PLEASE permit me to respond to a letter published in the Wednesday October 27 edition of the Kaieteur News, penned by one T. Jabour titled ‘Khurshid Sattaur running scared’. In the above mentioned letter, T. Jabour claims that ‘Sattaur’s tirade against K-news for the blackmail report is symptomatic to a child being caught with his hand in the cookie jar’. Let me point out that the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) has a policy not unlike a number of other agencies of not pronouncing on investigations that are ongoing. Had the writer taken the time to properly understand the Commissioner-General’s comments in the Guyana Chronicle dated October 26, 2010, he would realise that the senior GRA functionary finds offensive, the practice of the Kaieteur Newspaper of pre-empting the outcome of investigations thereby tainting the process.

In addressing the issue, the GRA Representative has reiterated on numerous occasions that the implications of such callous reporting can be detrimental to the parties involved, including publicly humiliating the officers surrounding the incident as well as their families.

At no point in the article did the Commissioner-General attempt to deny that there was indeed a matter under investigation. But instead, he reiterated that the Revenue Authority will not be forced by the media or any other body to prematurely report on matters that are under investigation.

Persons familiar with the operating mechanism of the agency will attest to the fact that when investigations are completed, statements are issued to every media house.

Let it be known that the Guyana Revenue Authority did provide to the public a response relating to the ‘cigarette container matter’ which was published by various media houses. At that time, the container was being tracked and it was not necessary to provide to the media in-depth details which would have led to the operation being compromised.

Moreover, such initiatives resulted in a significant breakthrough. The matter in question (re: cigarette container) was detected as a result of the initiative taken by GRA to minimize tax evasion and avoidance; and the mechanisms and internal control measures that have been put in place to protect revenue and prevent revenue losses.

The actions of the Kaieteur News are questionable since it serves to undermine the operations of the GRA. The newspaper needs to be more responsible when information is leaked. Their sources should be investigated and information authenticated before publication.
The Guyana Revenue Authority does not expect incidence of corruption to be swept under the carpet since the organisation condemns such practices by staff as well as members of the public.