Walk against corruption mere “smokescreen” to detract from violations – Jagdeo

…declines invitation by SARA to participate

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has declined an invitation extended to him by Head of the State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA), Dr Clive Thomas to participate in a “symbolic” walk against corruption on Friday.

In declining the invitation, the Opposition Leader said that he viewed the walk as it is – a mere “smokescreen” to detract from the grossest violations of the constitutional and statutory provisions regarding financial probity, transparency, and accountability ever witnessed since independence. Furthermore, he added that he would not participate in such a walk while members of successive People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Governments and other public officials have been discriminated against, victimised, and targeted by a State-sponsored witch-hunt on frivolous manufactured charges.
In a letter sent to Thomas, Jagdeo stated that the parliamentary Opposition held firmly to this position, which was reflected in the PPP press release of April 14, 2018 that stated, among other things, “after being in office for only three years, the APNU/AFC Government can easily be classified as the most corrupt Government in the post-independent English-speaking Caribbean. Indeed, its corruption is only surpassed by its incompetence.”

In three short years, the Party said, the coalition Government has managed to “completely bypass the public procurement process, mandated by law, and has handed to its cronies and financiers, hundreds of contracts to the value of billions of dollars.”
It added that the number of cases of such violations is mounting on a daily basis.
In light of the “blatant transgressions” by the Government, the Party said in its letter, “Can one wonder why the parliamentary Opposition, critical national stakeholders and thousands of Guyanese are angry at the audacity of this government to accuse others of corruption when there is nothing being done to stop this “corruption haemorrhage” undermining the rule of law in our country?”
The Opposition Leader also noted in his letter to Dr Thomas that the “Government manipulates the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and directs the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) to institute fabricated and malicious charges against political opponents and highly qualified professional Guyanese, who have served their country and their people with distinction. The frivolous charges instituted against Dr Ashni Singh and Mr Winston Brassington are simply the most recent, and we have no doubt others will be made victims of this vindictive and undemocratic regime.”
The letter to Dr Thomas added that “the passage of the SARA Act has given you, sir, enormous, in fact, super powers – something we abhor as it is in total contravention to human rights and due process – but sir, you have those powers so why have you taken no action as a so-called anti-corruption champion to bring members of the present Government to book? As they say, clean your own house so that others can see the light and know you are serious about fighting corruption.”