Granger shows two-faced stance on fighting corruption

Former President Donald Ramotar believes that his successor, President David Granger, has not taken a sincere stance when it comes to fighting corruption in Guyana.

In an interview with the media, the PPP Executive Member said that Granger was quite aggressive in the case of the forensic audits which implicated officials of the past. But the flipside to that picture, he said, sees the President being less than enthusiastic about stamping out corruption in his own camp. Ramotar said that he has also seen reluctance on the part of the Head of State to hold his own officials accountable for failing to address corruption in all its forms in a swift manner. Ramotar said, “When you walk the streets, there is the perception out there that corruption itself has taken over the government already. Surely Granger must be seeing what the Guyanese people are seeing when it comes to his own issues. I would not venture into all their corruption scandals but there is still great suspicion surrounding the controversial bond deal and the mysterious trip Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, made to China.” The former President continued, “Moving George Norton from the Ministry of Public Health to Social Cohesion does not change what he did with the controversial bond deal. It is a travesty and it must be rescinded. “In the case of the Harmon trip, the nation is yet to see the documents which he brought back from his trip. Questions remain unanswered. Granger has not been as stern as he should have been on these two issues to say the least. Both cases only show that there seems to be a lack of any enthusiasm in going after corruption in his government.” The politician added, “Significant, too, is that in the face of all this, Granger still wants the nation to believe that he is wholeheartedly interested in taking down corruption. If you want to be convincing then you cannot be indifferent; you cannot be afraid to ‘crack the whip’ when your own are faced with allegations of corruption.” Ramotar opined that in Granger’s ambition to be the “Champion of anti-corruption”, he must pursue the fight ahead without fear or favor for anyone. (Kaieteurnews.com)