– Minister Cummings tells OAS forum
THE Government of Guyana has remained committed to combating the scourge of corruption and has made important strides as local monitoring systems ensure that checks and balances are observed.
This was disclosed by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Karen Cummings, during her presentation at the Organisation of American States (OAS) Summit Implementation Review Group Meeting in Medellin, Colombia recently.
Some of the systems aiding Guyana in its strides were listed as the Integrity Commission, the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA) and the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU).
At the forum, Minister Cummings acknowledged that in April 2018, Heads of Government adopted the Lima Commitment ‘Democratic Governance against Corruption’ as a commitment to tackling corruption.
They agreed that through stronger regional cooperation and the strengthening of their institutions, combatting corruption would in turn further the principles of democracy and the achievement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In recognising such, Minister Cummings said that Guyana has received support from agencies such as the Integrity Commission, which has been critical in monitoring the integrity of public officials and civil servants.
“This commission, apart from analysing any information provided, has begun to publish names of officials who fail to comply with requests for additional information and is penalising errant officials,” Dr. Cummings said.
Furthermore, she told the meeting that SARA continues to support government ministries and agencies in its efforts to increase transparency and to retrieve national patrimony stolen by corrupt officials.
“This agency is also providing training to several other agencies with the aim of sensitising them as to what might constitute corruption within their respective fields in the public service,” she said.
The Foreign Affairs Minister also noted that SOCU, which operates under the Guyana Police Force (GPF), was created to deal with a range of crimes associated with money laundering, fraud, trafficking in persons and organised crime.
“This unit has been supportive. The unit works very closely with the attorney general in fulfilling the requirements and deadlines imposed by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force. Complementing this unit is the role of the Financial Intelligence Unit which provides ongoing records and data on suspicious financial transactions by Guyanese,” she said.
In addition to increasing its technical capacity to deal with corruption, Minister Cumming said Guyana, as a signatory to several international conventions, has been making serious efforts to improve its abilities.
“I am pleased to inform that my government has observed that several international indices indicate that Guyana has been moving in the right direction,” the Foreign Affairs Minister underscored, adding:
“I look forward and take this opportunity to reaffirm the Government of Guyana’s commitment to continued cooperation with the OAS and all Member States in this ongoing global fight against corruption.
