Rohee calls Government's Code of Conduct "farcical"

The opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) on Monday described as being “Farcical”, the government’s Code of Conduct for Ministers and Members of Parliament, as it pressed the government for full disclosure of the funding for President David Granger’s inauguration.

The PPP said the draft code, which was released by government last week, contradicts the explanation offered in the National Assembly with regards to the spending for the inauguration.

The government has said that public funds were not used to fund the event but rather it was financed by private interest.

But despite this explanation, the opposition party is not letting up on its quest.

At his weekly press conference, Party General Secretary Clemet Rohee called for a complete breakdown of the donors to be tabulated; showing the total value of the monetary donations and cash gifts received to be made public.

Rohee said the government’s acceptance of gifts of money and cash donations for this inauguration diminishes the Code of Conduct.

The party claimed that while in government, all public events would require that a budget be drawn-up as a result of inter-agency consultations.

“A Cabinet paper by the lead agency would then be presented to Cabinet and following deliberations, a Cabinet decision would be issued to the Ministry of Finance for a specific sum per agency and department for the release of funds to the requisite government agencies and departments responsible for specific aspects of the public event,” Rohee explained.

“The point is whether the money came from wealthy donors, wealthy power brokers, small donors, reliable money spigots, the nouveau riche or the filthy rich the public has a right to know,” he added.

Last week, Governance Minister Raphael Trotman said several of the private donors were not happy about their information being disclosed. He said despite this the government is commitment to openness and will make whatever information it can public.