The A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Government, led by President David
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo
Granger was elected to office just over 16 months now and the political 6Opposition People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has concluded that the coalition Government has already been embroiled in more questionable practices than the PPP/C which ruled Guyana for 23 years.
The Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, on Wednesday said it has been diligently monitoring the APNU/AFC Government’s use of public funds and the levels of transparency and accountability; issuing an eight-page ‘dossier’ on 25 “scandals” of the Government over the past 16 months.
“The APNU/AFC Government has been exposed with more scandals and corruptions in 16 months than successive PPP/C Administrations were accused of in 23 years,” Jagdeo’s office said, adding that between June 2015 and August 2016, 14 months of the coalition Government, some 16 “scandals” were uncovered.
But Jagdeo’s office said that the month of August 2016 “took the cake”with the exposure of the Sussex Street Drug Bond deal, the BK International and Government of Guyana’s $1 billion “out-of-court” settlement and the issuance of two fuel licences to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Water Inc, Dr Richard Van West-Charles.
Among the other “scandals” highlighted by Jagdeo’s Office are the questions which still linger over the inauguration of President David Granger, the alleged removal of eight containers of steel by BK International from the Public Health Ministry compound, the dismissal of close to 2000 Amerindian Community Service Officers (CSO), the appointment of 33 foreign honorary advisors, as well as a number of Presidential and Ministerial advisors.
The Opposition also listed the selection of a disqualified company to complete the Specialty Hospital, leading to an abandonment of the project.
“The first act of the Government was to give themselves enormous salary increases between 50-100 per cent of what the former Government Ministers received. This was quietly done in September 2015 and the parliamentary Opposition had to wage a struggle in Parliament to bring a motion to reverse this. When the motivon was finally heard in December, it was defeated by the Government’s one seat majority,” Jagdeo’s Office said.
It also highlighted the D’Urban Park Development project, pardoning of convicted felons, the US$16 million settlement with Surinamese company, RUDISA, the Georgetown “Clean-up Campaign” and debt write-offs for Demerara Distillers Limited and other businesses by the Guyana Revenue Authority and the Mayor and City Council, as well as the controversial Georgetown parking meter contract.
The PPP said that for September 2016, there were four new scandals.
The coalition APNU/AFC campaigned on a platform of accountability and transparency and to bring and to deep-rooted corruption in public offices.
In April 2016, the US Department of State said that corruption continued to be among the leading human rights problems facing Guyana.
“There remained a widespread public perception of corruption involving officials at all levels, including the Police and the judiciary,” the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2015, released by the Department, said, adding that there were very low prosecution of public officials found to be corrupt.
The Transparency Institute of Guyana Inc (TIGI) had concluded that there was facilitating and proliferating of corruption in the country, pointing to a number of questionable appointments by the Government, conflict of interest involving at least one Minister and interference in the work of some autonomous agencies like the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
However, President Granger had distanced his Government from any corruption, stating that critics should look at the Private Sector where corruption is rampant.
