January 13 2019
Weeks after warning that legal action will be taken against public officials who have failed to declare their assets and liabilities, the Integrity Commission yesterday published a fourth list of persons it has found to be non-compliant with the law.
The list of 160 names, which was published yesterday in the Official Gazette, includes that of Bank of Guyana (BoG) Governor General Dr, Gobind Ganga, Audit Director (ag) Audrey Badley and councillors from nine of the ten Regional Democratic Councils (RDCs).
According to the Integrity Commission Act, every person who is a person in public life, not being a member of the Commission, is required to file a declaration every year on or before June 30th and in cases where such persons cease to be a person in public life, within 30 days from the date on which the person ceases to be a person in public life.
The law requires that the names of the defaulters be published in the Official Gazette and a daily newspaper.
Aside from Ganga, four other BoG staff are listed. They are Joseph Lall, Banking Manager; Tracy Gibson, Director, Insurance Supervision Department; Maurice Munro, Chief Accountant, Accounts and Budget Department; and Leslyn King-Grenville, Director (ag).
From the Audit Office of Guyana, the Commission has listed Badley; Claireann James, Audit Manager; Rosamund Hall Nee Stoll, Audit Manager; Dawn Pearson, Audit Manager; Tonia Rodney, Audit Manager (ag); Wazir Shakeer, Audit Manager (ag); Rohit Kalicharran, Information Systems Manager; Victor Lall, Works and Structures Manager (ag); Joan Dillon, former Audit Manager; and Terrie Ann Pyle, former Audit Manager.
Also listed are several Guyana Forestry Commission staffers. They are: Sonya Reece, Communications Manager; Gavin Agard, Assistant Commissioner of Forests (on secondment); Godfrey Marshall, Technical Advisor; Jacy Archibald, Corporate Secretary/Legal Officer; Chetram Ramgobind, Assistant Commissioner of Forest – Forest Monitoring; Simone Benn, Assistant Commissioner of Forest- Community Development Officer; Keith Austin- Assistant Commissioner of Forest -Forest Monitoring; Lashanna Lillie-Perkins, Assistant Commissioner of Forest-Forest Resource Information Unit; Ganram Manoo, Assistant Commissioner of Forest- Forest Monitoring; and Jonelle Nedd, Assistant Commissioner of Forest-Forest Resource Management.
Listed from the Region One RDC are Regional Councillors Donna Ann Bowen, Delon Williams, Pamela Ann Forde, Lucy Wilson, Shem Cuffy, Wilbert De Santos, Elini La Rose, Cherie Pearson, Leandra Singh and Michael Williams.
Those named from the Region Three RDC for failing to submit declarations are Naseer Ahmad, Sheik S. A. Ahmad, Amelia Au, Beshpatty, Lindon Samson Fowler, Nirmala Ganesh, Leotha A. Greene- Watson, Mahendra Nauth Hardyal, Mohamed Liaquat Hussain, Ranjina Sandrina Mahadeo, Paul Narine, Steven Anthony Singh, Derek Winston Bharat Thakur, Perry Orlando Birbal, Deon Cherryl Gould, Kamal Roy Narine, Alshazie B. Ramlakhan, Anand Persaud Sookhoo and Kathlene Elizabeth Armstrong.
Listed from the Region 4 RDC are Aseef Balmacoon, Ryan Belgrave, Amarnauth Chinkan, Adrian Stanislaus Cole, Dave Dilbar Danny, Terrence Michael Esseboom, Yonnette Fortune-Vyphius, Troy Gordon Garraway, Anthony Haynes, Floyd Patrick Hendy, Shondel Hope, Teon Hunte, Ramrattie Jagdeo, Mazarool Ekbaal Majeed, Neilson Mc Kenzie, Anil Singh Mohanlall, Hazel Pinder, Tabitha Joy Sarabo-Halley, Sheba Shebekki Thomas, David Stoby, Tasleem Drepaul, Desmond Edray Morian, Narindra Persaud, Chandrowtee Ramnarain, Dhanpall Sukhdeo, Joan Ann Da Silva, Salesha Gafoor, Kharamattalee Intercab, Carl Anthony Philadelphia, Sarah Geraldine Torres and Arthur Everton Pole.
