–assistant director of prosecution urges Region Three officials

ASSISTANT Director of Public Prosecutions Teshana James-Lake, is urging holders of public office to report any suspicious act of corruption, assuring that legislation is in place to protect “whistleblowers”

At an Anti-Corruption Sensitisation Seminar at Region Three (West Demerara-Essequibo Islands), the assistant director of public prosecutions explained that there are different types of offences that characterise improper conduct of persons operating within public and private offices. These include: larceny by clerk or servant; larceny by public officer; embezzlement by clerk or servant; embezzlement by public officer; fraudulent

misappropriation of property; fraudulent conversion of property; falsification of accounts by officer, clerk or servant; forgery; public servants taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an official act; and corrupt transaction by and with agent.
James-Lake said once an act of corruption is committed it should be reported, and it is the Guyana Police Force, the State Asset Recovery Unit (SARU), the Special Organised Crime Unit SOCU) and/or the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP) that will characterise the act into an offence.

“If you are an accounts clerk in the REO’s office, and you see monies being spent on items that are not for the use of the region, that are not being used in the region…you as the accounts clerk you’re asked to disclose that information, because what is occurring there, is an offence,” she told those present at the Regional Democratic Council (RDC).

At the regional level, she said there have been cases in which projects were signed off and contractors paid in full for projects that were either incomplete or were never done.
Such was the case in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice), when three RDC staff members were charged back in 2016 for allegedly colluding to falsify contracts. The alleged act of corruption was unearthed in the 2015 Auditor General’s Report.

According to law, an official who falsifies any account, statement, receipt or records; or conspires or colludes with any person to defraud the state is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable of a fine of ($2M) and imprisonment for three years.

The assistant director of public prosecutions emphasised that while collar crimes must be reported. “We cannot all sit here and say, we don’t want corruption, we don’t want bribery, we want Guyana to be this successful country, if we sit there, see persons stealing the government’s money and we say nothing,” she told the local and regional officers present, again assuring that “whistleblowers” will be protected under the Protected Disclosures (Whistleblower) Act.

Parliamentary Counsel Ronetta Sargent, who was among the presenters during the Anti-Corruption Seminar on Wednesday, explained that the Protected Disclosure Act “seeks to assist in combating corruption and other wrongdoings, both in the public and private sectors by encouraging and facilitating the making of disclosures of improper conduct.”
It was made clear that persons making disclosures are protected.

Section 2 of the Protected Disclosure Act defines a disclosure as “the disclosing of information by a person which shows or potentially shows that another person is committing, has committed or is likely to commit an improper conduct.”

“An improper conduct being any commission of a criminal offence, failure to carry out a legal obligation, conduct that is likely to threaten the health or safety of a person or the environment, or conduct that tends to show gross mismanagement, impropriety or misconduct in the carrying out of any activity involving the use of public funds or the financing resource of an employer,” Sargent further explained.

The parliamentary counsel noted that the risk of corruption is significantly higher in environments where the reporting of wrongdoing is not supported or protected. However, she emphasised that Guyana’s “whistleblowers” will be protected under the Protected Disclosures Act.

“Encouraging and facilitating “whistleblowing,” particularly by providing effective legal protection and clear guidance on reporting procedures, among other things, help authorities monitor compliance and detect violations of anti-corruption laws…The protection of public and private sector “whistleblowers” as well as persons who interface with these sectors from retaliation for reporting in good faith suspected acts of corruption and other wrongdoings is therefore integral to efforts to combat corruption, promote public sector integrity and accountability, and support a clean business environment,” the parliamentary counsel emphasised.

It is hoped that with the Protected Disclosures Act and other anti-corruption legislation in place, persons living in Guyana would be more encouraged to join the ongoing campaign aimed at stamping out corruption, publicly and privately.

The call for persons to blow the whistle on public and private office holders involved in white collar crime comes at a time when former Finance Minister under the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) administration, Dr Ashni Singh and former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) Winston Brassington, have been given three weeks to appear before Chief Magistrate Ann Mc Lennan.

The two are required to answer to three charges of misconduct in public office, contrary to the public law. The charges were filed by the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU).