Gov’t touts robust anti-corruption framework

-as Guyana observes UN Anti-Corruption Day

Guyana on Friday joined with 187 member states to the UN Convention against Corruption to observe International AntiCorruption Day, held under the theme, “Promoting Transparency and Strengthening Institutions,” and government touted the development of a robust anti-corruption framework to building awareness and enhance public trust.

“The Government remains fully committed to promoting transparency and strengthening institutions in the continuous implementation of its anti-corruption framework consistent with its treaty obligations under the UN Convention Against Corruption and the InterAmerican Convention against Corruption,” a Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance release said on Thursday.

December 9th was designated by the UN General Assembly as International Anti-Corruption Day, and it is observed annually to raise awareness of corruption and of the role of the Convention in combating and preventing it.

The release quoted the United Nations as stating, “The 2022 International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD) seeks to highlight the crucial link between anti-corruption and peace, security, and development. At its core is the notion that tackling this crime is the right and responsibility of everyone, and that only through cooperation and the involvement of each and every person and institution can we overcome the negative impact of this crime. States, government officials, civil servants, law enforcement officers, media representatives, the private sector, civil society, academia, the public and youth alike all have a role to play in uniting the world against corruption.”

According to the release, it is globally recognized that corruption is a complex social, political and economic phenomenon that affects all countries. Most importantly, it is also recognized that corruption undermines the foundation of democratic institutions by distorting electoral processes, perverting the rule of law and creating “bureaucratic quagmires whose only reason for existing is the soliciting of bribes.” The result is that economic development is stymied as valuable resources for the development of the countries are squandered to the detriment of those who are the most poor and vulnerable. Further, corruption, it stated, contributes to governmental instability and is therefore a major obstacle to development. It infects education, health, justice, democracy, and prosperity. “It is one of the biggest impediments to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Preamble to the UN

Convention Against Corruption declares that “the States Parties to this Convention are:

Concerned about the seriousness of problems and threats posed by corruption to the stability and security of societies, undermining the institutions and values of democracy, ethical values and justice and jeopardizing sustainable development and the rule of law.

Concerned also about the links between corruption and other forms of crime, in particular organized crime and economic crime, including money-laundering. Concerned further about cases of corruption that involve vast quantities of assets, which may constitute a substantial proportion of the resources of States, and that threaten the political stability and sustainable development of those States.”

The release also informed that Guyana had ratified the UN

Convention Against Corruption on April 16, 2008, and the InterAmerican Convention Against Corruption, the first treaty of this nature, on December 11, 2000. “The Government of Guyana remains committed to not only upholding the constitution, democracy, and human rights, but also to strengthening the mechanisms and measures necessary for greater transparency and accountability, inclusion, and participation.

The Government believes that one of the most effective pillars in the fight against corruption is openness, transparency, and accountability. Further, the Government of Guyana has taken several steps to enhance transparency and accountability as critical to good governance of the state, to prevent and combat corruption at all levels of public administration, and to have multi-agency coordinated anticorruption policies and practices,” it declared.

Further, Guyana’s anti-corruption framework and policies are implemented through Constitutional Bodies, Statutory Bodies, and Parliamentary Oversight Bodies. There are constitutional provisions that protect the independence of constitutional post-holders and constitutional bodies from interference. Guyana also has ongoing legislative reform that provides for greater transparency and accountability to prevent, detect, and prosecute acts of corruption, and there is oversight of government at the national, regional, and international levels with the anti-corruption conventions Guyana has ratified.

There are a total of 16 constitutional bodies established by the constitution with specific responsibilities across key sectors, including human rights and anti-corruption. These Constitutional Bodies enjoy independence in the execution of their mandates and are not subject to programmatic interference by any arm of government. The annual recurrent and capital budgets of these agencies are direct charges on the Consolidated Fund in keeping with constitutional provisions and these sums are therefore examined and approved by the National constitutional provisions and these sums are therefore examined and approved by the National Assembly.

