Opposition Leader says PPP Government has no interest in fighting corruption

The Opposition highlighted the various cash grant initiatives undertaken by the government with no proper accountability system in place, pointing to the government’s own admission that many persons who are not farmers benefitted from millions of dollars in government funds which were set aside for relief for farmers.

Opposition Leader says PPP Government has no interest in fighting corruption

As Guyana joined the international community today in observing, International Anti-Corruption Day, Opposition Leader Joe Harmon noted that since the PPP civic took office, there has been a drastic reduction in the efforts to combat corruption in Guyana.

Mr. Harmon said the country is still to see the reconstituting of the Public Procurement Commission, while multimillion-dollar contracts are being handed out every day by the government to many of its allies and friends.

The Opposition highlighted the various cash grant initiatives undertaken by the government with no proper accountability system in place, pointing to the government’s own admission that many persons who are not farmers benefitted from millions of dollars in government funds which were set aside for relief for farmers.

“Bribery has become the order of the day once again. We have seen persons walking around with millions of dollars in bags sharing out grants that have not been properly reconciled or properly accounted for. Reports of persons collecting farmers relief grants in region 6 who have no farms, vaccines bought through questionable means and at a questionable price. Vaccine book rackets and the return of the cocaine trade that appears to always be invisible to the eyes of custom officers”, Harmon said.

He also accused the PPP government of failing to tackle any form of corruption since taking office while calling on citizens to play their own part in fighting corrupt practices in the country.

Mr. Harmon said that during the APNU+AFC’s time in office, tremendous strides were made in Guyana’s fight against corruption. He said the coalition’s fight to end corruption made a significant impact as is evidenced by Guyana’s improvement on various corruption indexes.

“We should all remember that during the APNU+AFC first year in office we achieved our best score on the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index with improvements each subsequent year”, Harmon said.

In a statement on Wednesday, United States Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch said the US government is looking forward to seeing the Guyana government’s initiative to fight corruption while noting that government operations must be transparent so that citizens and the media can provide oversight and hold officials accountable.  

Ambassador Lynch also noted that there should be procurement processes that comply with international anti-corruption standards, which will ensure a level playing field for investors.  

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