Leader of the Alliance for Change (AFC) and Member of Parliament, Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan condemned remarks made by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Ms. Gail Teixeira, toward Transparency International (TI).
At the 9th Annual Conference of Commonwealth Caribbean Association of Integrity Commissions and Anti-Corruption Bodies, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, the minister sought to disparage and mock TI for situating Guyana and other CARICOM countries as seriously corrupt in that body’s Corruption Perceptions Index.
Ramjattan said the AFC’s views the attack as reprehensible on a foremost authority on corruption perceptions as more evidence of an elective despotism emanating out of the People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) Government.
The Member of Parliament pointed out that ever since the rise of the Jagdeoite PPP, the political framing of critics and dissidents as the “enemy” has become routine. Instead of fairly evaluating and wisely addressing the message of these critics and dissidents, it is, with feral blasts, head-bashing the messengers, he stated.
“Worse still in this particular instance is the attempt by Teixeira (and vicariously the PPP Government) to drag CARICOM sister countries into this sordid project of denouncing Transparency International by playing the ignominious North /South card.”
The party leader advised that the corrupt and lawless leaders of the PPP want “to strengthen their grip on power by foolishly picking political fights with local and international critics of their governance and accountability.”
Ramjattan, who is also an attorney-at-law, further advised the PPP absurdly wants to hurl abuse at reputable Western civil society organisations like EITI, TI and will soon turn attention to Amnesty International, and Reporters without Borders when their next Report on World Press Freedom will be out.
Noting the tendency of attacking those who hold the government to account, on the local scene he cited the witch-hunting of the Guyana Human Rights Association and IDPADA-G; and even ordinary critics like former Auditor General Anand Goolsarran.
The party leader warned that the assault on the free flow of information, especially on matters concerning corruption and bad governance, and which is a basic ingredient for democratic accountability, is a frightening development. Gail Teixeira’s attempt at disparagement of TI must therefore forthrightly be condemned, he charged.
