Transparency: Jagdeo expresses suspicion over missing files
D’Urban Park probe
…as Audit Office may be forced to close investigation without them
The Audit Office of Guyana’s has registered its complaints that it was unable to acquire pertinent documents from the Public Infrastructure Ministry in its special D’Urban Park probe. This is being viewed with much concern by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo
Last month, Auditor General (AG) Deodat Sharma had revealed his inability to access certain documents from the Public Infrastructure Ministry, while carrying out his probe of the D’Urban Park Project. At his press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo was highly sceptical of the disappearance of documents which relate to a project completed only in 2016. “I have seen the Auditor General say he will conclude his audit of the D’Urban Park project, even though he has not received the financial information requested. Now you could recall that when they were pursuing this project in Parliament, there was a debate,” Jagdeo said. “They said, the [People’s Progressive Party] PPP spent $38 million on building up the land at D’Urban Park and it was a waste of time; we built up the land and we just allowed bush to grow on it. The Minister who was presenting the case pointed out when the bid was issued for filling up the land, who won the contract,” the former President recalled. Jagdeo noted that this development was reflective of a pattern and not a positive one. He contrasted the loss of documents pertaining to a two-year-old contract with the preservation of documents for a project the PPP conducted over a decade ago. “$1.4 billion (was spent), but we can’t find the details of a bidding process that was completed two years ago, yet they found elements of this bid for filling up the place that was done, 12, 13 years ago. It tells you a pattern,” Jagdeo said.
Unanswered questions Last year, the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman, Irfaan Ali, had requested further probing be done by the Auditor General into specific projects. Among those projects was the D’Urban Park Project, for which the AG in his 2015 report listed some $36.5 million in Lotto funds being used for rehabilitative works. Ali had stated that these requests were in relation to follow-ups from the findings that had been included in the AG’s 2015 Report. In his 2015 report, the Auditor General had said that following checks on the accounts, it was found that while Government transferred $1 billion of the Lotto money to the Consolidated Fund in 2015, it held onto just over half a billion dollars to remain under the control of the Ministry of the Presidency and it spent $305 million on various activities. But the audit into the D’Urban Park project has always been hindered by a lack of access to pertinent information, with the Audit Office being forced to write to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure requesting documents. This was revealed by Sharma, who spoke to the media after handing over of his 2016 report. According to Sharma, he wrote to the Ministry requesting information on Homestretch Development Inc. “I’ve written to the Ministry of Public (Infrastructure),” he had related. “I need to know information concerning that company that was established to set up the Durban Park. (But) information is not coming.” That company in question was Homestretch Development Inc (HDI); a company in which former Education Minister, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine was revealed to be a Director. Notwithstanding the trouble to access information, however, Sharma stated that the audit was still ongoing. Last month, Sharma subsequently stated in sections of the media that records from the company are yet to be provided and that when a request was made to the Permanent Secretary of the Public Infrastructure Ministry, he had pled ignorance. In the report, Sharma had related that while he intended to write to the company, he would wrap up his audit by year end with or without the documents.
Dem goa tief nuff nuff mo and get mo rich than the Jagdeo cabal!
AFC/PNC will now set an example how to steal big time.
PPP took little but the country still developed but the AFC/PNC and emptied the treasury in one year and set aside 18 MILLION U.S aside even before oil started flowing.
Imagine how much they will steal when the oil starts flowing. There will be nothing left for ordinary Guyanese. I feel sorry for the foolish Guyanese who believes these AFC/PNC corks.
Many unpatriotic and selfish Indians are hoping to cash in on PNC/AFC corruption by telling us we should forget about democracy and focus on economic opportunities - let the PNC rig elections and stay in power. We coolie gon get rich. This message is certainly encouraged and supported by Congress Place.
Many unpatriotic and selfish Indians are hoping to cash in on PNC/AFC corruption by telling us we should forget about democracy and focus on economic opportunities - let the PNC rig elections and stay in power. We coolie gon get rich. This message is certainly encouraged and supported by Congress Place.
