There is so much corruption out there especially that which is hidden from the public and watch-dog groups. This was the contention of Transparency International during a presentation to the general public including students of the University of Guyana Berbice Campus (UGBC) last weekend.TI Directors: Nadia Sagar, Sydell Glenn, Esther McIntosh, Jewel Manwel and Dr. Goolsarran.Transparency International was conducting a Berbice outreach, following up on outreaches in Georgetown.Among the presenters were directors of the TI team including former Auditor General of Guyana, Dr. Anand Goolsarran.Dr. Goolsarran noted that business firms and knowledgeable people in Guyana participated in the survey “to find out how people perceived corruption. This helped fashion the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). There were 174 countries that were assessed worldwide and “they came up with a ranking and rating… In 2012 we were rated 133 out of 174 countries with a mark of 28 out of 100…so we have failed miserably.”Goolsarran noted that since 1995 when the first CPI came out, “Guyana has not moved up significantly—it has moved down and down and down and we are in the lowest in the Caricom except Haiti.”“We [TI] were attacked individually and collectively how we are anti- government and how our methodology and everything were flawed.”He stated that TI challenged the critics. “The entire world accepts the CPI and results in good faith and they know it’s not perfect and it’s not an attempt to measure actual corruption and it’s a rough and ready indicator of the actual levels of corruption.”The former auditor general stated, too, that the government has not accepted the results. Trinidad, he alluded, tried to accept their results and pledged to do whatever it takes to do better the following year.Speaking about the absence of a Procurement Commission in Guyana, Dr. Goolsarran urged that five independent members be appointed “who can stand up to political pressures—and give them enough resources…”The Integrity Commission is also absent and he underscored the importance to having such a body to fight corruption.He stated that it is difficult for one to measure corruption, “because it’s not out there for you to see—or it might be there but it’s hard to see it”. If you would try to measure corruption, it would be an incomplete analysis.Transparency International, he said, believes that a professional public service needs to be present, “so everybody gets a chance, and not the favoured few.”Commenting on the Anti- Money Laundering Legislation he suggested, “Why not implement all the details and requirements of the existing legislation instead of talking about amendments? You got the existing one and you’re not implementing it.”Transparency International stated too that corruption exists in four forms: bribery,Wholesale NFL Jerseys, extortion, embezzlement and fraud.Corruption, the group stated, tends to be more prevalent in capital projects, especially major infrastructural works where large sums of monies are involved and where fewer transactions take place, “where the risk of being caught is less.”Public Procurement is a prime target for corrupt behaviour. Corruption affects society since goods and services become more costly, thereby impacting negatively on the quality of life and standard of living of citizens.“Corrupt governments tend to contract high levels of long- term debt since financing is usually from loans from international funding agencies and governments tend to think of short- term, that is, in cycles of five years.”TI urged the gathering at the consultations in Berbice to fight corruption by having the moral courage to say “no” “especially if we live in a society where nothing happens unless a bribe is offered.”The group is calling for the establishment of whistleblower legislations to protect those who are morally and ethically strong to report acts of corruption; appointment of members to the Public Procurement Commission and Integrity Commission; appointment an Ombudsman; reactivate the Public Service Appellate Tribunal; ensuring all public monies are placed to the credit of the Consolidated Fund and no public expenditure must be incurred without approval of parliament; ensuring the Freedom of Information Act is operationalized; encouraging a free, independent and vibrant media; professionalizing the police force; restricting the use of contacted employees and ensure the appointment of all public officers are advertised and fairly made without bias of any sort.UG Lecturer, Dr. Rishee Thakur said that corruption is prevalent in Region Six. Officials are indeed corrupt.After the presentations, students asked questions and aired their views about corruption in the society and Government.
