Gov’t to establish State Asset Recovery Unit  – keen on sending a strong message to people that ‘assets of the State belong to the State…they don’t belong to any individual’

THE Government of Guyana is gearing to establish a special ‘State Asset Recovery Unit’, meant to go after assets initially belonging to the state and “people of Guyana”, that would have found its way into the hands of private interests, illegally, either through siphoning, collusion or some form of corruption. 

The explosive announcement came yesterday by Minister of State in the Ministry of the Presidency, Lieutenant Colonel (rtd) Joseph Harmon, during a special briefing held with members of the local media corps at his New Garden Street Office. Minister Harmon also confirmed reports of special forensic audits into a number of State institutions, among them, the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL), which controls a myriad of State corporations such as the National Communications Network (NCN), the Guyana Oil Company (GUYOIL), and Atlantic Hotels Inc./Guyana Marriott Hotel among others. The Privatization Unit (PU) which is responsible for the disposal of state assets also comes under NICIL. NICIL is chaired by former Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh and has as its Executive Director, Winston Brassington, with board members including Dr Roger Luncheon, Nigel Dharamlall and Sonya Roopnauth. The Government-owned company also holds and manages Government’s interest in a number of primarily private companies such as the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation, (GPC), headed by Dr Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop. NICIL also holds interests in Property Holdings Inc., Guyana National Shipping Corporation Ltd, LINMINE, Mahdia/Matthews Ridge/Port Kaituma Electricity companies, Guyana World Cup Inc. Linden Electricity Company Inc. and Lethem Power Company Inc., among others.

PUBLIC MONEY Expanding on the Government’s drive to recover state assets in tandem with a forensic audit of a number of state-owned entities, specifically NICIL, Minister Harmon said despite the pronouncements of the previous Administration of NICIL being a private company, its board is made up of persons appointed by the Government. “It’s really just a matter of the board being properly represented and that the Government’s interest and the Government’s views are taken into consideration when the board makes their decisions.” According to Minister Harmon, “I do not see an issue with NICIL being audited because frankly speaking; I believe that the funds that are in NICIL belong to the people of Guyana.” Minister of State Harmon was adamant NICIL is no private business as its Executive Director Brassington, or board member and former Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Luncheon, “were trying to say.” Minister Harmon said on the matter of NICIL, Government holds the view, “it is public money.” He said whatever revenues are controlled by NICIL represents monies collected from public operations, “So you can’t take public money and put it into something and then say because it is registered in this way it now becomes private money…It is public funds and that has always been our position.” During his engagement with the media yesterday, Minister Harmon made it clear, “NICIL will be audited just like all the other entities will be audited.” On the matter of the board of directors of state institutions across Government, including NICIL, Minister Harmon said, “those boards will be changed.” He said Cabinet is already in possession of a proposal for consideration with regard to State boards but, “These boards in particular [are] the ones that have a direct impact on the way the finances of this country are handled, those boards are going to be reviewed…No ifs and buts about it.”

GRAVY TRAIN Minister Harmon also used the opportunity to warn those in the employ of the State but is essentially on what he calls “the gravy train.” “They have people who were working, who were being paid to work but were not doing Government work, they were part of what I call the gravy train, but the gravy train has been brought to a halt.” In announcing the raft of sweeping changes across the Government sector, Minister Harmon told media operatives, “those persons who were actually on the gravy train are put on notice that once you are working with and for the people of Guyana in the Government of Guyana and you are being paid by the Government, you have to do Government work and that is what we expect.” This past week there was the stunning revelation of reporter Shaun Samaroo being paid a handsome US$7,300 per month, to provide coverage for the ongoing Commission of Inquiry into the 1980 death of Dr Walter Rodney. Samaroo has since claimed to still be owed by the Government and further that his obligation under the contract with the then Guyana Government was to compile a book. Addressing those that have alleged witch-hunting on the part of the newly coalesced A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Government, Minster Harmon in no uncertain terms said, “I don’t call it witch-hunting, the President [Brigadier (rtd) David Granger] doesn’t call it witch- hunting, it is what we call cleaning up Government.”

ACCOUNTABLE GOV’T According to Minister Harmon, it is not a matter of witch- hunting but rather a move towards making the Government accountable. He said it is about “making people who work in [the] public service understand that it is public service that they are providing and if you had been engaged in practices that were inimical to the interest of [the] public service, inimical to the interest of the people of this country, then you have to go.” He reported too that in the past week, the APNU+AFC Government held its first full meeting of the Cabinet and that the Government is now starting to function in a regular way as the transition period nears its end. The minister said as the new Government uncovers skullduggery, it will be dealt with even as he confirmed reports that Cabinet at its first meeting approved the auditing of just over 30 state- owned or controlled entities. He made reference to Finance Minister Winston Jordan’s recent statements where he had lamented the condition of the Consolidated Fund. Minister Harmon told media operatives that ever since the Finance Minister’s observation was made publicly, Government has since been moving to have all public revenues make their way into the Consolidated Fund.

ASSET RECOVERY On the matter of the recovery of State assets, Minister Harmon told the media, “In this regard, along with the audits that are going to be done of various entities, we have discussed and we are going to actively consider the establishment of a State Asset Recovery Unit.” According to the minister, “this will basically deal with assets that were siphoned off, that belonged to the state that had been siphoned off by individuals not only here in Guyana but abroad.” Minister of State Harmon reported that the newly installed Government is currently collaborating with a number of international organisations in pursuit of international best practices. “We have been offered assistance in some regard to ensure that we can have such a unit which will be a multi-agency unit established to ensure that the assets that have been siphoned off from the State are recovered.” He drew reference to a recent report by Professor Clive Thomas, who surmised in his account that on an annual basis over $300B was being siphoned off from the State. The World Bank, according to Minister of State, Harmon, places the figure closer to $500B being siphoned off annually. He opined that even if a percentage of this money is recovered, “you can see what it can do for the state of the country, what it can do for the state of the economy.” The minister used the opportunity to emphasise that the figures being quoted represents only that which is siphoned off in one year, “so if you go back to twenty something years you can actually understand the extent which the assets which really should have been employed for the use of the Guyanese people were being siphoned off.”

WORK IN PROGRESS He did caution that the move is a work in progress by Government and more details will be provided in the coming days, “but I just want to give Guyanese who are concerned that things don’t appear to be happening quickly enough, that we have to consider these things very carefully, that we have to understand what are the implications of doing things when we do it, but I want to give the public the assurance that we are not going to allow people who have actually siphoned off assets that belong to the State for them to keep it or get away with that.” On the matter of the culpability of persons involved in the siphoning off of State assets, Minister Harmon told media operatives the entity to be established to pursue the recovery of state assets “will be given broad powers to do what they have to do and I am sure they will make the suitable recommendations.” He said Government is looking to have the state-assets recovery body be an independent one, not with strict political directions “but working in the nation’s interest.” He explained that the multi-agency unit, comprising members of the Guyana Bar Association, Guyana Human Rights Association, Private Sector Commission and other agencies will be given strict terms of reference. Minister Harmon said government is keen on sending a strong message to people that “the assets of the state belong to the state, it belongs to the people of this country and they are not personal property of any individual.”

By Gary Eleazar