Bai, making hay while the sun 🌞 shine ain’t unpatriotic. Nuff coolies get rich under the old PNC, then some of the same and new friends of the BJ cabal got rich since 1992. Now same thing, old coolies, new coolies, and (new) some Blacks who were shut out.
Lets hope the PNC does a better job bringing prosperity to the poor, unconnected, forgotten masses who were buried under the glossiness of the PPP miracle.
My relatives back there are optimistic and forging ahead with their business plans. PNC or PPP does not matter much to them. They, like any prudent businessman, adapt to the new realities. Their main concern is crime!
Transparency: Jagdeo expresses suspicion over missing files
D’Urban Park probe
…as Audit Office may be forced to close investigation without them
The Audit Office of Guyana’s has registered its complaints that it was unable to acquire pertinent documents from the Public Infrastructure Ministry in its special D’Urban Park probe. This is being viewed with much concern by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo.
Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo
Last month, Auditor General (AG) Deodat Sharma had revealed his inability to access certain documents from the Public Infrastructure Ministry, while carrying out his probe of the D’Urban Park Project. At his press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo was highly sceptical of the disappearance of documents which relate to a project completed only in 2016. “I have seen the Auditor General say he will conclude his audit of the D’Urban Park project, even though he has not received the financial information requested. Now you could recall that when they were pursuing this project in Parliament, there was a debate,” Jagdeo said. “They said, the [People’s Progressive Party] PPP spent $38 million on building up the land at D’Urban Park and it was a waste of time; we built up the land and we just allowed bush to grow on it. The Minister who was presenting the case pointed out when the bid was issued for filling up the land, who won the contract,” the former President recalled. Jagdeo noted that this development was reflective of a pattern and not a positive one. He contrasted the loss of documents pertaining to a two-year-old contract with the preservation of documents for a project the PPP conducted over a decade ago. “$1.4 billion (was spent), but we can’t find the details of a bidding process that was completed two years ago, yet they found elements of this bid for filling up the place that was done, 12, 13 years ago. It tells you a pattern,” Jagdeo said.
Unanswered questions Last year, the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman, Irfaan Ali, had requested further probing be done by the Auditor General into specific projects. Among those projects was the D’Urban Park Project, for which the AG in his 2015 report listed some $36.5 million in Lotto funds being used for rehabilitative works. Ali had stated that these requests were in relation to follow-ups from the findings that had been included in the AG’s 2015 Report. In his 2015 report, the Auditor General had said that following checks on the accounts, it was found that while Government transferred $1 billion of the Lotto money to the Consolidated Fund in 2015, it held onto just over half a billion dollars to remain under the control of the Ministry of the Presidency and it spent $305 million on various activities. But the audit into the D’Urban Park project has always been hindered by a lack of access to pertinent information, with the Audit Office being forced to write to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure requesting documents. This was revealed by Sharma, who spoke to the media after handing over of his 2016 report. According to Sharma, he wrote to the Ministry requesting information on Homestretch Development Inc. “I’ve written to the Ministry of Public (Infrastructure),” he had related. “I need to know information concerning that company that was established to set up the Durban Park. (But) information is not coming.” That company in question was Homestretch Development Inc (HDI); a company in which former Education Minister, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine was revealed to be a Director. Notwithstanding the trouble to access information, however, Sharma stated that the audit was still ongoing. Last month, Sharma subsequently stated in sections of the media that records from the company are yet to be provided and that when a request was made to the Permanent Secretary of the Public Infrastructure Ministry, he had pled ignorance. In the report, Sharma had related that while he intended to write to the company, he would wrap up his audit by year end with or without the documents.
PPP corruption followed by PNC corruption. Same nonsense, difference scrunt holes. Trotty get US$2 million from the oil company. Paterson has 20 contracting companies run by his brother who get all the small wuk up to $20 million each. That is G$400 million in business for the Patterson family every month. Count AHM! Nuff money for Patto. Nah even BK getting so much wuk these days.
Many unpatriotic and selfish Indians are hoping to cash in on PNC/AFC corruption by telling us we should forget about democracy and focus on economic opportunities - let the PNC rig elections and stay in power. We coolie gon get rich. This message is certainly encouraged and supported by Congress Place.
