Guyana Government indifferent to Corruption – US State Department

Government’s apparent ineffectiveness in implementing laws that provide for criminal penalties for corruption by public officials has been highlighted by the United States of America 2012 Human Rights Report.
The report, which was released over the weekend, stated that there remains widespread public perception of corruption involving officials at all levels, including the police and the judiciary.
“The World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators assessed that government corruption was a serious problem,” the report said.
The Guyana Police Force bore the brunt of the report’s assessment, which pointed to allegations of police officers being connected to the drug underworld.
In October 2011 the Guyana Police Force’s Crime Chief submitted a report to the Minister of Home Affairs regarding allegations by a senior officer that many officers had connections to drug dealers.
According to the report, the Minister considered it but has so far taken no action.
In fact, one of the officers against whom the allegations were made is still driving a BMW that reportedly belongs to an alleged drug dealer.
Meanwhile, the report zeroed in on the fact that public officials are subject to financial disclosure laws and are required to submit information about personal assets to the Integrity Commission.
However, although the Prime Minister had stated in June last year that members would soon be appointed to this Commission, it is still not up and running.
On June 14 last year, the National Assembly approved a government motion that members submit annual declarations in keeping with provisions of the Integrity Act, but compliance was uneven, and the Commission had no resources for enforcement or investigations.
The Act sets out both criminal and administrative sanctions for nondisclosure.
If a person fails to file a declaration, the fact can be published in the daily newspapers and the Official Gazette.
Failure to comply with the law can lead to a summary conviction, fines, and imprisonment for six to 12 months.
If property was not disclosed as it should have been, the Magistrate convicting the defendant will order the defendant to make a full disclosure within a set time frame.
The report said that no such publication or convictions have occurred.
When it comes to the Office of the Auditor General, the report was uncomplimentary.
The Office of the Auditor General scrutinizes the expenditure of public funds on behalf of Parliament and conducts financial audits of all publicly funded entities, including donor-funded entities, local government agencies and trade unions and reports to the National Assembly.
However, the US human rights report stated that the effectiveness of the office remained limited since the government may or may not act on the discrepancies noted in its reports.
“Observers noted that recurring discrepancies were repeatedly highlighted in the reports without officials taking appropriate follow-up actions to investigate and resolve the discrepancies,” the report highlighted.
The 2001 constitution called for the establishment of a Public Procurement Commission (PPC) to monitor public procurement and ensure that authorities conduct the procurement of goods and services in a fair, transparent, competitive and cost-effective manner.
However, the government never constituted the PPC despite public criticism of the present system’s ineffectiveness in awarding government contracts in an equitable and transparent manner.
The report stated that under pressure from opposition parties in parliament, the government promised to establish the PPC by June last year, but this has not yet materialized.
A 2011 Access to Information Act, intended to promote transparency and accountability within the government and public institutions, provided for persons to secure access to information under the control of public authorities and for the appointment of a Commissioner of Information.
Again the US human rights report highlighted that so far the government had not issued implementing regulations or appointed a Commissioner.