December 9 ,2020
Kaieteur News – Democracy, transparency, and accountability are today’s watchwords making spirited rounds before anyone who would listen, those who actually believe. They thrill in the mere utterance, no matter how faked, how not intended to be delivered. But what is ever-present and delivered in the places that count are the corruptions that wash over this country in both public and private sector, and by the greatest margin in the former.
A huge haul of cocaine in Belgium relays so much of what is wrong about this society, what makes it tick, what fastens with irremovable hold on institutions like the GRA. It has a sprawling range of responsibilities, a great reach into many activities where money matters the most. And money talks profusely. Just like in the similarly sprawling Guyana Police Force.
In the specific instance of that double-digit tonnes bust of cocaine, so much has come to light, with still much more still unknown or under the lock of due process. That it happened under the scrutiny of the GRA is not surprising. And this is despite the herculean efforts of its present Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia, who must be counting his days before he goes from this nightmarish place.
Of course, there are those, who chafed under his iron rule, and who would be just as glad to see him go soonest.
For then, a political appointment can take the reins and the floodgates of fortune open. There would not have to be any need for all of these excruciating steps of covering up and administrative passwords pointing to corruptions at very senior levels. Indeed, the stricter the government, the wiser the working population. In case anyone missed that, the slicker and dirtier is what we mean.
The GRA, with its oversight into the lucrative worlds of income tax and customs duties, has long been a hothouse of sophisticated maneuvers. In the old days, things were centered around paper and pencil, and the tricky accounting and standing practices made possible. A lot of men got extremely rich from such shenanigans. They have the trophies-houses, cars, and stashes-standing as mouthwatering evidence of their brazen success. This can be said for both tainted public servants on the inside of the GRA, as well as their partners in crime in the private sector or simply private citizens with a certain strain of business to conduct. GRA exploits are now the stuff of legend and make deceptive Guyana’s elections look like so much child’s play.
Then along came Commissioner-General Statia and his highfalutin ideas about ASYCUDA and the good it can do for this country. Unfortunately, what is good for Guyana is bad for the kind of business contemplated by many citizens. The howls of protest made it all the way to the roof, without any retreat from the top of the GRA. Accordingly, something had to give; and in this age of technology and computers, the layers of protections and quests for greater integrity in the performance of the nation’s business that meant infiltration and access. That, in turn, led to where things stand delicately poised. Passwords misuse at high levels have come under the spotlight.
The issue is no longer who did what, but more of how long they have been running an underground network dedicated to bypassing systems of oversight and controls, and damage they have done. To state in a different way, this would be how many got off with a free pass, or lightly, and how much criminality of the nature of that drug bust occurred undetected. It goes without saying that such infiltration and access at rarefied levels cost an arm and a leg. But, is also commonsense that obtaining free and quiet passage for in excess of 11 tonnes of cocaine, or half of anything of that weight, has to be paid for with oceans of cold, hard cash.
Most Guyanese would take the risk of comprising themselves-career, family, reputation, and prospects-for the kind of cash that such temptations deliver. In terms of prospects, they would be no less than rosy, since heavy prices would have been demanded and paid. In such contexts, passwords have little meaning, less security. And that is where we are today.