Gov’t committed to tackling corruption
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira

– Teixeira tells anti-corruption workshop

MINISTER of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, has reiterated the government’s commitment to tackling corruption at all levels as it works to improve its Anti-Corruption Framework.

Noting that corruption undermines democratic governance, Minister Teixeira addressed the opening ceremony of the Guyana Anti-Corruption Framework Training workshop on Saturday, which is expected to provide knowledge to 16 participating organisations from both the private and public sectors.

In her address, Teixeira reminded that consecutive People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) governments have remained committed to the goal of tackling corruption and implementing several systems to reduce and prevent such from occurring.

Speaking about Guyana’s anti-corruption architecture, Teixeira noted that the 1999-2001 broad-based Parliamentary Constitutional Reform Commission was comprised of equal representation of the Government and Opposition political parties, and national stakeholders from civil society.

She noted that during that time, the Commission conducted hearings and consultations with thousands of people across the country’s ten Administrative Regions and ultimately introduced progressive and democratic innovations into the Constitution of Guyana. This was completed as part of a progressive plan to improve the democratic architecture of the nation.

This included the appointment of several constitutional post holders and new constitutional bodies through a model of power-sharing between the government and opposition. It also resulted in greater involvement of Parliament in the appointment of these bodies based on mutually agreed upon mechanisms.

The appointment of the Judicial Service Commission, the Public and Police Service Commissions, the Public Procurement Commission, and the four rights commissions are also enshrined in this constitutional model.

Parliamentary standing committees such as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the Parliamentary Management Committee, four new sectoral oversight committees (Economic Services, Natural Resources, Social Services, and Foreign Relations), the Security Sector Oversight Committee, and the Committee of Appointment to Commissions are also enshrined in the Constitution.

Speaking directly about the work of these constitutional committees, Teixeira noted that these institutions have played pivotal roles in ensuring that corruption is tackled on a large scale.
The PAC, in 2022, has been able to uncover massive errors and even blatant issues with spending at several governmental agencies.

In June, the PAC uncovered that over $21M in 356 advance payments, from what was dubbed a “slush fund” bank accounts of Region Two’s Regional Democratic Council (RDC), are still to be accounted for.

The bank accounts are three special-project accounts at Republic Bank Limited for economic affairs (Reserve Fund), Economic Project (State House), and Westbury. The accounts were used to deposit revenue made by the region through various activities and events.

The PAC also managed to uncover that some $475.6 million was spent by the Georgetown Mayor & City Council (M&CC) in 2017. This came as a result of the PAC examining the 2017 and 2018 Auditor General’s (AG) reports for the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, formerly known as the Ministry of Communities.

The PAC also recently called for a criminal investigation to be launched into a 2018 project, which involved repairs to a self-acting sluice at Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, for which cheques were prepared and purportedly paid out before the completion of works.

The $4.6 million contract, as outlined by the Auditor General’s 2018 report, was awarded and later signed on December 5, 2018, with an expected timeframe of two months.

According to the report, some $4.5 million was paid to the contractor, while the project engineer, Dannie Ramdolar, who was assigned to the Ministry of Public Security, purportedly certified that works were completed on December 17, 2018.

Contrary to his certification of the works, a physical verification by the Audit Office of Guyana, on May 3, 2019, found that the contractor was still conducting works on the structure.
Owing to this observation, the audit report outlined that the engineer falsely certified that the works were completed in December 2018.

Teixeira reminded that the government took steps to enact strategic pieces of legislation that would combat corruption. These include the Audit Act of 2004; the Procurement Act; the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act; the Financial Management and Accountability Act; the Access to Information Act; the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act; the Cybercrime Act of 2018.

PREVENTING CORRUPTION IN OIL & GAS SECTOR
Most recently, the PPP/C government introduced and enacted the Local Content Act and the Natural Resources Fund Act as part of effort to prevent corruption in the oil and gas sector.
The Natural Resources Fund Act ensures that revenues earned from Guyana’s petroleum industry can only be used to finance national developmental projects, and/or respond to major natural disasters.

One of the main features of the new Natural Resources Fund Act is the limiting of the powers of the Finance Minister. The Act makes provision for the fund to be governed by a Board of Directors, comprising no less than three and no more than five members, including the chairperson.

They would essentially have to be persons with “wide experience and ability” in legal, financial, business, or administrative matters, one of whom shall be nominated by the National Assembly and one of whom shall be a representative of the local private sector.

The board itself is proposed to have a lifespan of two years, after which it shall be “eligible for reappointment.”
The board, as proposed, would be responsible for the overall management of the fund; reviewing and approving policies of the fund; monitoring the performance of the fund; ensuring compliance with the approved policies of the fund; exercising general oversight of all aspects of the operations of the fund, and ensuring that the fund is managed in compliance with the act and all other applicable laws.

Additionally, the board members will be required to adhere to a strict code of conduct while executing their duties.
The NRF 2021 legislation also proposes the establishment of a Public Accountability and Oversight Committee as well as an Investment Committee.

The Oversight Committee is projected to comprise a person nominated by the National Assembly, along with three representatives of the religious community, among others.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

All our printed editions are available online
emblem3
Subscribe to the Guyana Chronicle.
Sign up to receive news and updates.
We respect your privacy.