The water cannon audit

IF it were not for the work of accounting firm Nizam Ali and Company, Guyanese would not have been aware that an alleged $16.2 million of their money is apparently somewhere out there in thin air or in somebody’s pocket. It has been learnt from this forensic audit that the water cannon was purchased at a price of $20.8M from Shiyan Yunlihong Industrial and Trade Company, not for the price of $37 million the PPP/C government had said it was bought for.

The audit report said the Ministry of Home Affairs, which was headed by Minister Clement Rohee, engaged in public tendering as required under Section 25(1) of the Procurement Act of Guyana (2003), but there was no response to the tender. Thereafter, the ministry went on to procure the equipment through a quote system, and the auditor noted that it could not find any “available evidence” of a study or evaluation to determine the need for this equipment, neither was there any study done to determine the merit of this particular type of equipment.

This revelation — putting it in Guyanese parlance — is slackness of the highest order. It also says the Government of the day displayed no regard for prudent management of the people’s money and the procedures required in spending it.
It would be remembered that in February 2016 in response to the audit findings, Mr. Rohee sought to wash his hands clean, laying the blame on late Police Commissioner Henry Green and the ministry’s permanent secretary. In 2010, when it was made known that Government was going to acquire the equipment in what it said was a means of crowd control, and amidst public condemnation,  it was he who justified the purchase.

Many saw the purchase of the equipment as an attempt to drive fear into people for the up-coming 2011 General and Regional Elections. When the water cannon came, in acts that could be likened to the showmanship seen in April in North Korea’s parade of its military vehicles and might, it was put on full public display and the media invited to witness its functionality. This well promoted and heralded activity was staged at the National Park in June 2012.

What the government apparently did not expect or care not about, is that the equipment was no good. In a comedy of errors and visuals, it got stuck in the soil, with Commissioner Leroy Brummell having to chip in and help to get it unstuck, then recruits were used to act as protesters as the water was unleashed, demonstrating that not only was the vehicle not properly handled, but the water was also misdirected.

During the July 2012 Linden/Region 10 protest, the equipment was sent to douse the people. When it arrived in Linden, the only thing it could have done was park. From the time society saw the cannon there were outcries that it was a reject and not worth the money, though Mr Rohee kept saying otherwise.

The wastage of taxpayers’ money on schemes of this nature has always been detrimental to the nation’s growth and development. Misappropriation of money meant children were deprived of the quality of public education they deserve, the health services could not perform at its best, among other deprivations that could have been prevented were money wisely spent and correctly accounted for. There can be no justification for this wastage.

Stopping those engaged in corrupt practices requires support of every Guyanese in having Government pursuing the evidence in these forensic audits and holding those responsible accountable. The development of the society requires a high level of intolerance for the theft of taxpayers’ money and the wastage of their resources.

Guyanese and Government must reach the stage where it ought not to matter who is involved, in the fight to make Guyana corruption-free. Accusations of victimisation must also not sway us, for if there is any victim it is the ordinary man and woman whose trust has been betrayed by their leaders. Playing to emotive feelings based on identity of or support for a group will not rid society of corruption. The enforcement of the rule of law is the only act that stops corruption.

Last Wednesday, the audit on the water cannon, along with others, was handed over to Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud. These audits could present another opportunity for the Government of Guyana to reinforce a clear message of its intolerance for corruption, alleged or actual. The police must now do its work properly and ensure that justice is served.

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