Bai, making hay while the sun 🌞 shine ain’t unpatriotic. Nuff coolies get rich under the old PNC, then some of the same and new friends of the BJ cabal got rich since 1992. Now same thing, old coolies, new coolies, and (new) some Blacks who were shut out.
Lets hope the PNC does a better job bringing prosperity to the poor, unconnected, forgotten masses who were buried under the glossiness of the PPP miracle.
My relatives back there are optimistic and forging ahead with their business plans. PNC or PPP does not matter much to them. They, like any prudent businessman, adapt to the new realities. Their main concern is crime!
Regarding coolie getting rich in Burnham days .. YES !! but no one stop the black man from doing the same , they just don’t have money management skills .
Blacks will help themselves to $1 , the coolie man have to help himself for his great grand kids , he gon tek $ 100.
The black man will spend every cent and the coolie man will save unda the mattress .
The coolie custom officer will calculate our profit and he would bluntly say 30 % fo he and 70% is we own . He fk wife would pull up to the house with the most expensive vehicle to collect the bribe. Well after the bribe and coming often she get other expensive gift and nothing is given free . The rice mar had to flow also 😊
I would encourage you to drive in Blacks neighbourhood . During PPP government , massive construction was done by blacks , were all of them doing drugs ... NO !!Some have wise up
Black people village benefit from more infracture work than coolie village cause the PPP believe they need to hug up Blacks and coolie is always on them side . But that’s not the case .
The coolie custom officer will calculate our profit and he would bluntly say 30 % fo he and 70% is we own . He fk wife would pull up to the house with the most expensive vehicle to collect the bribe. Well after the bribe and coming often she get other expensive gift and nothing is given free . The rice mar had to flow also 😊
Corruption tarass,the misconduct difficult to cleanse when there are enablers.
The coolie custom officer will calculate our profit and he would bluntly say 30 % fo he and 70% is we own . He fk wife would pull up to the house with the most expensive vehicle to collect the bribe. Well after the bribe and coming often she get other expensive gift and nothing is given free . The rice mar had to flow also 😊
Corruption tarass,the misconduct difficult to cleanse when there are enablers.
It is call Business survival as it was enable by the man in front we . At least we can sell cheaper to the starving nation .
The coolie custom officer will calculate our profit and he would bluntly say 30 % fo he and 70% is we own . He fk wife would pull up to the house with the most expensive vehicle to collect the bribe. Well after the bribe and coming often she get other expensive gift and nothing is given free . The rice mar had to flow also 😊
Corruption tarass,the misconduct difficult to cleanse when there are enablers.
BTW how about start cleaning with your USA president 😂
The coolie custom officer will calculate our profit and he would bluntly say 30 % fo he and 70% is we own . He fk wife would pull up to the house with the most expensive vehicle to collect the bribe. Well after the bribe and coming often she get other expensive gift and nothing is given free . The rice mar had to flow also 😊
Corruption tarass,the misconduct difficult to cleanse when there are enablers.
It is call Business survival as it was enable by the man in front we . At least we can sell cheaper to the starving nation .
I am aware bhai,still it's wrong.
By the way how the rass Guyanese does starve that tropical country.
The only food additive is salt that's difficult to be produced.They like too much foreign food imports that's their problem.
The Brain Dead Caribj, Django and others are true PNC supporters. They are all the Cool Aid drinkers the PNC trained with the same techniques Jim Jones used on his followers!!!!
1.4 Billion dollars were allegedly stolen by AFC/PNC.
According to Jadgeo as stated above, granger knows about the alleged theft that is going on.
The buck stops at his desk.
Allegedly stealing doesn't hold water on the ruling coalition. Jagdeo talking transparency? Did God choose him to cast the first stone? Yuji, you funny, bhai.
1.4 Billion dollars were allegedly stolen by AFC/PNC.
According to Jadgeo as stated above, granger knows about the alleged theft that is going on.
The buck stops at his desk.
Allegedly stealing doesn't hold water on the ruling coalition. Jagdeo talking transparency? Did God choose him to cast the first stone? Yuji, you funny, bhai.
