OPPOSITION Leader Bharrat Jagdeo, in his press conference of Thursday, 23rd June, called on the David Granger/Moses Nagamootoo government to get tough on corruption.
Understandably, there are several contending views to Jagdeo’s statement, more particularly from the standpoint of the record of his administration. It is public knowledge that under his leadership Guyana was ranked the most corrupt in the English-speaking Caribbean, Professor Clive Thomas wrote extensively on the criminalised state, and the narco-economy sprang to the level of paralleling and offering rivalry to the formal economy.

None among the informed or those with eyes to see can deny Jagdeo’s ostentatious post-presidential lifestyle; his conspicuous accumulation of wealth on a fixed public income as president; the public outrage, and his being ostracised by associates of his party, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C).

And while, at the surface level, it may be tempting to see the call by the Leader of the Opposition to the APNU+AFC administration to get tough on corruption being a taunt to ‘bring it on,’ given his earlier statements denying corruption under the PPP/C, he has a point.

Left unbridled, corruption is like a cancer that eats away at the body of a nation, destroying its people and resources. It even threatens a nation’s sovereignty — as in the case of narco-trafficking, money laundering and the financing of terrorism. Given that corruption robs a nation of much needed, scarce and limited resources — human, capital and natural — to engage in developmental projects that would aid in improving the quality of life of all, all should be concerned.

Where corrupt officials of state and government, elected and appointed, think it is acceptable to abuse the privilege entrusted to them by the people and engage in acts inimical to the people, when the society fails to hold them to account, its hurts development.

When the court system is not being given the opportunity to execute its responsibility in adjudicating on matters perceived to be in violation of the law, it undermines the legitimacy and role of the court system in society.

When the Executive/Government ignores or takes a laissez-faire approach — perceived or real — to ruthlessly confronting corruption, holding the corrupt accountable and putting systems in place to combat corruption, its credibility comes into question, and it risks losing its legitimacy from the standpoint that the people lose confidence in government.

Jadgeo is not singular in his call for tough action on corruption, notwithstanding his reference to what he perceives to be happening under the present administration; and where corruption exists, it ought to be reviewed and stamped out. In the face of mounting evidence of the existence of corruption, the law-abiding and those who desire good governance seek tough action, not only from the incumbent government, but also from its predecessor, including the Jagdeo regime.

The mindset of the people towards corruption is that of zero-tolerance, regardless of who has committed it or when it was committed. The people do not want a society in which politicians can run for, and secure, office based on who is less corrupt; they want a society in which corruption is not tolerated, period; and they want a party or group that is elected based on its record of being squeaky clean.

In this information age, wherein people are determined to take responsibility for the course of their political wellbeing, all governments, past and present, would be held to account. This has been the message sent out for a while, and it is hoped the politicians are listening.

It may help in this regard to examine the utility in the appointment of special prosecutor(s) to act on judicial recommendations in the forensic audits, and to administratively put systems in place, which the people should be apprised of, to avoid recurrence of abuse.

In another week, the month of June would be over, and it is expected that PPP/C Member of Parliament Irfaan Ali, Chairman of the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee, would honour his commitment to society by making known the names of those nominated to be on the Public Procurement Commission.
Indeed, not only does the APNU+AFC government have to get tough on corruption, but all Guyanese must get tough on corruption coming from governmental and non-governmental sources. This can happen only when the people stay engaged and ensure that those in positions of influence act appropriately.