— private sector lauds Guyana’s improvements in anti-corruption framework, fiscal transparency

NOTING the importance of anti-corruption in the development of the business community, Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Paul Cheong commended the progress Guyana has made in strengthening anti-corruption framework and fiscal transparency.

The country’s improvements in this area was recently highlighted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) it its report documenting the conclusions of its Article IV Consultation with local authorities.

“We have always echo the importance of anti-corruption framework because without it, it can lead to many ills. It could drive away good investors and your cost to financing would be more,” Cheong said.

According to Cheong, tackling corruption requites the effort of all and while the private sector will play its role, he is happy that the government is doing its part.

“There is always people out there who try to achieve things without the necessary effort. You always have to be reviewing your systems and practices to ensure there is sufficient safeguards to prevent these things from happening. And ensure that when it does happen persons are dealt with properly, and penalised. Those are core principles for good governance; maintenance against corruption is important,” he said.

The IMF in its report pointed to several pillars of the anti-corruption framework that were recently strengthened, including the Integrity and Public Procurement Commissions and the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).

The international financial institution went on to acknowledge the publication of audit reports on public expenditures, including for COVID-19, and the government’s efforts to follow up on recommendations made in those audit reports.

The authorities, the organisation said, also made progress in implementing the recommendations of the 2019 and 2021 Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) reports, notably on the reconciliation with the fiscal regime.

“It is extremely important, how the economy is going, that we maintain those systems to continue growing and excelling, we have seen many, many countries that has a lot of resources, but the corruption creates a lot of issues, so what we are doing here is good. It is necessary and we [the private sector] fully support it,” Cheong commented.

In addition to touching on the anti-corruption systems, the IMF report also credits the government’s fiscal policies, particularly the increase in capital spending in the non-oil economy as supporting the growth of the economy. Guyana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to grow by 57.8 per cent this year.

Cheong commended this move by the government, particularly in the case of spending on expansion of the country’s infrastructure while he underlined the importance of the need for support of non-oil industries.

“It is important that we build a sustainable economy and that we look at other sectors to build and get up strong and competitive. Those are the ones that will get Guyana into the future. It is important that we not only think about oil but that we utilise that to build a strong robust economy,” Cheong noted.

“We had an infrastructure deficit so we had to spend on building our infrastructure. These are necessary and important developments, because we have that infrastructure deficit.”