Wait, are you fine with $ 1.4 billion taxpayers dollars missing ? Boy, you are sooooo Dumb. The Auditor General has stated that documents for the expenditure is missing and you claim to know a little ?
1.4 Billion dollars were allegedly stolen by AFC/PNC.
According to Jadgeo as stated above, granger knows about the alleged theft that is going on.
The buck stops at his desk.
Allegedly stealing doesn't hold water on the ruling coalition. Jagdeo talking transparency? Did God choose him to cast the first stone? Yuji, you funny, bhai.
Wait, are you fine with $ 1.4 billion taxpayers dollars missing ? Boy, you are sooooo Dumb. The Auditor General has stated that documents for the expenditure is missing and you claim to know a little ?
Missing documents in of itself does not prove fraud, more sloppy records retention. However, an investigation needs to be done to ensure there is no actual fraud.
1.4 Billion dollars were allegedly stolen by AFC/PNC.
According to Jadgeo as stated above, granger knows about the alleged theft that is going on.
The buck stops at his desk.
Allegedly stealing doesn't hold water on the ruling coalition. Jagdeo talking transparency? Did God choose him to cast the first stone? Yuji, you funny, bhai.
Wait, are you fine with $ 1.4 billion taxpayers dollars missing ? Boy, you are sooooo Dumb. The Auditor General has stated that documents for the expenditure is missing and you claim to know a little ?
Missing documents in of itself does not prove fraud, more sloppy records retention. However, an investigation needs to be done to ensure there is no actual fraud.
Excuse me ? 1.4 Billion dollars of spending documentation and contracts have not been found and the Auditor General declares this material amount in the financial statement of his audit and this is not a case of fraud ?
Come on Base, Yuji is not when you think he is. I do not deal with pennies and cents.
1.4 Billion dollars were allegedly stolen by AFC/PNC.
According to Jadgeo as stated above, granger knows about the alleged theft that is going on.
The buck stops at his desk.
Allegedly stealing doesn't hold water on the ruling coalition. Jagdeo talking transparency? Did God choose him to cast the first stone? Yuji, you funny, bhai.
Wait, are you fine with $ 1.4 billion taxpayers dollars missing ? Boy, you are sooooo Dumb. The Auditor General has stated that documents for the expenditure is missing and you claim to know a little ?
Why not? It's just money. What Jagdeo and his sacred ministers stole was taxpayer money too.
Let me take that back for now. As current, I am studying a report that said the national coffer doesn't belong to the taxpayers. When I get that straightened out, I will tell you who money the politicians are stealing.
Hold tight, buddy. This thievery is becoming technical.
1.4 Billion dollars were allegedly stolen by AFC/PNC.
According to Jadgeo as stated above, granger knows about the alleged theft that is going on.
The buck stops at his desk.
Allegedly stealing doesn't hold water on the ruling coalition. Jagdeo talking transparency? Did God choose him to cast the first stone? Yuji, you funny, bhai.
Wait, are you fine with $ 1.4 billion taxpayers dollars missing ? Boy, you are sooooo Dumb. The Auditor General has stated that documents for the expenditure is missing and you claim to know a little ?
Why not? It's just money. What Jagdeo and his sacred ministers stole was taxpayer money too.
Let me take that back for now. As current, I am studying a report that said the national coffer doesn't belong to the taxpayers. When I get that straightened out, I will tell you who money the politicians are stealing.
Hold tight, buddy. This thievery is becoming technical.
Please provide proof that Jagdeo stole. Billions of audits failed to provide proof.
The current auditor has clearly provided a material amount of $ 1.4 billion missing.
Yuji does not tolerate theft and as I stated, I do not deal in pennies and cents.
1.4 Billion dollars were allegedly stolen by AFC/PNC.
According to Jadgeo as stated above, granger knows about the alleged theft that is going on.
The buck stops at his desk.
Allegedly stealing doesn't hold water on the ruling coalition. Jagdeo talking transparency? Did God choose him to cast the first stone? Yuji, you funny, bhai.
Wait, are you fine with $ 1.4 billion taxpayers dollars missing ? Boy, you are sooooo Dumb. The Auditor General has stated that documents for the expenditure is missing and you claim to know a little ?
