Dear Editor,
Guyanese must benefit when their tax dollars are being expended. There must be value for money. While meeting the public at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, I have received numerous complaints and expressions of grave concern by citizens, as it relates to unsatisfactory, sloppy and poor works done on our roads.
Our countrywide outreach has confirmed what we were hearing when groups of citizens visited our offices.
On behalf of the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C), I am requesting the Audit Office of Guyana to do a special audit of the following roads:
• The East Bank Berbice road
• Works on the Mabaruma road
• Port Kaituma road works
Concerns expressed were not only limited to the quality of the work, but had to do with improper procurement practices that allowed for contract costs to be inflated. The indiscriminate and excessive use of the “force account” facilitates the submission of huge bills without adequate supervision and verification. The view expressed is that the actual works done do not represent the actual expenditure being reported.
Taxpayers are on watch for Guyana and as a representative of the people, we will always take their concerns seriously.
The incestuous behaviour of this coalition Government and the engagement of favoured contractors and friends have not helped to allay the fears of our people, hence this call for a special audit by the Auditor General.
We will expect to have the findings of the Audit Office to be made public very soon. The matter at hand has to do with transparency and accountability – a promise that was made by this very A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Coalition Government.
This call is another in a series of requests by the PPP/C for investigations into projects undertaken by the APNU/AFC Government which are mired in corruption.
We continue to hold the torch and call for transparency, accountability, good governance and the rule of law.
Sincerely,
Bishop Juan Edghill,
PPP/C MP
