Dem lil AFC bais mrkkin PPP sh1t dem panzz.  Nuff peeple donk hay a lissen up now.

I hear the money is earmark fuh them pradoville class to mek them pickney in the US and them college fund.

Mr DONKEY Ears.

Diss budget block cazz di PPP fuh rile up.  Wenn dem rile up, dem geh tuff qeshuns an' dem ah rile donk qik qik.  Datt mekkin' nuff abie coolie scrach we head and adda tings.  Now dah Goolsaran man ah aask queshuns an PPP ah scrach all ova and unda. Bu abie pon tap.

Guyana has always been a one party state. The ruling party owns all. This opposition is something new, so light sabers will be wielded for the several years while the country simmers. I expect plenty confrontation down the road. With oil, uranium in the works, the pie is getting bigger and sweeter.

TI, I agree but so far we dont have reason to believe President Ramotar will be Politics as usual. He seems to be a new, improved and straightforward President.

The AFC needs to get out of anti Jagdeo mode and give Donald a chance to govern for a year and then judge the PPP based on the record after the first year of the passing of the budget.

 

Until then, the people of Guyana will see the the PNC and AFC as being obstructive to the development of Guyana. The PPP is winning the public opinion war.

Not just Public opinion gains, the people are determining foe themselves that The Opposition is MORE concerned with POWER, STATUS and Personal Gains rather than having the interest of the People.

So $50B is hidden away by the PPP, whilst they complain about the budget cuts imposed by the AFC. is how dumb are PPP voters exactly? Even a donkey can understand that the PPP financial sums are not worth the paper they are written on.

Monkey Man MR T, do you think that this is a government like the PNC dictatorship ? You are now an official member of the snake oil club. You drank so much snake oil that you are now acting like a monkey.

 

Prove your facts. Just dont make a false claim. People are fed up with false claims.

 

Mr Monkey face, go drink more snake oil.

 

All coolies good fuh is fuh thief thats why they dont want no oppositioni dont trust them people which reminds me the only good coolies is a dead wan

Nah mek worries bai, alyuh tiefin' dayzz done.

Coolie man tek way he lady and do butta Bing Butta Bang Buttafoooko.

 

 

There is no question that Guyana and Guyanese have experienced significant progress and prosperity under the PPP. The fact remains the PNC ruined and bankrupted Guyana and that party must never, ever, ever rule Guyana again. Now, there are some elements of the PPP that are corrupt, but on the whole the PPP remains the best party to rule Guyana. And of course the numbers don't lie--55% of Guyanese would vote for Ramotar and the PPP in the next election, whenever it's held.

 

Rev

Ramoutar is the Secretary to the Former Dictator,he so scared of being branded the shortest term President.He would be voted out as PPP Presidental Candidate,a Pagla like Goat-Ah- Bite-E yells at The Duck.hen the Present First Lady see the King Kong she hides.It is a fued now Ramoutar VS Ramkarran (check this out)

how come no one addressing the contents of the article itself...?

None of these PPP shills care about Guyana. They care about the PPP on top. Here is another interesting article on this thieves consortium

 

 

NICIL transfers public property to PM, Queens Atlantic, 28 others

Last year, the state-owned National Industrial, Commercial and Investments Limited (NICIL) handled an estimated 30 properties but no sale prices have been disclosed or monies transferred to Government’s Consolidated Fund.
One property was transferred from GUYSUCO to Prime Minister Samuel A.A Hinds and Yvonne Z. Hinds jointly.

This property is identified as Tract “B” Plantation Farm East Bank Demerara; with an area of 1.327 acres.

Another property was transferred from NICIL to Queens Atlantic Investment Inc. This property has been identified as 4702 Plantation Ruimveldt, with an area of 18.871 acres.

There was no known advertisement of this transfer nor was there a tender.
With the absence of any annual reports for NICIL being laid before Parliament this year, there are no indications that any monies will be paid to the fund also.

Last year, several questionable property transactions by NICIL served to bring more questions about the legality of the operations of the state-owned company, says accountant Christopher Ram.

Ram, whose company, Ram and McRae has been conducting reviews of Guyana’s budget for the last few years, believes that NICIL has become the vehicle of choice and a “convenience for diverting public funds for all kinds of unusual expenses.