The release noted that those who play a role in the anticorruption framework are: Constitutional Bodies - The Office of the Auditor General; the three Service Commissions - Judicial, Public and Police; the Ombudsman, Supreme Court, Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Public Procurement Commission, and Public Service Appellate Tribunal; and Statutory Bodies - The National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, Integrity Commission, and Financial Intelligence Unit.

It further explained that parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) oversees the government’s expenditure of funds while the parliamentary Sectoral Committees on Foreign Relations, Social Services, Economic Services, and Natural Resources oversee government policies, programmes and performance. The Parliamentary Standing Committee of Appointments (COA) through an agreedupon consensual mechanism is responsible for the nomination of members to several constitutional bodies in compliance with the Constitution of Guyana, as well as the recruitment and appointment of the top three positions of the Financial Intelligence Unit. This is all done in accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act. The COA also nominates the Board of the Natural Resource Fund and its Public Oversight and Accountability Committee.

The appointment of the current Commissioners to the Integrity Commission and the Public

Procurement Commission was achieved in May of this year and both bodies are functioning. However, in a direct effort to enhance transparency and ensure that the public is well informed the government upgraded many government websites, while at the same time still using social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, to reach as many people as possible. The Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance established, in June 2021, a National Coordinating Committee (NCC) on the implementation of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption (IACAC). Currently sixteen (16) agencies are represented on the Committee. The NCC enhances institutional and systematic inter-agency collaboration and builds capacities within the anti-corruption framework of Guyana.

The first Guyana Anti- Corruption Framework document was published in June 2022 by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance.

The NCC has so far organised two training workshops on anti-corruption measures in Guyana. The first was held on June 25, 2022, and the second on August 30-31, 2022. These workshops focused on sensitising participants from the government, private sector, and civil society, on the critical need to uphold the key pillars of transparency and accountability relative to their sectors.

Guyana is a member of and participated in the 8th Annual Conference of the Commonwealth Caribbean Association of Integrity Commissions and AntiCorruption Bodies (CCAICACB) held in May 2022 in St. Kitts. Notably, Guyana will be hosting the 9th annual

Conference of this body in 2023.

The Guyana Parliament, through the Public Accounts Committee is also now a member of the Commonwealth Association of Public Accounts. As a member state to the Mechanism for the Oversight of the Implementation of the Inter- American Convention against Corruption Guyana will be preparing for its 6th Cycle of Review in 2023 as it shall also be preparing for the in situ visit of the UNCAC assessors of its Second Self-Assessment in 2023.

Guyana also reported and was reviewed by CFATF/FATF and the Extractive Industry Transparency Institute. With regard to the Natural Resource Fund (NRF), the International Monetary Fund in September stated that the recent amendments to the NRF Act set clear ceilings on withdrawals from the fund for budgetary spending and promotes transparency in the management and use of oil resources with parliamentary approval. The authorities in Guyana were praised for the thorough review of the new NRF Act before making amendments and the restraint in using any oil revenues before the passage of this statute.

In addition, Guyana is now qualified to join the Egmont group following the passage of the August 2022 AML/CFT (Amendment) Act. This will now allow the FIU to collaborate with other such agencies globally in combatting money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Meanwhile, there has been a strengthening of anti-corruption measures and mention was made of the number of cases before the courts for corruption of state assets, electoral conspiracy and fraud, as well as bribery and other acts of corruption. It was acknowledged that there were many challenges of timely data collection, investigative and prosecutorial capacities and timely judicial decisions. However, despite these challenges, Guyana continues to made progress in its fight against corruption.

The release asserted that over the last 19 years, the country has developed a robust anti-corruption framework and that the implementation of this framework through the work of the Constitutional, Statutory and Parliamentary Oversight bodies contributes to building greater awareness of acts of corruption and enhancing public trust and confidence in these institutions to carry out their mandates in an effective, professional, and efficient manner.