Housing Ministry officer sent home for seeking sex from house lot applicant
President reads the riot act to staffers
Stabroek News
August 27, 2002
President Bharrat Jagdeo, declaring zero tolerance for corrupt practices at the Ministry of Housing and other government agencies, said that the houselot allocation process must be transparent and carried out with the greatest integrity.
The President noted too that last Friday a case involving a senior housing ministry operative had come to his attention in which the official had allegedly sold land to a woman, took money from her, and eventually demanded sexual favours, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported yesterday.
"I heard about this man (name provided). I am fed up with hearing his name about the corruption he is involved in. I am tired of hearing his name mentioned. I had one case which I believe. On Friday, a young lady came to see me and she spoke to me and I believe her, because she had supporting evidence. And I spoke to Philomena (Sahoye-Shury) afterwards and I asked her to confirm a few things and she did confirm what this young lady was saying. He took money from her and demanded sexual favours ....from what she told me, he reallocated a plot to her, something (the lot) that someone did not take up and he even wrote on a piece of paper next to whom she would be living, and then he took the money and tried to take her to some place close to Embassy Club, and she refused to go there with him, and then all her problems started", the President related.
The ministry has since sent the alleged errant officer home and the police are expected to take up the matter, GINA said.
And during last year, eight persons from the ministry were dismissed because of corrupt practices, GINA added.
The President told workers during a meeting at the Ministry of Housing and Water in Brickdam, Georgetown, yesterday that at no cost should transparency in houselot allocation be compromised, GINA stated.
He said "if there are corrupt individuals, they are not going to have any place in any of the government apparatus, because you are not here to do people a favour. You are here doing a job (to) provide housing to the people of this country and you are being paid for this."
President Jagdeo also observed that rumours of corruption have been heard of in the ministry for a while now, but the evidence is not being supplied and therefore the persons cannot be prosecuted.
The Guyanese leader said that the ministry's staff has a mandate to execute and if persons break the law and squat, then the lawful procedure should be followed when demolishing their structures, but "it must be done with some decorum."
The President also renewed his government's support both policy-wise and financially for the sector to ensure that Guyanese are adequately housed, GINA said.
"There are some things that I expect and one of the things is that the process be carried out with the greatest integrity. I am just tired of hearing of all of these stories. I have heard from time to time about the good things that some people are doing and I do not want to at this point in time paint anyone with a broad brush, but I have heard atrocious stories about some people within this ministry. Terrible stories and I do not want my government to be tainted by anything that goes on somewhere", the President declared.
Minister Shaik Baksh who was also present, along with Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Housing, Sahoye-Shury, said that the need for transparency had been thoroughly discussed with staffers at the minister's retreat last January.
As a result, GINA said, a hotline and a suggestion box have been placed at the ministry to invite complaints.