May 20, 2016 Source

While government has thrown its support behind Junior Natural Resources Minister Simona Broomes, President David Granger said yesterday that she would either step down or be reassigned to another ministry if a conflict of interest arises.

“At present, I do not see any need to remove her and we have a draft code of conduct and if any situation were to arise, I am very confident that she (Broomes) would be put in another place or she would demit office but that situation hasn’t arisen at the present time,” the President stated during a recording of “The Public Interest.”

Hours later, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman threw his support behind Broomes, saying that she made the appropriate decision to transfer her mining dredge to her children, while insisting that no wrong was done on her part.

Questions have been raised about the recent approval of an application to operate a dredge in the name of Simona Broomes, who is the daughter of the Junior Natural Resources Minister. The two share the same first and last name.

Granger said that he was alerted to the reports of a conflict of interest by Trotman. He said that the matter was investigated and action taken.

He noted too that Broomes did appear before the media to explain that the concessions had been put in the hands of her children.

He said that the functions that the Minister performs “do not necessarily come into conflict with the fact that her children own that property.”

He pointed out that Trotman is an experienced attorney and therefore he has asked for his views to guide him.

Trotman held a press conference at his Ministry, during which he responded to several questions on the claims of a conflict of interest. Minister Broomes was also present.

He said that when senior Broomes took over her portfolio at the Ministry, the conflict of interest issue was raised.  Trotman was making reference to claims that her mining holdings conflicted with her role as minister in the ministry. She had leased mining lands to Pharsalus Gold Inc. (Troy Resources).

“It is not new. It is one of the occupational hazards that we face and Minister Broomes, I think, is acutely affected by it because she does have a mining background and wherever she goes, she is gonna be dogged in a sense by this issue and the accusation,” he said.

“We have looked at it and there was a transfer made and that was legitimate I don’t now whether it was expected of her to sell it out. Guyana is a small country and invariably we are going to at some point in time come into contact with either a very good friend, associate or a relative. What is important is what happens when you do so. So a regular transfer of a dredge is not an issue that should raise eyebrows,” he said before describing the dredge transfer as a “normal of the mill application.”

He said that he did give an undertaking in January that he would take keen action to ensure that the “lines are not crossed. Sometimes the lines may get blurred but it is my function to ensure that there are no violations and I am satisfied that there have been no violations. I am aware of the criticisms and I am not dismissing the criticisms but… I am satisfied that in this instance the transfer was validly done and in fact I think it was a proper thing for the minister to do.”

Not illegitimate

Stabroek News asked based on his knowledge who had applied for the licence to operate the dredge but he did not provide an answer. Stabroek News pointed out to Trotman that the identification number on the application form belonged to the Minister and not her daughter. He did not specifically address this but said that “it (the issue) is something I will examine. It is not illegitimate or wrong for the minister to apply to do the transfer but this matter having been brought to the attention of the public …I have asked GGMC to do an investigation and to provide a report as to how documents could be taken out.”

He pointed out that he was not condemning the press but rather is commending it for its vigilance and bringing the issue to the ministry’s attention. “Having been brought to our attention, it is a matter that I’m going to and I am paying particular personal attention to ensure that the minister is insulated and shielded from any further action there,” he added.

Asked if he is concerned that the minister is being targeted, Trotman made mention of the previous claim of the conflict of interest. He said that the ministry had a legal opinion in that matter and is satisfied that there was no conflict of interest in that first case. He said that just being the holder of lands “does not make you be in a conflict of interest situation.”

He said that Broomes would be targeted by her very appearance at the Ministry. “There are people who are going to be upset about it and in January we had this conversation with the public and it continues in May and I think Minister Broomes is realistic enough to know that this is not going to go away but [she is] strong enough to withstand it,” he added.

Asked too about concerns with her children being involved in a sector that she had a high role in, Trotman insisted that the concerns and the criticisms are not being dismissed. “The President was quite clear in the areas of responsibility of the Minister—compliance with the laws, health and safety concerns. Those are the areas that the president has asked Minister (Broomes) to be involved in. Not in the areas of the acquisition or allocation or the revocation of lands… so the president was quite precise with what role and function the minister should perform in this sector and I think he did so with wisdom knowing that she was likely to be attacked for being a miner in her own right,” he said.

A document bearing the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) letterhead and which is dated April 5, 2016, stated that permission has been given to Simona Broomes, of Lot 8 West Indian Housing Scheme, Bartica, to operate a dredge from March 4, 2016 to March 3, 2017. The dredge, bearing the number SD #1967, according to the document, is to be operated on a permit located in the Puruni River, which is held by E Hopkinson.

The application form was dated March 4, 2016.

The senior Broomes, in a comment to Stabroek News over the weekend, insisted that there was no conflict of interest. “All the family ever does is mining. So, in no way at all I don’t see it as a conflict of interest. There is no preference or anything that I have to give there,” she stressed.

Her daughter is presently studying abroad, raising questions as to when she might have developed an interest in mining. When asked about this, Minister Broomes reiterated that the members of her family have been involved in mining all their lives.

The successful application would raise concerns about whether the junior Broomes is a proxy for the minister.

Like Trotman, Broomes expressed concern at the leakage of confidential information to the media.