Enact tighter transparency laws or corruption allegations will worsen- Ramkarran

Last Updated on Sunday, 12 July 2026, 15:30 by Denis Chabrol

As President Irfaan Ali on Sunday continued to churn out testimonials by young poultry farmers, who were motivated by him to get into the business as a group, former People’s Progressive Party (PPP) executive member Ralph Ramkarran on Saturday warned that if additional legislation to “entrench transparency” is not enacted, allegations of corruption and other misdeeds would be rife.

“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,” he is said in his “Conversation Tree” column titled “The Farm”.

Mr Ramkarran, who recalled resigning from the PPP in 2012 after 50 years over concerns that nothing was being done to address increased opportunities for corruption as the economy develops, said the situation has gotten bleaker because government spending has vastly expanded 14 years later but there had been “no significant steps to entrench transparency.” ” It is no surprise, therefore, that allegations of corruption and lack of transparency are proliferating,” he added.

President Irfaan Ali has shrugged off calls for him to make public his assets, including all financial dealings about his less than 75 to 150 acre farm at Long Creek, Linden-Soesdyke Highway. Instead, he had said that his investment is the technologically driven poultry, livestock and fish farm was financed by bank loans and that all his assets had been declared to Guyana’s Integrity Commission. He also denied using his office for special favours for his farm.

But Mr Ramkarran sided with criticisms of the Integrity Commission  which is governed by the Integrity Commission Act. He said there has been been justified criticism that because the declarations to the Integrity Commission were secret, or not published, and that the Integrity Commission had no investigative, or even prosecutorial authority, “it is a fangless poodle, designed for window dressing.” The 12-seat parliamentary opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has since formally tabled a draft amendment to the Integrity Commission Act to provide for summaries of the asset filings by the President and his ministers, leaders of political parties, parliamentary secretaries, permanent secretaries, commissioners of land, surveys, geology and mines, forestry, the commissioner of police, the deputy commissioner of police, chairmen, managing directors of government agencies, government corporations, mayors and deputy mayors.

Mr Ramkarran said nothing was wrong with politicians, even Presidents and Prime Ministers, having assets or acquiring assets while in political office. However, he said, it was widely accepted that adequate measures ought to be in place to ensure transparency.

In what appeared to be a calculated push-back against alleged misdeeds linked to the farm, President Ali on Sunday released videos on his Facebook page featuring co-investors in a poultry project. “I want to thank the President for this initiative because we are part of an initiative which is helping us to secure food for not only Guyana but across the Caribbean,” one of the 30 young investors said in a five-minute video.