Mohamed warns of development bank corruption risks

(Kaieteur News) – Leader of the Opposition and the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party, Azruddin Mohamed has sounded an alarm over the government’s intention to roll out the Guyana Development Bank (GDB) in October this year without a robust framework that ensures all Guyanese can benefit fairly from loans up to $3M and that resources intended to benefit those in need are not used to fuel further corruption.

In an interview with this publication, Mohamed said the Opposition, particularly his faction, welcomes any genuine initiative that expands affordable financing for Guyanese entrepreneurs. The freshly appointed Member of Parliament (MP) however stressed that the law, passed in the National Assembly on July 27 and assented to by President Irfaan Ali on July 30 is gravely deficient and fails to set strict penalties for corruption involving the misuse of funds from the Bank.

Mohamed warned that an October 5 launch date is not a substitute for transparency or proper institutional preparation. In fact, he said government risks rushing the launch and missing a key ingredient for the successful operation of the institution – accountability. The Opposition Leader pointed out, “Every director is appointed by the Minister of Finance, and the legislation guarantees no representation for the parliamentary opposition or any genuinely independent stakeholder.