramjattan, in its analysis of the AG’s Report, the AFC has observed that the revelations are not dissimilar from many previous Reports. “…even though these infractions continue to be identified, many government ministries and agencies fail to take corrective measures. It seems that these ministries and agencies have no regard for the Auditor General’s recommendations and are determined, year after year, to continue with their bad practices,” Ramjattan noted. This development, he noted, is not only an insult to the work of the Auditor General’s Office but also contemptuous of taxpayers, whose money it is, that is not being properly accounted for and therefore it must not be allowed to continue.
The AFC has already indicated its zero tolerance on corruption and now reiterates its position, Ramjattan said, even as he asserted that the party is not prepared to be lenient with those who practice corruption. “Let this be a message to those corrupt officials who continue to engage in shady transactions and who fail to enact proper accounting measures, the AFC will not be lenient with you. The people of this country are expecting their leaders in the Parliament to tackle corruption head-on by providing iron-clad legislation and using its power to call officials to account and more!” As a result, Ramjattan noted that the National Assembly, and moreso the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly, have critical roles to play in ensuring taxpayers money is not siphoned off into deep pockets.
He further pointed out that the people, through their votes, have given the National Assembly the strength it needs to fight financial corruption and the Tenth Parliament would be failing in its duty to the people if it allows the discrepancies identified by the Auditor General to go uncorrected. He added that the AFC sees it as the Party’s solemn duty to the people to act against corrupt officials, stressing that such actions are in fact the duty of all the members of the National Assembly. “If new conventions have to be written and new precedents set, then so be it. The people voted for a new dispensation, one that gives them confidence in the system. The people are the masters, MPs the servants. As servants of the people we must deliver what our masters have mandated us to do.”
