Corruption is a “cultural thing” – Guyana’s Top Cop

The “I Paid a Bribe” programme has been dismissed as completely useless by Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud, who said it did absolutely nothing to aid in the reduction of corruption among Guyana Police Force (GPF) ranks.

The programme, an Internet initiative consisting of a website where citizens reported bribery, was launched by former Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee as a means to clamp down on bribery in the Police Force and other Government agencies.

However, during an interview with Guyana Times International on Tuesday, the Police Commissioner declared that the programme did not allow for the relevant data to be collected in order to launch a proper investigation into the reports.

““I Paid a Bribe” programme does not make sense. Anybody can put a report in, whether it happens or not. The report does not allow you to say Seelall Persaud took a bribe. It allows you to say a member of the Guyana Police Force, maybe the Station. The information does not allow you to put your name, so no investigator can contact you to say listen, let us start an investigation and let’s see what happens. The information that is there cannot initiate an investigation. So it’s useless actually,” he stated.

Asked whether a revamping of the programme would make it more effective, Persaud’s response was in the affirmative.

“The thing is, any information, when you write in the press that something happens, we send it to the Office of Professional Responsibility. Any information we receive, we investigate. Anywhere we get report where a Police is corrupt, we investigate,” he stated.

Within eight days of its launch in May 2013, the “I Paid a Bribe Guyana” website recorded a total of Gy$6,426,708 being paid in bribes. Three agencies and seven departments were reportedly bribed, based on information received on the website. The most bribes were collected by the Guyana Police Force (GPF), followed by the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) and the Public Works Ministry, according to the website reports.

However, according to the Police Commissioner, most of these reports were not investigated because there was no possible way to contact the individuals involved to launch a proper probe.

Asked about the GPF’s plan to tackle the issue of corruption in the country, the Top Cop said the ranks were constantly being trained to act in a professional manner.

“Corruption is a cultural thing you know, it is everybody…it’s not only the Police Force, remember somebody paying that bribe…The Private Sector is involved. The same persons who complain of Police being corrupt are the ones encouraging Police to take bribes,” Persaud said, noting that corruption needed to be addressed from all angles.

Persaud also believes that if the ranks get paid a better salary, it is less likely that they will be tempted to collect bribes.

Nonetheless, the Top Cop accepted that Guyana has a grave corruption problem, especially in the Police Force, but he noted that all efforts were being exhausted to address the problem.