THE government has been doing a commendable job in bringing much-needed relief to those persons who were affected by the recent floods. Billions of dollars were paid out by way of compensation to those who suffered loss of crops or livestock, not to mention the millions spent to provide financial relief to all families due to the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Sugar workers whose services were terminated under the APNU+AFC Coalition government, in addition to their severance benefits, will also receive a one-off payment of $250,000. A one-off payment of an additional month’s pension was also paid out to old age pensioners in October.

These measures on the part of the President Irfaan Ali-led administration speak to a government that deeply cares for its people and is prepared to come to their rescue in times of adversity, despite the substantial cost to the treasury. It speaks to a compassionate, caring and people-oriented administration for whom people and their lives and livelihoods matter the most.

Regrettably, there are some who seem to believe that the government has a deep pocket and that it has available to itself an infinite sum of money. Based on such warped thinking, these people are prepared to extract money from the government by resorting to dishonest practices to obtain more money than is due to them, and in some cases money to which they were not entitled to. Apart from the immorality of such acts, it amounts to a case of obtaining money through fraudulent means, which is an offence and punishable under the law.

The generosity and caring hand of the government should not be taken for granted. There are so many competing demands for State resources that the government is forced to make hard and difficult choices on how best to spend the money to improve the quality of lives of the Guyanese people. Money does not fall from the sky. It is the Guyanese taxpayers who have to foot the bill for all financial allocations and such monies have to be properly accounted for.

This is why any attempt to obtain money by dishonest means must be taken seriously and those found guilty must be made to answer and where applicable hauled before the courts. We cannot have a society in which people feel that it is quite all right for people to, as it were, juice the government and get away with it.

The government has repeatedly stated its intolerance for corrupt practices, and as far as the law is concerned there are no ‘holy cows’. The government has already commenced an investigation into allegations of corrupt practices in the assessment and compensation of farmers who allegedly claimed damages without any supporting documentation.

Accountability of public funds is an important element of good governance and all officials must be made to answer for funds allocated to them to execute programmes, projects and policies under their charge. There are too many cases of monies being spent for which there is little or no supporting evidence as to how the money was spent. This appeared to be recurring decimal at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) especially under the stewardship of the previous APNU+AFC administration as is now being highlighted in the Auditor General’s Report.

The people of Guyana are poorer for every corrupt transaction, and as pointed out by President Ali, his administration is working to strengthen institutions to put an end to corrupt practices in public offices. And while there is no corruption-free society, it is the extent to which measures are put in place to strengthen governance systems and guard against the propensity to commit fraudulent practices that really matters and are the defining characteristics of an open and transparent society.