| By Kiana WilburgCorruption has taken interesting twists and turns in Guyana. It has affected national growth, held the nation back from technological advancement and infected the integrity of systems intended to protect the citizenry and the treasury. It has even had its effects on those who hold and have held political office.In fact, the current Government’s recent release of a series of forensic audit reports have given us a 3D view of how corruption,Brad Richards Red Wings Jersey, a most despicable scourge, was able to transform some respected public officials into highly questionable characters.But addressing this “mother of all vices” has been central to discussions by many of our political leaders and social activists who desire a better Guyana. The blatant misuse of public office for private gain has also been at the heart of many discussions within this newspaper’s walls.Also part of our in-house exchanges on a daily basis is the need for all to be involved in the fight against corruption and more importantly, for our leaders of the day to go beyond talk and demonstrate to the citizenry that they are adamant about corruption prevention and eradication on a national scale.The nation is at a point where it yearns to be managed in a clean, honest and dignified manner. The letter-columns of the print media are also testimony to the fact that the nation is at wits’ end. Each day, the citizenry is looking for swift action to be taken by the Government against those who were engaged in acts perceived to be grossly corrupt.But from all the discussions held on how leaders can approach the eradication of corruption,Artemi Panarin Jersey, it is clear that there is no one, straightforward approach for dealing with it.This was even acknowledged by Transparency International. This non-governmental organization is considered as a worldwide watchdog against corruption.The global movement also gives a voice to the victims and witnesses of fraudulent conduct by those in power. It works with governments, businesses and citizens to stop the abuse of power, bribery and secret deals.The entity agreed that there is no silver bullet for fighting corruption. It said that many countries have made significant progress in curbing corruption, but practitioners are always on the lookout for solutions and evidence of impact.It is upon this basis that it recently highlighted five ingredients citizens and governments can use to make progress in the fight against corruption:1. END IMPUNITYAccording to Transparency International,NFL Jerseys China Online, effective law enforcement is essential to ensure the corrupt are punished and break the cycle of impunity, or freedom from punishment or loss.It emphasized in this regard that successful enforcement approaches are supported by a strong legal framework, law enforcement branches and an independent and effective court system. The global watchdog noted that civil society can support the process with initiatives such as Transparency International’s ‘Unmask the Corrupt’ campaign. (https://unmaskthecorrupt.org/#/section-contest)2. REFORM PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIONThe non-governmental organization also suggested reforms be put in place, especially those which focus on improving financial management and strengthening the role of auditing agencies. It noted that such reforms are important as it achieves a greater impact than public sector reforms on curbing corruption.One such reform it recommended was the disclosure of budget information, which prevents waste and misappropriation of resources. For example, Transparency International Sri Lanka promotes transparent and participatory budgeting by training local communities to comment on the proposed budgets of their local government.3. PROMOTE ACCESS TO INFORMATIONThe call for access to information has been raised incessantly by the media and other social and political activists in Guyana, especially under the previous administration. According to Transparency International, countries successful at curbing corruption have a long tradition of government openness, freedom of the press,Cheap Sports Jerseys, transparency and access to information. It said that access to information increases the responsiveness of government bodies, while simultaneously having a positive effect on the levels of public participation in a country.It cited Transparency International Maldives as one of the leaders in this regard. It said that Transparency International Maldives successfully advocated for the adoption of one of the world’s strongest rights to information laws, by putting pressure on local Members of Parliament via a campaign of SMS text messages.4. EMPOWER CITIZENSTransparency International believes that strengthening citizens demand for anti-corruption and empowering them to hold government accountable is a sustainable approach that helps to build mutual trust between citizens and government.It noted for example, that community monitoring initiatives have in some cases contributed to the detection of corruption, reduced leakages of funds, and improved the quantity and quality of public services.To monitor local elections,Fernando Rodney Jersey, Transparency International Slovenia for example, produced an interactive map that the public populated with pictures and reports of potential irregularities in the election. As a result, cases of public funds being misused to support certain candidates were spotted.5. CLOSE INTERNATIONAL LOOPHOLESWithout access to the international financial system, Transparency International believes that corrupt public officials throughout the world would not be able to launder and hide the proceeds of looted state assets.It said that major financial centres urgently need to put in place ways to stop their banks and cooperating offshore financial centres from absorbing illicit flows of money.The anti-corruption entity noted too that the European Union recently approved the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive,Deion Jones Falcons Jersey, which requires EU member-states to create registers of the beneficial owners of companies established within their borders.It said, however, that the directive does not require these registers to be made public. Similarly, the Norwegian, UK, and Ukrainian governments have all approved legislation requiring companies to disclose information about their owners, although these have yet to come into force. |
