Corruption appears to be the new "beating stick" of the opposition in Guyana, this lovely land of ours.
The failure of actions such as "coalitions" and what is supposed to be injections of new faces to re-invigorate disillusioned supporters have left them void of ideas. So corruption is the new rallying cry.
But sad though is the fact that those who are vociferous in their shouts of corruption when challenged to produce evidence of the same are overcome by a sickening silence. When it is put to them that it was the PPP/C government in 1992 which reintroduced the yearly auditor general's report which was on a prolonged absence prior to then they hardly even murmur. Most of the corrupt acts they pinpoint were in fact exposed as a result of measures put in place after 92 to tackle corruption. It was these very critics who spoke against the sacking of several CANU and Customs and Trade officers after they failed polygraph tests. It is amazing how quickly they have forgotten the action taken against Customs officers fingered in the "Polar Beer" scam. Further, many of them who rile against perceived corruption are themselves beneficiaries of it.
The PNC while in office incurred in excess of US$2B in external debt, the benefits of which this nation has never seen. We heard tales of high ranking officials siphoning huge sums and depositing them into Swiss bank accounts.
What is also remarkable is that yearly declarations of assets, income etc to the Integrity Commission is mandatory for certain categories of public servants, members of parliament et al and you'd think that those who preach against corruption would be first in line to display adherence to regulations which are geared towards tackling it. But no! The PNC was the first to announce their intentions to not confirm with these regulations.
The failure of actions such as "coalitions" and what is supposed to be injections of new faces to re-invigorate disillusioned supporters have left them void of ideas. So corruption is the new rallying cry.
But sad though is the fact that those who are vociferous in their shouts of corruption when challenged to produce evidence of the same are overcome by a sickening silence. When it is put to them that it was the PPP/C government in 1992 which reintroduced the yearly auditor general's report which was on a prolonged absence prior to then they hardly even murmur. Most of the corrupt acts they pinpoint were in fact exposed as a result of measures put in place after 92 to tackle corruption. It was these very critics who spoke against the sacking of several CANU and Customs and Trade officers after they failed polygraph tests. It is amazing how quickly they have forgotten the action taken against Customs officers fingered in the "Polar Beer" scam. Further, many of them who rile against perceived corruption are themselves beneficiaries of it.
The PNC while in office incurred in excess of US$2B in external debt, the benefits of which this nation has never seen. We heard tales of high ranking officials siphoning huge sums and depositing them into Swiss bank accounts.
What is also remarkable is that yearly declarations of assets, income etc to the Integrity Commission is mandatory for certain categories of public servants, members of parliament et al and you'd think that those who preach against corruption would be first in line to display adherence to regulations which are geared towards tackling it. But no! The PNC was the first to announce their intentions to not confirm with these regulations.
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