“Corruption is ethically and morally wrong…it affects the integrity of financial institutions…and gradually removes trust in the government,” this assertion was recent made by Attorney General, Basil Williams.
Williams was at the time addressing the National Assembly on Thursday during which the State Assets Recovery Bill was passed. The passage of the Bill followed on the heels of a lengthy debate.
Williams in his presentation, during the debate, sought to passionately underscore that under the previous government, Guyana ranked only higher than Haiti, in terms of its Human Development Index which speaks to corruption, poverty rates and other challenges. This has now improved, the Minister asserted.
He reminded that there were several notable instances of scams, such as the Gold Scams, Dolphin Scam, Stone Import Scam, Missing Law Books’ Scam, Cane Grove Conservatory Scam and the Polar Beer Scam. “To say that corruption was rampant under the previous government would therefore be an understatement,” he pointed out.
But the dire need to combat corruption has resulted in government embarking on a vigorous campaign to ensure that there is no safe place for corrupt persons to hide, he insisted.
The Bill is one that is expected to impact the regulatory landscape of Guyana.
According to the Attorney General Guyana was a signatory to the United Nations Convention on this issue and gives effect to the non-conviction-based asset recovery recommendations contained in the UN Convention against Corruption (2003), formally ratified by the Government of Guyana in April 2008.
As such he noted that “The Bill therefore introduces legislation to combat unlawful conduct and corrupt practices in relation to property and other assets owned by the State, or in which the State has an interest.”
The legislation, divided into seven parts, deals with the establishment of SARA, the establishment of the Recovery of State Assets Fund, civil recovery and preservation of state property obtained through unlawful conduct and orders to assist investigation and international co-operation and several other issues.