Anti-corruption must become national policy – transparency group

With dire warnings that countries in the region make anti-corruption as a national Police and priority, International watchdog Transparency International (TI) has given Guyana a ranking of 91 out of 180 countries on the index.
According to the index, which was released just days ago, countries that fail to make anti-corruption a priority stand the risk of losing ground in their corruption fighting efforts in future indexes.
“(But) countries that prioritise anti-corruption and create national policies through consensus and public and political participation; are better positioned to make a significant qualitative leap forward,” the report stated.
While the report shied away from saying that the region’s anti-corruption fight had come to a standstill, it did observe that more must be done to tackle structural issues. This, the report noted, includes “political funding, public procurement and the strengthening of independent, strong, and flexible legal institutions.”
Guyana was ranked at 91, with a score of 38; an improvement from 2016’s ranking of 108. For 2016, the country received a score of 34; in 2015, 29 and in 2014, 30.
Regionally, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname tied for 77th place with a score of 41. Jamaica, on the other hand, was ranked 68th with a score of 44; The Bahamas placed at 28th with a score of 65; and Barbados was able to secure 25th place with a score of 68.
The last time the index had been released, it was noted that there were outstanding issues with corruption that were not being addressed.
During one of his rare press conferences, President David Granger had denied knowledge of any corruption within his ranks. This had come in the wake of a number of instances when Government’s accountability and transparency was put in the spotlight.
While he insisted that he would do whatever possible to ensure the integrity of his Ministers working in the industry, Granger acknowledged that “God couldn’t confirm that his people wouldn’t be compromised by adultery.”

At the time, Government had been facing much heat from the political Opposition as well as civil society. They had been criticised for the controversial Sussex Street bond, the Hope Wind Farm project, a $605 million sole-sourced drug contract, the handpicking of a Dutch firm to conduct a feasibility analysis on a new Demerara Harbour Bridge, among others.
They were also criticised for collecting a US$18 million bonus from oil giant ExxonMobil in 2016 but never disclosing the transaction to the nation. Despite being asked repeatedly about it, Government did not come clean until proof of the transaction came to light through a leaked document.

Campaign financing
One of the areas the TI report had spoken of was campaign financing. For quite some time and during last year’s University of Guyana-hosted Constitutional Reform Symposium, the Government has been criticised for not bringing about reforms that would bring transparency to political donations.
Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc had called on coalition Government to reveal the identities of all its donors, pre- and post-elections 2015, and the amount and or value of their contributions.
This demand had come after statements made by senior Government officials which suggested that individuals who contributed to the coalition’s election campaign were rewarded and there was nothing odd or wrong about that.
Prompted for a response in this regard, President Granger had made it clear that he will not be releasing the names of his party’s donors since it is not a requirement of the law. Insisting that it was not dirty money, he added that the donors, for fear of victimisation, had also requested their identities not be disclosed.