“As it has succeeded in that unlawful and dangerous role it has become more brazen and less concerned about public criticisms.”

NICIL was established under the former Companies Act and the Public Corporations Act to subscribe for, take or otherwise acquire and hold the government shares, stocks, debentures or other securities of any company, co-operatives societies or body corporate.

“It has been doing much more than that. It was involved in the sale of land at Pradoville 2; the sale of properties to politically-connected business persons and to others; and it was involved in the controversial and contested award of the Amaila Falls Road contract to Synergy Inc. It is a government favourite that acts as though it too enjoys immunity from action.”

Among the most notable of the questionable transactions done last year by NICIL were the transfer of government land at Liliendaal and Pattensen, East Coast Demerara, to NICIL. This land, 103.88 acres, was in turn sold to National Hardware Guyana Limited for $600M.

According to Ram in analysis, there is nothing that would have prevented the government from selling the property to National Hardware and placing the money direct into the Consolidated Fund.

“Instead, the land is first vested in NICIL which then sells the land, holding the money which it can then spend as it pleases and pay into the Consolidated Fund whatever dividends its directors – all politicians – choose to pay.”

This is in direct violation to the Constitution and the Fiscal Management and Accountability Act which state monies should be placed in the Consolidated Fund, from which it can only be withdrawn with parliamentary approval.
Another questionable transaction was the dealing with the property, 6.88 acres at the north western side of the Kingston seawall, which was slated for a Marriott Hotel.

This land is earmarked for the Kingston Atlantic Hotel which is a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of NICIL and whose sole director is the CEO of NICIL.
“It would be hard to find a more improperly interconnected relationship even in a private setting. NICIL is 100 per cent state-owned. There is no indication that NICIL will be paying any money into the Consolidated Fund in 2011 or that it will become compliant with the Companies Act 1991 or the Public Corporations Act or have its annual reports laid in the National Assembly by its subject minister who is the Minister of Finance,” the accountant argued.

He noted that in no case is the price at which the properties sold by NICIL disclosed in the public records.

“Clearly the publication is intended merely to meet statutory requirements (in the National Gazette), and not to provide information. NICIL, most of whose board members are members of the Cabinet, has failed to file annual returns and audited financial statements with the Registrar of Companies.”
Ram claimed that in his opinion, the Constitution is subverted with the politicians controlling public moneys and the public is kept in the dark.
“Despite the egregiousness of these conditions, NICIL never receives even a token mention in the report of the Auditor General. It clearly is outside of the law. It must be hard to find its equal even in the most b

The problem the PPP faces with corruption is the brazen-faced opposition that adopts anyone who is forced out of the gov't for that reason. It's homecoming in the AFC and APNU when you are fired for corruption.

Yuh balme dem opposition fuh PPP corruption and tiefin.  Well, true, dem fuh blame cazz dem wah natt ova 50% fuh mekk PPP ansa.  Now dem gattin' di shittins.

According  to Mr.  Goolsaran what  the  Government  and  NICIL  is   doing  is unconstitutional  and  may  even be  criminal. That  being  the  case,  I  wonder why   the delay in the opposition  not moving   to  the  courts to to  seek  redress? 

Cazz dem gatt nuff battle fuh fite.  Di peepl waan see progress with di budget natt anada fite wile di peeple goa hungry.  Peeple lil mix up rite now.

Ok!  With  nuff  fite,  one  must  choose  their  battle  carefully. But  50  billion  dollars should  be  enough  to  push  this  on  top  of  he  agenda,  way  way  ahead  of  electricity  subsidy for  "depressed"  community.

Bai, yuh gafa read da public mood.  Cyaant push too haad, peeple nah geh wuk den PPP call elekshun, win 60% an everybady kech karna.  Diss ah wan lil dance ah goa aan donk hay.

WRONG Joker! If you don't take the first steps now you are basically condoning wrongdoing. The time to straighten up the country is NOW. Now or never. With a balanced governance everyone will be held accountable and as long its good for the goose it will be good for the gander. Anyone who is opposed to transparency and accountability has something to hide and that is treasonous. Put it on the table for inspection or get out of the way. Let the citizens see what is going on with their monies so we can all develop together.

