Transparency International in its 2013 Corruption Perception Index ranked Guyana as the second most corrupt country in the Americas, but the ruling party has taken umbrage to this.Cabinet SecretaryDr. Roger Luncheon.The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) yesterday in a public missive has said that while respecting the organization’s right to obtain information from whatever sources it deemed necessary, it nevertheless feels compelled to draw attention to the body’s reliance on information from organizations and individuals,Rodolfo Pizarro Jersey, “which have known hostility to the ruling PPPC administration and with obvious links to opposition parties.”According to the PPP, under such circumstances,Tedric Thompson Womens Jersey, it is not illogical to assume that subjective and partisan influences can be brought to bear into the information and data-gathering processes which in turn could introduce biases into the report.“Having regard to the above, the PPP wishes to respectfully suggest to Transparency International that it should review its information sources on Guyana.”The PPP also said that in the interest of transparency, the group may also wish to inform the Guyanese people of the methodology used to obtain information, its sampling techniques and the universe of persons and organizations contacted to provide information and data.“It is the considered view of the party that adequate consideration was not taken by those responsible for providing data and information on Guyana of the several initiatives taken by the current administration at both the legislative and administrative levels to enhance accountability and transparency in Guyana.”Government argues that among the anti-corruption initiatives are the establishment of the Integrity Commission, the de-linking of the Auditor General’s Office from the Ministry of Finance, and the Freedom of Information Act.“The PPP wishes to state that it has serious difficulty to accept the ranking given to the country in view of the manifested biases and prejudices of officials comprising the local Chapter of Transparency International.”The party said that the credibility and integrity of the Report on Guyana will continue to be held suspect by a wide cross-section of the Guyanese people, “unless Transparency International puts in place new and transparent modalities in the way they conduct their business in Guyana.”The reaction by the PPP comes days after Government’s official spokesperson had blamed the media for the low rating by Transparency International.Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon said that he believes that the local media is a contributor to Transparency International being rather uncharitable to Government by perceiving Guyana as the second most corrupt country in the Region.Not surprisingly,Nazair Jones Jersey, defending Government’s stance on corruption,Raekwon McMillan Womens Jersey, Dr. Luncheon said, “Government has been making overtime leaning backwards in addressing this issue of transparency and accountability.”He also said,Daniel Sturridge Jersey, “I think they have fallen prey to some of the wickedness you members of the media perpetrate in making these unqualified and unsubstantiated conjectures about Government on corruption and lack of accountability.”Frederick Collins,Jabrill Peppers Jersey, Vice President, Transparency International Guyana Inc (TIGI) whilst presenting TI’s 2013 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for Guyana had stated that the finding on Guyana is based on surveys carried out by four reputable international institutions – the International Country Guide, the World Bank, the World Economic Forum and the Global Insight Country. He announced that Guyana has been ranked 136th out of 177 countries, joining Bangladesh, Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and Kenya with a score of 27. Guyana was ranked 133rd last year.In terms of the Americas, Guyana has been ranked 28 out of 32, while for the Caribbean, only Haiti scored lower, with 19.