Ministerial accountability

The cringe-worthy apology of the Minister of Public Health, Dr George Norton on Friday over the bond scandal demonstrates the APNU+AFC government’s complete unwillingness to hold its senior officials accountable and to take condign action. Apology notwithstanding, Dr Norton’s transgressions rise to gross dereliction of duty and at worse, participation in a rotten deal that raises numerous questions about who is really benefiting from this arrangement at the taxpayers’ expense.

It also underlines a pattern of egregious and unacceptable behaviour by senior APNU+AFC ministers and others close to the administration just over 15 months after being elected on a platform in which accountability and transparency were lynchpins. The clear unwillingness of President Granger to act decisively in this matter - one in a series - compounds the concerns about the general quality of his leadership of the government and whether he is prepared to take full control of the reins.

No right-thinking member of the public would believe that Minister Norton stumbled innocently into the bond deal via a series of disastrous errors. It is clear to all that this deal was orchestrated to favour some person/s with deep connections to APNU+AFC while disfavouring others. Freedom of association notwithstanding, the presence of the bond provider, Linden Holding proprietor, Mr Larry Singh at the opening of the PNCR Congress on Friday tells its own story about the deal.

To make matters worse, President Granger and his Cabinet had the audacity to appoint a Cabinet sub-committee comprising Prime Minister Nagamootoo and others to investigate the bond contract when it was clear to all that Cabinet itself had been complicit in enabling this unacceptable deal and therefore should have had no part in arriving at a final position on it. The government must not trifle with the trust of the people. It was elected on a slim mandate to reverse years of financial and other excesses under the PPP/C. Yet, on a number of occasions in the short months since, its ministers and others close to it have been caught in questionable acts and arrangements.

APNU, in particular has been compromised. First it was its Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence who sought to provide cover to a party activist who had faced serious allegations in relation to child abuse. Neither her party, the PNCR, nor APNU took action against her despite the severe loss of confidence that stakeholders would have experienced relative to a crucial segment of her portfolio.

It was then the turn of the influential Minister of State Joseph Harmon whose interference with the Guyana Revenue Authority and subsequent trip to China raised concerns that have not been addressed including the relations

between and among the APNU+AFC government, influential local businessmen, Chinese businesses and the Chinese government. It is now the turn of Minister Norton.

The conduct in question has contaminated other agencies and institutions. Earlier queries had been raised about how Mr Richard Van West-Charles, with deep PNCR connections, had been parachuted into the plumb post of Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Water Inc (GWI) without a public advertisement. Mr Van West-Charles may have been qualified for the post. Yet, fairness and transparency in public life mandated that the position be advertised and all suitable candidates be given a fair opportunity to apply. It has since been learnt that several other GWI positions have been similarly handled including the embarrassing contracting of a drug convict for the debt recovery unit. One wonders whether the GWI board will expeditiously address this abomination and publicly.

Then there is the parking meters scandal where this much-maligned project has been championed by the APNU+AFC-nominated Mayor of Georgetown, Ms Chase-Green. Under enormous pressure, the government commissioned two evaluations of the deal the findings of which, under any normal circumstance, would have resulted in an immediate cancellation on the grounds of gross violation of the city’s procurement law and the inequity of the contract. Yet, this project appears to be going ahead because of its connections to persons with influence.

There is no sign that Guyana’s poor international rating on corruption will improve this year as a result of APNU+AFC’s governance behaviour. It has also been grossly negligent in relation to two prime commitments to fight corruption concerns: a code of conduct for its officials and functioning integrity commission legislation. Its choice of candidates for the Public Procurement Commission has also called into question its intentions.

An extraordinarily poor example is being set by the government to other tiers of government as it relates to accountability. In Minister Norton’s case it seems that an apology is good enough for participating in a scandalous deal with a handpicked businessman and then lying to the legislature about it. It wouldn’t be surprising if other ministers and officials begin testing the tolerance of the Granger Administration for unscrupulous acts. These acts of chicanery will steadily diminish the credibility of the government particularly at a time when the country is expected to begin laying the framework for rigorous examination and openness under the Extractive Industries and Transparency Initiative. Trust in its word has been breached.