Dogged by allegations of corruption, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration is promising to establish a dedicated Anti-Corruption Unit.

President Irfaan Ali made the announcement shortly after taking the oath of office at State House on Sunday.

The President said he intends to continue transforming the country with a heavy focus on improving the public service.

He said corruption will have to be confronted directly as part of his transformation plan.

“Corruption undermines the efficiency, fairness, and credibility of public service. That is why we will strengthen our anti-corruption efforts by establishing a dedicated Anti-Corruption Unit, tasked with excising this cancer from our institutions and holding public officials to the highest standards of integrity,” the Head of State said.

Corruption allegations in the Government have ranged from bribery and land deals to billion dollar contracts and access to “investment opportunities” at a cost.

The President has warned that all will be held accountable.

“Every official will be required to account for their personal assets, and anyone who cannot do so will face the full force of the law. We will pursue both the corrupted and the corrupters, leaving no room for impunity,” the President said.

He said the government does not have a system of lobbying, and any person representing themselves as lobbyists or peddling access to anyone in government is misrepresenting themselves and misleading others. A special mechanism, he assured, will be set up to deal with such individuals. There have been reports of some private sector officials charging hefty fees to set up meetings with Government officials.

On the issue of access to information and the criticism the Government has faced over its failure to effectively implement the Access to Information Act, the President is promising greater access.

“We recognise and respect the essential watchdog role of the media, and we will ensure greater transparency by instituting mechanisms in every ministry and department that provide the facts in a timely way,” he said.

President Ali has warned that those who are tasked with the dissemination of information will be held accountable for disseminating false information.

Related posts:

Corruption in Government’s public procurement system is not surprising -says Norton Norton accuses Government of placing Guyana in crisis with high levels of widespread corruption British Parliamentarians discussing anti-corruption issues with local MPs No proof to support Dataram’s claims of corruption within CANU