Listed from the Region Five RDC are councillors Gopaul Singh, Thakoor Singh, Dolson Hutson, Delon Crawford, Abel Seetaram and Sandra Baldeo.
The list from the Region Six RDC are Teerbhawandat Arjune, Samuel Fraser, Gloria Patricia Beharry, Sheriann Beharry, Lloyd Clement Douglas, Zamal Hussain,Vinashri Khirodhar, Gobin Harbhajan, Sharon Harvey, Bijulee Moti, Thakoor Persaud, Lalbahadoor Singh, Hazrat Husain, Donna Mathoo, Haseef Yusuf, Mellesia Punch, Carllus Causeway, Laddy Peneux, Janet Samuel, Devindra Sookraj, Shurla Scott and Debra Natalie Hurst.
Those listed from the Region Seven RDC are Keran Hastings, Norma Thomas, Curtis Isaacs, Richard Peters, Calmeth Younge, Elvis Seeram, Shane Cornelius and Hilert Knights.
Listed from the Region Eight RDC are James Marco, Mohamed N. Gafoor, Prince Wilkie, Vovmie Alfred, Winston Lewis, Desmond Patricio, Cajetan Joseph, William Peters, Abedias Lewis, Tarcellia John, and Byron Austin.
The councillors from the Region Nine RDC who have been identified as having failed to submit their declarations are Helita Edwards, Muacir Baretto, Brian Rodrigues, Sandra Maureen Ruffino, Genevieve Murray, Douglas Casimero, Ellis Brasche, Herman Manus Ritchie, Andrew Demetro, Rodger Michael King, Petronella Michael, and Bertie Xavier.
Those listed from the Region Ten RDC are Denise Yvonne Belgrave, Melanie Samuels, Gordon Callender, Stanley Collins, Owen De Souza, Douglas Gittens, Lawrence Antonio Hackett, Tracey Oliver Johnson, Franklyn Carew, Dexter Harding, Elymuwell Emanuel Barkoye, Serojine Narine, Mavis Elydia Lewis, Charles Sampson and Vladimir Lorick Glasgow.
The other two lists were published last November. The first contained 87 names, inclusive of 15 ministers, the Speaker and opposition Members of Parliament, while the second contained the names of 80 defaulting Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) officials. The third list was published on December 8th last and included the names of errant regional officials in all ten administrative regions.
The Integrity Commission Act states that the Commission or the President, as the case may be, shall receive, examine and retain all declarations and documents filed with it or him under the Act; and make such enquiries as it or he considers necessary in order to verify or determine the accuracy of the financial affairs, as stated in the declarations of persons who are required to file declarations under the Act.
It states that those officials who fail to submit their declarations or submit declarations that are false or incomplete shall be liable, on summary conviction, to “a fine of twenty-five thousand dollars and to imprisonment for a term of not less than six months nor more than one year, and where the offence involves the non-disclosure, by the declarant, of property, which should have been disclosed in the declaration, the magistrate convicting the person shall order the person to make full disclosure of the property within a given time and on failure to comply with the order of the magistrate within the given time, the said offence shall be deemed to be a continuing offence and the person shall be liable to a further fine of ten thousand dollars for each day on which the offence continues.”
During a visit by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo to the Commission’s Subryanville office last month, Chairman Kumar Doraisami revealed that approximately 430 out of 1400 declaration forms sent out had been returned up to that point and he warned that errant public officials will be given two months more to declare their assets before legal action is taken.
“…We had to take the step of publication and if they don’t fully comply within the next two months, we will have to take steps to prosecute. They must comply with the law,” Doraisami said.
