With many senior government servants and officials flagged for failing to submit their declarations to the Integrity Commission, Government has taken a stance that should they remain incompliant, they will be asked to leave their jobs.
Making this disclosure was Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo in an interview on Thursday.
President Dr Irfaan Ali has asked Cabinet Ministers to ensure that those officials working under them submit their statements to the Integrity Commission within a given timeframe.
According to Jagdeo, “They would have to leave their job. The President has made it very clear that this is the approach…They have to comply or leave their job. That’s the law. You don’t have the right to pick and choose which law you will comply with. That’s the law of our country.”
While all of the Members of Parliament (MPs) on the Government’s side are in compliance, several current and former A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) Members of Parliament (MPs) were among the officials that the Integrity Commission had cause to publicise for not complying with the law of declaring their assets.
Jagdeo commented, “Now one would think that since they preach accountability, now they’re Opposition and they’re still continuing with the same thing. Ten of their Members of Parliament did not submit their statements to the Integrity Commission. All of ours did.”
“APNU could paint a picture and deflect attention from their own shortcomings and in this case, corruption. That is what has been happening. They had a really sordid history in government of accountability.”
The declarations track the growth of a person’s assets once they assume public office, allowing for accountability. Under the law, any public officer who fails to comply with the Commission is liable upon summary conviction, to a fine of $25,000 and imprisonment for a period of not less than six months or more than one year.
Among the Opposition MPs finding themselves on the wrong side of the Integrity Commission were former Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon, current AFC Leader and MP Khemraj Ramjattan and Sherod Duncan, another AFC MP.
APNU MP and People’s National Congress (PNC) General Secretary Dawn Hastings-Williams, APNU MP and former Minister of Health Dr Karen Cummings, and former MP and Minister of Education Dr Nicolette Henry, were also flagged.
The list of civil servants is an extensive one as it spans a number of Ministries and departments.
Among the most high-profile names on the list are Guyana’s Solicitor General Nigel Hawke; head of the Local Content Secretariat Martin Pertab; Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) Arvind Parag; Public Works Ministry Permanent Secretary Vladim Persaud; Chief Medical Officer Dr Narine Singh; Ambassador to China Choo An Yin and Guyana’s Ambassador to the Caribbean Community (Caricom), George Talbot.
