Georgetown: Transparency Institute Guyana Inc. (TIGI) says that an Integrity Commission is not in place, and the body is requesting that Government activate the Commission.
According to President of TIGI, Anand Goolsarran, the three-person Commission, which is expected to help fight corruption, requires competent professional persons, especially in cases where there are unexplained increases in assets or the omission of significant assets. However, no such persons are in the employ of the Commission.
Goolsarran said TIGI has taken note of the announcement that yesterday is the deadline for the declaration of assets by Government Ministers, Members of Parliament and senior public servants, particularly those who are involved in public procurement and the assessment and collection of Government revenues.
“According to the Integrity Commission Act, the deadline for the submission of financial returns for the previous year is June 30. Guyana has also acceded to two important anti-corruption conventions: the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption; and the United Nations Convention Against Corruption. Both conventions make it a requirement for the Government to put in place an effective mechanism for public officials to submit to the appropriate authority annual declarations of assets,” Goolsarran said.
Emphasizing Guyana’s shortcoming, he said that in the absence of a duly constituted Commission as well as technical experts to assist in the effort, the exercise of making annual declarations of assets is reduced to mere paper work, and the objective of the establishment of the Integrity Commission is not achieved.
“Given Guyana’s low rating and ranking in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), the announcement of the extension of the deadline for submitting financial returns will have little or no impact on the levels of corruption that are perceived to have existed in government”, he stated.
According to Goolsarran, TIGI calls on Government to take immediate steps to appoint the three-person Commission, comprising individuals of the highest level of integrity, professionalism and independence, and to provide it will the level of resources needed for it to discharge its responsibility effectively. This action will send a powerful signal that the Government is serious in its efforts to fight corruption. Any lesser arrangement will remain lip service and a source of concern, he said.
He said TIGI reminds the Government and legislators alike of the importance of having the Public Procurement Commission in place to monitor the award of contracts for the procurement of goods and services and the execution of works, to ensure fairness, equity, the highest degree of transparency, and indeed best value for money.
“The appointment of this constitutionally mandated Commission, along with the Integrity Commission, will go a long way towards reducing perceptions about the high levels of corruption, and hence Guyana’s improvement on the CPI,” he said.
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