–Minister Teixeira says, advises that ‘everyone’ has a role to play in improving effectiveness of this mechanism

MINISTER of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira, has reiterated the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government’s commitment to not only upholding the constitution, democracy and human rights, but also to strengthening the mechanisms and measures necessary for greater transparency and accountability, inclusion and participation.

An example of the government’s commitment in this regard was the Guyana Anti-Corruption Framework Training Workshop held at the Grand Coastal Hotel, on Saturday.

In her address at the opening ceremony of the workshop, Minister Teixeira said that the training session was aimed at ensuring that participants understood what exists, in terms of an anti-corruption framework, the role of various agencies, the synergies that could be capitalised on and where capacity could be strengthened.

The minister said: “These, what appear to be mundane activities, are critical issues that reflect on our country – whether we are moving forward or not…and to show good effort.”

Teixeira underscored that Guyana has a robust anti-corruption framework, noting: “We believe that what we have started to develop and what we have already, in terms of an anti-corruption framework in our country, is a good and robust framework, in comparison to some other countries.”

She added: “Now, our focus should be on a systematic approach to ensure that we do not operate in silos. We have to develop a systematic approach to dealing with anti-corruption in our country – a systematic approach, not a silo approach…when we look at what is our framework and the role of the various agencies, which structure and deal with the elements of the anti-corruption framework, we recognise the need for a more systematic approach.”

FRAMEWORK
Minister Teixeira related that there is a framework that exists, under which Guyana has different reporting obligations. Guyana ratified the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (IACAC) on February 15, 2001.

“The IACAC is actually the oldest and the first and oldest convention dealing with corruption globally. In fact, Guyana was one of the first ratifiers and has played a role in respecting that convention and building our capacity.

“People may not recognise the importance of the convention to us, in a sense that it has helped us to become more sensitised and build our structures. It’s all about incremental development and not shame and blame,” Minister Teixeira said.

Also, Guyana acceded to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) on April 16, 2008, and the convention was entered into force for Guyana on May 16, 2008. The country also adopted the Lima Commitment in April 2018, and also committed to the UNGASS Political Declaration on Corruption in June 2021.

Additionally, the nation committed to the CELAC Working Group specialised in preventing and combating corruption.

REPORTING OBLIGATIONS
Teixeira said that in terms of Guyana’s reporting, there are two areas under which that is done.

The Inter-American Convention against Corruption (IACAC) under the Organisation of American States (OAS) was the first multilateral anti-corruption treaty instrument negotiated in the world.

The committee of experts of the follow-up mechanism for the implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC) of the OAS is the follow-up mechanism for the implementation of the IACAC.

The UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) was adopted by the UN General Assembly on  October 31, 2003. The UNCAC entered into force on the December 14, 2005.

The UNCAC is the only legally binding universal anti-corruption instrument. There were two reporting cycles since. Cycle one (2010 to 2015) addressed chapters three and four (Criminalization & Law- enforcement and International Cooperation), while Cycle two (2015 to 2020) addressed chapters two and five (Preventative Measures and Asset Recovery).

Minister Teixeira said: “As a new ministry, we needed to find a national mechanism – the National Coordinating Committee on Anti-Corruption – to address our obligations.”

NATIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE
The National Coordinating Committee (NCC) on Anti-Corruption involved a cross-section of government agencies and works on not only ensuring that Guyana is compliant with its reporting obligations, but also on capacity building and on maximising the synergies that exist among agencies.

The NCC meets on a monthly basis and 16 agencies are currently represented on the committee.

Teixeira noted that work on anti-corruption is linked to building trust and confidence, since acts of corruption undermine public trust and confidence in the government and also has an impact on democracy.

“It is important to recognise that this is not the responsibility of one person alone. It is all of our responsibility to reduce corruption and to be able to make our anti-corruption mechanism work,” she said.

WORK IS ONGOING
Meanwhile, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, in his remarks at the workshop, said that the PPP/C government was “fully committed” to the fight against corruption in all its forms.

He stressed that one of the most effective pillars in the fight against corruption was openness, transparency and accountability in the government.

Dr. Singh said: “We equally believe that openness, transparency and accountability in government is an absolutely essential prerequisite in democratic governance. Indeed we believe that democracy goes hand in hand with openness, transparency and accountability.”

He added that the PPP/C government, since 1992, has been working hard to establish and strengthen the institutions to operationalise the anti-corruption framework Guyana is subscribed to.
“Unfortunately, we do not tell this story often,” Dr. Singh said.

He, however, lauded the work of the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, which has been able to pull together the various elements of anti-corruption and give a comprehensive overview of the whole mechanism that is Guyana’s anti-corruption framework.

“Let me be clear that we are under no illusion that our work is done….we are not under the illusion that we can now sit and rest on our laurels….let me say unequivocally that we in the PPP/C are under no illusion that our work is done….we are constantly examining the anti-corruption framework to identify areas for strengthening and areas for elaboration by way of subsidiary legislation and regulation,” Dr. Singh said, adding that the inclusion of technology was also part of the improvement of the Guyana’s anti-corruption framework.

Notably, the session held at Grand Coastal Hotel, drew participation for the working sessions from the Ministry of Legal Affairs, the Judicial Service Commission, the Public Service Commission, the Auditor General’s Office, the Criminal Intelligence Department (CID), the National Procurement and Tender Board Administration (NPTAB), the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Guyana (ICAG), the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the Special Organised Crimes Unit (SOCU), the Guyana Bar Association and the Guyana Press Association, among others.

The opening session of the workshop hosted by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, was attended by members of the diplomatic community, representatives of foreign developmental agencies, senior state officials such as Police Commissioner (ag) Clifton Hicken; Chief Justice (ag) Roxanne George-Wilshire, civil society groups and transparency advocates.

The workshop attendees were guided by a 26-page document, prepared by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, titled “Cooperative Republic of Guyana: Anti-Corruption Framework – Fact Sheet and Detailed Framework 2022.”

Minister Teixeira has indicated that a similar session for wider participation of civil society stakeholders is planned for later this year.