SHORTLY after entering office, the coalition government set about hiring independent auditors at a reported cost of $133M, to look into several agencies, projects and funds, to assess the quality and accountability of the systems inherited.The launching of the audits was in itself a good move by the coalition, but with 30 audits out of the 50 since made public, and a few of them leaked, many believe that the coalition is not holding up to the second part of the audits, which is to act on their discrepancies and charge those fingered in corruption.
Work that was hardly executed but overpaid for, movement of large sums without the requisite authority, and loans being made to agencies from semi-autonomous ones are among the numerous improprieties spotted. There seems to be a general sense of unease and anger on the part of coalition supporters at the ever-growing perception that only the small man faces the brunt of the law, while the perpetrators of white-collar crimes go unpunished. The coalition, in its run-up to elections, was often heard saying, “We will jail them”, in reference to suspected corrupt officials; therefore, now that there is actual proof of corruption, the public’s questions regarding the seeming lack of action towards those fingered in acts of corruption, “abuse of power for private gain, and disregard for the law” are valid ones.
Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan, stated recently that inaction was due partly to the fact that several witnesses who would have provided information for the audits are afraid to openly testify, as Guyana currently does not have a witness protection programme. He further stated that, so far, PPP former Public Service Minister Jennifer Westford has been charged, along with her assistant, and prosecutions have begun in the cases of Aeshwar Deonarine and Carvil Duncan.
However, while the fraud case involving Jennifer Westford and her assistant has begun, there has been no further word regarding the trial, which should have commenced on April 18, 2016.
Several reasons have been laid out regarding the coalition’s relative lack of action on audit findings. For one, there is the belief that the Government, being conscious of the “witch-hunting” accusations hurled by the Opposition, is reluctant to further alienate the supporters of the Opposition, whom it is trying to sway, as Government realises it entered office on the slimmest of majorities.
The question of whether the findings in any of the audits can withstand scrutiny in a court of law has been tabled as one of the reasons for Government’s seeming inaction. However, Minister within the Ministry of Finance, Jaipaul Sharma, has said that the audits into the various agencies, projects and funds have indicated that there had been “deliberate, premeditated plans to engage in corruption under the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Government,” and he cited several cases in which the PPP violated the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act.
The evidence, he said, “would support charges in relation to deception, acts of fraud, misfeasance of public office, and political corruption.” While it is known that the prosecution of every wrongdoer would be an uphill battle, some cases of corruption are cloaked in legality, and in other cases, the act might have been just simple malpractice. From media reports, there appear to be several instances in which charges can be made against several persons; and the Government should begin with those, so as to send a strong message and set an example for future governments, the people they govern, and those who oppose them. As we have said before in this column, it is to the Government’s, Opposition’s and everyone’s benefit that actions be executed in a transparent manner, consistent with recommendations; and the feasibility of having a special prosecutor handle the cases, where criminal prosecutions have been recommended, should be considered.
We reiterate that while the sums of money diverted to the audits should not be seen as wasted outside of paying the auditors, it would surely be a waste of money if recommendations are not acted on. Further, where those who have engaged in inappropriate conduct are allowed to walk without being held to account, the floodgate is open for worse to follow. In short, the Government has to be mindful that the audits are not seen as a waste of time for improving the public accounting system, holding persons to account, and making Government responsive to the people’s needs.
At the political level, failure to act provides bragging rights to those who had initially said there was no corruption, and had challenged the Government to prove there was. At the societal level, persons’ confidence in the political system — regardless of which side of the political fence they sit -– would be eroded, and they would become disengaged in the processes of governance, which is not good for our system of inclusionary democracy and creating a Government that works for all the people.
