THE Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) is under scrutiny as searching questions are being raised about the named directors, reports from annual general meetings, accountability for monies and other matters relating to general operations.

When contacted by the Guyana Chronicle, self-styled President of GHRA, Mike McCormack would only confirm that the association was registered in 1979, but would not name the current directors, stating that he could not remember the names.

He also said that he wanted to protect the directors and requested that the Guyana Chronicle find a published report done three years ago that listed the directors.

McCormack has been called out by Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh for taking a biased stance against the PPP/C government over the years, while giving the APNU+AFC a pass on national issues.

On Monday, the GHRA issued a press release calling for a pause of the e-governance programme and for it to be submitted to Parliament.

The Ministry of Finance believes that the GHRA’s contention is another show of the association’s politically partisan advocacy, and selective inflections.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the ministry said the statements made by the GHRA have no basis in fact whatsoever, and are further undermined by virtue of having been made by an entity devoid of any credibility and any legitimacy whatsoever.

“The unfortunate but stark reality is that the GHRA is a sham organisation, comprising a one-man show, conducted by an individual who is highly partisan and who is incapable and unprepared to display any modicum of independence or objectivity in the public postures he takes,” the statement from the Finance Ministry read.

The ministry related that it is surprising that the GHRA has found its voice to comment on the e-ID programme, after having “maintained a stoic and stony silence” for several years as multiple instances of abuse of power and liberties were exercised under the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change coalition, which was in government from 2015 to 2020.

Instances directly named by the Ministry of Finance, for which the GHRA remained silent under the APNU+AFC, included the unconscionable firing of over 2,000 Amerindian Community Support Officers and over 7,000 sugar workers, which placed workers and their families on the breadline and stifled whole communities.

Other examples included the saga with the single-source procurement of the services of the rental of the controversial Sussex Street Bond, and the single-source procurement of vehicle scales that were paid for in full but were never delivered. There was also the use of public money to purchase personal gifts for ministers, the Ministry of Finance said.

“On all of these atrocities and more, the GHRA maintained a stoic and stony silence, turning a blind eye to the lawlessness and excesses of the APNU+AFC dictatorship. Now, suddenly, the GHRA has awakened from its slumber and found its voice,” the Ministry of Finance said.

The ministry further questioned the validity of the GHRA’s own structure, of which most Guyanese remain unaware, despite the association being in existence for over 40 years, being indefinitely headed by Mike McCormack.

“The GHRA itself is a questionable entity, with a president who is apparently serving for life, and with a membership and an executive who are largely unknown if they exist. It is unclear when the GHRA last held an annual general meeting for its membership, submitted audited financial statements and annual reports on the stewardship of its executive, and submitted its executive to a competitive election by the general membership,” the Ministry of Finance said.