Contrary to what Luncheon claims NICIL is a government company
By Stabroek staff  |  14 Comments  |  Letters | Thursday, May 3, 2012

Dear Editor,

I find the earlier pronouncements of Drs Roger Luncheon and Ashni Singh and now Mr Winston Brassington that National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) is a private company with the legal right to withhold public moneys annoying, self-serving, misinformed and mischievous. It is sad, and even dangerous, that individuals with the power to make major decisions over the resources of the country and the lives of its people can be so deficient in their knowledge and reckless in their actions.

Dr Luncheon wrongly informed the media that there are “20-something articles that underpin the creation of NICIL and none of them says that money from NICIL has to be put in the Consolidated Fund.” Mr Brassington adds his share of vacuity with his pronouncement that “proper accounting requirements dictate that money from the sale of government assets should first be placed in the company account, provided it can adequately discharge all of its liabilities.” In my 42 years as a professional, I have never heard anything so absurd and facile.

In fact, the Articles of Continuance of NICIL comprise nine articles (see attached) and it operates under, and is classified by the Companies Act 1991 as a “Government Company.” The Act imposes on NICIL the following obligations over and above those imposed on companies generally:

1. that sections 48 and 49 of the Public Corporations Act dealing with accounts and audits apply;

2. NICIL is required to submit to the Minister of Finance an account of its transactions and audited financial statements no later than June 30 of the following year; and

3. the Minister of Finance is required to lay in the National Assembly the statement of transactions and the audited financial statements no later than September 30, ie, within 90 days of receiving them.

The public is reminded that the Chairman of NICIL is Dr Ashni Singh and the Minister to whom he must submit the report and accounts is the same Dr Ashni Singh. If it was only these breaches of which he is derelict, it would still be a serious matter. But there are more, and worse. The Government of Guyana “vests” lands and other properties in NICIL – on whose Board also sit Drs Luncheon and other Cabinet members – which then sells the assets and pockets the money. The government also uses NICIL to collect dividends from Guyoil, GT&T and other investments which are also retained by NICIL.

This scheme, which assumed scandalous proportion under the Jagdeo-Ashni Singh duo, has become a ruse to get around Article 216 of the Constitution which requires “All revenues raised or received by Guyana to be paid into and form one Consolidated Fund.” By their own boasts, NICIL has collected tens of billions of dollars and not paid these into the Consolidated Fund. To any ordinary person, so far as the land transactions are concerned, NICIL is merely an agent for the government. Therefore, the moneys it collects should be paid over to the Ministry of Finance to be deposited into the Consolidated Fund.

Instead, in an arrangement which in neighbouring Trinidad would be considered criminal, NICIL’s board uses the funds as a second budget to do the things which the Finance Minister would not be comfortable in bringing to the National Assembly, like the Marriott Hotel, like getting involved in Pradoville 2 and for miscellaneous purposes including secret overseas trips, etc. Article 217 of the Constitution dealing with spending public moneys does not allow any of these.

Now, to go back to the absurdity about state companies being subject only to the company laws, I refer the financial doctors to the following two documents: 1. the Report of the Working Party on the Harmonization of Company Law in the Caribbean Community, and 2) the Report of the Review Committee on the Companies Act of Guyana. This is what the Working Party Report under the heading Public Accountability has to say in paragraphs 19.142 [in part] and 143:

“Whether the company is a mixed enterprise or wholly State owned, public funds are employed for the capital of the company. In the view of the Working Party, this introduces an important dimension with which existing company law does not deal….” “With respect to companies with capital drawn from public funds, however, the State shareholder is in theory the party which should ensure that proper use of those funds is taking place. In practice, this cannot provide a system of accountability to the public for the effective use of public funds. It by no means follows that the assessment of the State as shareholder with respect to the running of the company will stand up to scrutiny when viewed as a public investment. Increasingly, arguments are made in this context for some additional mechanism whereby the performance of the company in relation to the investment of public monies is subject to accountability beyond the company itself.” And the Guyana Review Committee appointed by the Hoyte administration to consider the report of the Caricom Working Party proposed the adoption of its recommendation that “wholly-owned government companies should be constituted under the Public Corporations Act.

