Former Speaker of the National Assembly and PPP executive Ralph Ramkarran today called for the government to take determined action against corruption.
He said that he knows of enough verifiable instances of corruption to satisfy himself that it was a pervasive problem.
In a column in today’s edition of the Mirror newspaper, Ramkarran noted that he had written about the issue of corruption last year and it was a matter that can no longer be ignored by the government.
Noting a large number of corruption reports in the media, many of which he said were exaggerated or frivolous, Ramkarran said nevertheless that there were some that were serious enough to make the government take note.
“Corruption and allegations of corruption are not going to disappear if we do nothing else other than call for proof, claim that we now have regular reports from the Auditor General, or that we declare our assets to the Integrity Commission while the Opposition members do not. The time has come to take action”, he asserted.
Observers have noted that the standard defence by the Jagdeo administration to charges of corruption was to call for proof of this.
Ramkarran said that victims of corruption do not wish their identities or the circumstances revealed to the public and as a result while many incidents are known, disclosure of evidence is a major problem.
He charged that unless something is done about corruption it will become a monster if not so already.
He pointed out that since 1992 infrastructure and procurement spending has multiplied rapidly in a country with historically weak systems and a sharply divided and adversarial political system and added that it was not surprising that corruption exists.Noting that the Constitution Reform Commission report of 2000 recommended a Procurement Commission as a constitutional body to deal with corruption, he lamented that it had not yet been activated since the legislative changes were made since 2001.
“It is a shame and a disgrace that ten years on the Procurement Commission has not yet been established. For years it has been held up by one of the most ridiculous excuses that can be imagined – the rejection by the Opposition of the Government’s proposal that they nominate some members and the Government nominates the others”, Ramkarran said. He charged that the opposition demand that all the members be agreed has created gridlock that aids only the corrupt in society. He said both the opposition and the government should be aware of this and that they have failed the country. He declared that a procurement commission cannot take more than 72 hours to name if the tripartite political discussions are serious.
He also said that President Donald Ramotar needs to promulgate “new, more advanced and comprehensive legislation and administrative programmes to be implemented in a timely manner which would strengthen transparency and accountability”.
Ramkarran further argued that broader areas such as the payment of taxes by the self-employed and accountability by political parties for donations must be areas that are eventually included. He added that the expertise for dealing with corruption may not exist here but that organisations like the United Nations and the Carter Center can help. He advised that the government should not wait for more allegations but should begin the process of seeking help from international agencies.
Said Ramkarran “A crusade against corruption by the government will introduce a new dimension to its agenda. It will demonstrate to the public that it means business. It can pay great political dividends because it will silence the Opposition and the press and will be a major mobilizing factor for the next elections”.
Ramkarran’s column is the latest in a series on which he has taken forthright positions on challenging topics.
Grudgingly, a top brass of the PPP bravely sallied forward to acknowledge what has been so obvious to the rest of society. Better late than never! However if "... political dividends because it will silence the Opposition and the press and will be a major mobilizing factor for the next elections...” is the motivating factor behind such acknowledgement, then God help us all.
salutes you Mr Ramkarran.