THE FARM

From the Conversation Tree

The disclosure by Leader of the Opposition, Azruddin Mohamed, of a farm located in the Linden-Soesdyke area and owned by President Irfaan Ali, has been the subject of much comment. The size of the farm, the infrastructure, the wide variety of agricultural activities and modern practices would suggest that it is a modern, multi-million facility with substantial assets. In answer to calls for disclosures from President Ali about various aspects of the acquisition and operation of the facility, President Ali has responded to the questions by stating that his ownership of the farm preceded his accession to the Presidency and its development has been financed by loans. He denied that the farm is of the size and value as alleged by Mohamed.

There is nothing wrong with politicians, even Presidents and Prime Ministers, having assets, or even acquiring assets, during the time when they hold political office. But it is widely accepted that adequate measures ought to be in place to ensure transparency. In Guyana the main instrument that exists is the Integrity Commission Act which has constituted the Integrity Commission. There have been justified criticism that because the declarations to the Integrity Commission are secret, or not published, and that the Integrity Commission has no investigative, or even prosecutorial authority, it is a fangless poodle, designed for window dressing. In Germany, with a wealthy Chancellor Merz, declarations are accessible through the Bundestag’s website.

There have been calls from many, including from me, from time to time, that anti-corruption, anti-bribery, transparency and ethics legislation are very much required in Guyana. These calls, from me since 2012, which forced me to resign from the PPP, of which I had been a member for over 50 years and a leader for over 40 years, have not been heeded. The basis of the calls had been that as government spending increased, and the economy develops, opportunities for corruption will continue to increase. Government spending today has vastly expanded since 2012 and no significant steps to entrench transparency have been taken. It is no surprise, therefore, that allegations of corruption and lack of transparency are proliferating.  And let me be clear, in the absence of measures, allegations of lack of transparency and standards of ethics, will get worse and ensnare others. President Ali and other politicians who wish to engage in business activities would be well advised, for their own protection, to ensure that adequate legislation is in place.

In the United States, the Ethics in Government Act requires Presidents to declare their annual income. Recent declarations by President Trump indicates that since he assumed office for his second term, he earned US$2.3 billion from various business activities, but primarily through a series of four major cryptocurrency ventures by using licencing agreements, his family name and promotional efforts, instead of investing his own capital. We know this because of the Ethics in Government Act by which he is required to make the disclosures. It has not been alleged that the President has broken any law, but the public is free to debate whether or not the President has crossed ethical or transparency boundaries and, if so, to punish his party in the November elections. President Trump has not placed his assets in a blind trust as some past Presidents, even though he has said that he has done so. Experts have concluded that the trusts that he has established do not qualify as blind trusts. One trustee is his son, Eric. A blind trust is one where an individual places his/her assets under the control of an independent trustee where the owner has no knowledge of how the holdings are managed or invested thus preventing conflicts or interest. Among US Presidents who had blind trusts are Lyndon Johnson and George W. Bush. Among those who did not have are Barack Obama because he had only cash assets.

South Africa is one democratic country which has challenges relating to corruption. President Jacob Zuma of South Africa was bedeviled by allegations of corruption for most of his presidency. These eventually caused his downfall because of what was described as “pervasive corruption scandals” known as “state capture” involving the Gupta family who were allowed to loot state enterprises, among other things. President Cyril Ramaphosa, a millionaire businessman, has also been accused of corrupt activities.  This has occurred despite the existence of the Special investigating Unit which investigates state corruption and maladministration, which has not proved to be very effective. Time is running out for Guyana, if it is to avoid going in the direction of South Africa.

Unless the government heeds the decades-long calls for legislation to effectively enforce transparency, eruptions of questions from time to time, which have happened just recently, and now44 again in the case of President Ali’s farm, will continue.

Ralph Ramkarran

(www.conversationtree.gy)