Presciently, the authors of the Working Party Report, including our own Bryn Pollard, were saying thirty years ago, that there could be no accountability under the NICIL-type model, even if it did not have the degree of egregiousness practised by Drs Singh and Luncheon and Mr Brassington.

And finally, with respect to the chorus that it is for the directors to decide if and when NICIL would pay any dividends to the government, let us recall that in 2009, the government, a mere 20% shareholder in GT&T, caused that company to pay more than $6 billion in dividends. And guess who the Finance Minister was and who was the government director on the Board of GT&T when that “persuasion” took place? Dr Ashni Singh and Mr Brassington respectively. Now the same Messrs Luncheon, Singh and Brassington are bold enough, in respect of a 100% government company in which public property is routinely vested, and which has a 100% Cabinet Board, to plead impotence in calling for a dividend which the country badly needs to help the working and the non-working poor.

To show how reckless and ridiculous it has become, only a couple of years ago the government forced the Geology and Mines Commission to pay $1.8 billion to NICIL to build/repair roads in the hinterland communities, all done by way of a Cabinet directive signed by Dr Luncheon. For too long constitutional violations, financial improprieties, mis/malfeasance in public office and breaches of fiduciary duties have been tolerated by this bleeding country. It is time for the talking to stop and for the courts in Guyana, and if necessary the Caribbean Court of Justice, to be invited to address these matters. Sooner rather than later some Guyanese will decide that enough is enough.

Yours faithfully,
Christopher Ram

Crook defending hiding money from the guyanese people.

 

Ramotar defends NICIL hoarding $$$B
May 8, 2012 | By KNews | Filed Under News  | By Gary Eleazar
“We are not doing anything illegal as far as that is concerned… None of it is misappropriated and it is audited,” Ramotar

The Opposition concerns regarding billions of dollars being held in special accounts in the name of the National Industrial Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) and not turned over to the nation’s coffers are seemingly without merit. At least, this is according to the Head of State, Donald Ramotar, who yesterday said, “I have heard the (opposition) arguments and I am not convinced.” The President says that as far as he is aware he is not doing anything illegal and NICIL is not breaching the law either.
“We are not doing anything illegal as far as that is concerned,” said Ramotar when asked to respond to increased criticism in recent weeks. The President said that it is not a case where none of the money ever reaches the Consolidated Fund. When dividends are declared these are paid into the Consolidated Fund, he said.

The President was also adamant that NICIL’s accounts are audited. President Ramotar said that one of the main concerns relates to the monies held by the Privatisation Unit. This body is a component of NICIL and responsible for the disposal of state assets. According to the President, the account for this component of NICIL which deals which the largest portion of the money, has been audited. He said that the audits have been completed up to 2010 but explained that some of the other entities that fall under NICIL are still lagging behind. The result is that the complete report for NICIL is yet to be tabled.

Speaking to some of the problems that would have delayed the reports he said that court litigation in some cases following privatization has hampered the process. “That’s why some of them have not yet been completed,” said Ramotar and added that “the main area you talk about has been audited.” The President was adamant that there is a misguided view circulating that the money has somehow been misappropriated. “None of it is (misappropriated) and it is audited,” said Ramotar.

When pressed on why all of the money is still not being turned over to the Consolidated Fund the President said, “We don’t have to do that because the law allows NICIL to keep that money.” Ramotar’s comment follows a threat by A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) to move to the courts to force NICIL to have the money placed in the Consolidated Fund. Alliance for Change Chairman Khemraj Ramjattan has alleged that NICIL could be in the possession of some $50B.

The most recent report available for NICIL is for 2003. At that time there was some $30B in revenue for that year. In that report by the company’s Executive Director, Winston Brassington, stated in 2002, that having regard to accounting conventions and financial reporting standards, a decision was made to have NICIL comply with such corporate governance strategies “culminating in this Annual Report — the first set of consolidated accounts for the Company.” He said that the issuance of consolidated accounts for NICIL, as a parent company, is dependent on the completion of the audits of its subsidiaries. He said that the challenges faced to achieve the milestone stemmed primarily from the poor level of preparation of accounts by the subsidiaries coupled with the slow pace of audits generated by the Audit Office of Guyana.