Dear Editor,
NOW that the State Assets Recovery Bill is about to be passed in the parliament, there is a concerted effort by the opposition PPP, the Private Sector Commission and some individuals to scuttle it.

The PPP and the individuals and organisations concerned are hell bent on either delaying its passage in parliament or, attempting to apply enough pressure on the government to abandon the proposed bill. It is important to note that most of those persons in the forefront of resistance to the Bill are in a lot of ways beneficiaries of the looting of state assets which took place during the tenure of the PPPC regime. This political/business/criminal alliance is desperate and fearful. They dread the exposure of their criminal activities which were conducted even as they pretended to be decent, law-abiding citizens. They are aware that the government is serious in its resolve to get back stolen assets. It is this realisation that is giving them jitters.

They know that the SARA Bill will make it easier for the state to recover stolen state assets, both at home and from those countries abroad where they have stashed some of the loot. Since the bill in its present form is based on civil recovery and not criminal prosecution, where the state has the burden to prove that the assets were acquired from criminal activities, the Bill shifts the burden on the defendant to show how the assets were acquired.
The SARA bill signals that no longer in Guyana will public officials and their cohorts be allowed to plunder the resources of the state with the impunity they did under the PPP/C regime.

It is zero tolerance from hereon. It will also allow SARA to access information necessary to pursue its cases and to seek court orders to freeze assets in Guyana and overseas. The critics of the bill, in attempting to justify what they refer to as draconian measures, are raising red herrings. They are arguing that the bill is unconstitutional, that it puts too much power in the hands of the person who will function as SARA’s director, that it is a violation of citizens’ rights and it is a political instrument to be used by the government against its opponents.

They are trying to scare the public into supporting their criminal deception to save their skins. Contrary to their propaganda that SARA will function as both judge and jury, the truth is that SARA will have to prove its case in a court of law. Are they saying that the courts would not protect citizens’ rights? Their concern is not about citizens’ rights, they want to kill the bill in order to prevent public disclosure of the extent of their collaborative efforts to rape the country’s resources and enrich themselves by illegal means in the process. These crooks are underestimating the intelligence of the masses. People are not fooled by their antics. The popular view is that government should have tabled and passed the bill in parliament shortly after it assumed office. If there is one thing that can be said against the coalition, it is that it has taken too long to act in relation to placing the bill in parliament.

When the government appeared to be dragging its feet on the bill, the opposition became emboldened to the point that it mocked the regime by saying that it spent millions of taxpayers money on numerous audits and on SARU and there is nothing to show for it. They implied that in spite of the claims the members of the coalition had made while they were in opposition, now that they are in government, they are embarrassed by the fact that the audits have proven that the allegations against the PPP government were misplaced. If the PPP leadership believes its own propaganda that they ran a lean and clean government and their newly gotten wealth could stand up to scrutiny, then they have nothing to worry about. But they know that SARA in pursuing recovery of assets will expose them and they have much to lose financially and politically. This explains their hostility against SARA and the person who is very likely to be its first director, Professor Clive Thomas. Old people say “Monkey knows which limb to jump on.”

They — all of them — politicians, businessmen, criminals and professionals who facilitated and benefitted from the operations of the criminal cabal are having sleepless nights and nightmares that SARA is knocking at their doors. They see a SARA operative in every worm hole of their surroundings. Not excluded from these traumatic nightly experiences is former president Bharat Jagdeo. He is fully aware of the dominant role he played in the usurping of the country’s resources and he is as jittery as the others. He knows that in this new dispensation he is not above the law. In an effort to extricate himself he talks about his commitment to place ministers of the coalition government on trial for corruption.

He said that he will pay money to persons who come forward with information. The man is prepared to do more than the government, since he is willing to pay for information. This is no joke, we are in a period of political desperation.
In closing, the Guyanese people deserve justice. This is long overdue. The nation wants its stolen assets back! Let the chips fall where they may.

Regards
Tacuma Ogunseye