The Organization of American States (OAS) yesterday commenced its fourth round of investigations into corruption in Guyana and met with civil society representatives.Notably absent from the ‘closed door’ discussions were the Private Sector Commission (PSC) and the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC).The meeting was organized to review Guyana’s compliance with the Inter-American Convention against corruption of which Guyana is a signatory.The visiting team includes a representative from Trinidad and Tobago, two from Haiti, and was led by Luiz Marcelo de Azevedo, a Legal Officer from OAS’s Secretary for Legal Affairs in Washington.Among the bodies that did represent civil society at yesterday’s discussion were the Guyana Bar Association, the Guyana Association of Women Lawyers (GAWL), Transparency Institute of Guyana, the Institute of Chartered Accounts, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) and the Consultative Association of Guyanese Industry (CAGI).Each of the groups, with the exception of the Bar Association, made presentations to the visiting OAS team. The bodies made presentations and gave views on entities’ responsibility for the curbing of corruption in Guyana. These include the Audit Office of Guyana, the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament,Cheap Jerseys Supply, the Integrity Commission, the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Judiciary.The group also held discussions on access to information in Guyana as well as the issue of conflict of interest.The group will continue its meetings today at the Cara Lodge,Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale, where it is expected to meet with the entities highlighted at yesterday’s meeting.The OAS team is also expected to meet with opposition Members of Parliament who will express their views on corruption in Guyana. The meetings will also focus on areas such as the reporting of acts of corruption, and systems for registering income,Deion Sanders Falcons Jersey, assets and liabilities.To date, similar visits have been made by the Mechanism for Follow-Up on the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC) to Brazil, El Salvador, Mexico, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Honduras, Panama,Evan Engram Jersey, Chile,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, Uruguay,Cheap NFL Jerseys, Colombia and Guatemala.Guyana for several years running has been labeled as one of the most corrupt countries in the hemisphere. |