Is the Granger Govt. too slow to haul in the ‘big fish?

AUGUST 10, 2015 | BY KNEWS | FILED UNDER NEWS

By Kiana Wilburg

Since the Granger-led administration assumed office, there seems to be a creeping impatience in some quarters to see all those who appear to be “too big to jail” hauled before the courts. Many yearn for the prompt prosecution of all those accused of raiding the public coffers, misusing assets of the State, or who acted in a manner that brought disgrace to their prestigious office. To date, only three public officials have been brought before the court for such questionable behaviour. These are; former Minister of Health, Bheri Ramsaran , former Public Service Minister, Jennifer Westford and her Personnel Officer Margaret Cummings. In spite of the edginess of some members of the public who desire quick justice, some political activists believe that the Granger administration is not slow to prosecution. But they also feel that the government isn’t making substantial advancement either. Popular columnist, Freddie Kissoon is one such critic who holds this position. He said, “I would argue that they aren’t slow but they certainly aren’t making considerable progress. Maybe it is the half-full/half empty analogy. One of the factors that the coalition government has in its arguments against its detractors is the mountain of madness they have inherited.” Kissoon said that Guyana’s economy, bureaucratic and legal fulcrums, infrastructural facilities and social structures were severely weakened under the “shambolic rule” of former Presidents Bharrat Jagdeo and Donald Ramotar. He said that the solution pathway is going to take years. In that context, he said that the citizenry has to have patience. The communist argued, however, that the anti-corruption pursuits of the government have not been dynamic. Kissoon said that the nation is still to hear about the state of the GuyOil gas -scam and the two senior officers who awarded themselves back pay for services provided while on the board of the Guyana Power and Light without consulting any legal authority.

The political activist emphasized that if government continues with these exposures, citizens will ultimately want early police action. “Even the Crum-Ewing case doesn’t look good. The nation feels the intellectual planners of the murder have not been touched,” Kissoon said. Were it in his power, he would recommend for the establishment of an anti corruption committee with wide spread jurisdiction. He suggested that such a committee should include people with legal and accounting skills. “Let them go after the financial nastiness during the Jagdeo/Ramotar reign and seek prosecution very urgently. Surely, there must be a huge paper trail of Jagdeo’s questionable use of the country’s resources. From the time this government came into power, Jagdeo should have been investigated,” the columnist said. Dr. David Hinds, an Associate Professor at the Arizona State University, believes the coalition government needs to be given the opportunity to conduct proper investigations before prosecuting persons, least it be accused, as it already has been, of witch-hunting. “I know people are impatient, but even the instances of corruption that are obvious need to be carefully documented before prosecution. Accumulating the evidence needed to prosecute those suspected of misappropriation of government assets takes time.” The University professor said that the nation needs to allow the forensic auditors to do their work thoroughly. He said, too, that the State Asset Recovery Unit also has to make sure that it is engaged in investigation and not witch-hunting. According to Hinds, one must bear in mind that it takes some time to catch and follow the trail of corruption. Overall, Dr. Hinds believes that government is doing a good job. The University professor said that it is not easy coming into government after 23 years. “The new government has to confront a shattered economy, the Venezuela threat and a rampant and unrepentant opposition. That’s a fair bit to handle. The new government invariably encounters more problems than it anticipated.” The political activist said that the Granger administration has to deal with, for example, the partisan bureaucracy installed by the previous government. He stated that the operatives may be political appointees but they know the system. Dr. Hinds said that if the government were to throw all of them out immediately without the proper replacements, then they may end up undermining their own administration. In this regard, he said these first few months are really a period of familiarization and learning. “The vast majority of the Ministers are new to government. Some of them are new to politics. I suppose one can criticize the leadership for not choosing a more experienced team. But given what they have and given the fact that it is a coalition, they have done a good job at advancing the process. They have not met most of the 100 day deadlines but what is important is that they have shown intent,” Dr. Hinds said. “These 100 day deadlines are really election gimmicks. To do the things that they promised to do in 100 days assumes a combination of the following factors—that there was normalcy in the system they were taking over, that the outgoing government would cooperate and that there were the necessary expertise at their disposal. This is not the case.” The University Professor said that his one criticism of the government is the lack of consultation with stakeholders outside of formal government. He noted that the naming of the members to government boards was a victim of this lack of consultation. “So too was the swift ending of the Walter Rodney Commission.” As for Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram, he hopes that the Government is serious about prosecution. “After all, accountability requires that persons be made liable for any acts of wrongdoing committed by them,” the lawyer said. Ram said that generally, it is the function of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) to institute and undertake criminal cases against persons. He said that there is also the Attorney General, who is the principal legal adviser to the Government. The Chartered Accountant stated that the DPP is not subject to the direction or control of anyone and appears to have been reluctant to bring action against members of the last administration prior to May, 2015. He said that some of those matters may now be statute barred. Similarly, Ram contended that regulatory bodies and state agencies, including the City Council, were reluctant to bring action against persons who might have infringed the laws of the country. The Chartered Accountant reminded that prior to May 2015, the APNU+AFC had indicated that wrongdoing and lawbreaking would be punished. “They would be expected to keep that commitment. The whole idea of the rule of law and of accountability is that persons must answer for and be held responsible for their actions. So that whether it is about corruption, other forms of crime or misfeasance in public office, persons should be brought before the courts.”