Why not? It's just money. What Jagdeo and his sacred ministers stole was taxpayer money too.
Let me take that back for now. As current, I am studying a report that said the national coffer doesn't belong to the taxpayers. When I get that straightened out, I will tell you who money the politicians are stealing.
Hold tight, buddy. This thievery is becoming technical.
Please provide proof that Jagdeo stole. Billions of audits failed to provide proof.
The current auditor has clearly provided a material amount of $ 1.4 billion missing.
Yuji does not tolerate theft and as I stated, I do not deal in pennies and cents.
Simple, take all his assets and reconcile with income earned, inheritance, less living expenses. Assume a reasonable return on savings from earnings and inheritance and it should reconcile. This should all be documented.
This is a standard process used by investigators of fraud and money laundering! If it does not reconcile, then you have unreported income, which raises another set of questions!
Auditor General Deodat Sharma says that he is awaiting some information from Homestretch Development Inc (HDI) before he completes his investigation of the controversial billion-dollar D’Urban Park Development Project.
“We need the information in order to finalise that aspect of the investigation,” he told Stabroek News on Monday, while noting that if needs be he will conclude his investigation without it. Sharma dispatched a letter about two weeks ago requesting specific information.
He said that he is not satisfied that he will be able to make a definitive conclusion without the documents requested. “That company, they would have collected money. We don’t know how much money they collected and we don’t know what type of expenditures they did before the Ministry of Public Works took it (the project) over,” he said.
Sharma recalled that it was previously said in Parliament that the company had handed over all the documents to the Ministry. He said that he subsequently wrote to the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, who said that he didn’t have any information. It was based on this fact that he took the decision to write the company, requesting the required information.
The financing of this controversial project has been seen as a test of the government’s openness and willingness to be accountable on the expenditure of public funds.
It is difficult to ascertain when exactly the idea of the project was born but based on what has been published in the media the idea was birthed soon after President David Granger took office on May 16th, 2015.At the time, the area was covered with thick vegetation and trees; residents of Hadfield Street and surrounding areas grazed their horses and cows there.
The clearing of D’Urban Park was part of a massive cleanup campaign in Georgetown ahead of the country’s 50th Independence celebrations. In May that year, the area immediately behind the 1763 monument was cleared of the thick bush.
A flag raising ceremony was held at the nearby Independence Arch on the morning of May 26.
Over time, the area cleared was extended. From all the information available, government shouldered the cost up to this point.
It later became evident that the area would be used as a green space for recreational activity. By October that year, the entire area was transformed; it was free of bushes and trees and had been filled with sand.
In November of 2015, Minister Raphael Trotman had announced that Cabinet had given the go ahead for contracts for the transformation of D’Urban Park into a “Green Zone Recreational Park,” in time for Guyana’s 50th Anniversary celebrations the following year.
The goal of the rehabilitation works was to redesign the location into a site similar to that of the Washington Monument area in Washington, DC in the US. Trotman had explained that the overgrown vegetation would be removed in order to create a recreational facility, where persons of all ages could exercise or simply relax.
It was around this time that the name Larry London became associated with the project. It would subsequently be revealed that London was a part owner of HDI. However from all indications, HDI, through donations both from local persons and those in the diaspora, commenced work at the site in September, 2015, about two months before government officially announced what was happening there.
By the time Trotman made the announcement, questions were being asked as to who was paying for the works being done at the site. PPP/C MP Gail Teixeira would later state that HDI, despite overseeing the work at the site, was never registered until January, 2016. Things began to unravel in April, 2016 when this newspaper reported that the wooden stands were poorly built and with inferior materials.
A few weeks after this newspaper’s report, Granger announced that Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson would immediately assume full responsibility for the project. Patterson and his ministry, with some assistance from the Guyana Defence Force, saw the project to completion in time for the May 26th flag raising ceremony.
Approximately half a billion dollars were spent by government on the project and despite this, the National Assembly was asked to approve extra-budgetary spending.
In August 2016, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan tabled Financial Paper 1/2016 in the House, which covered $931,018,292 in extra government spending from January 1st to July 28th of that year.
The figures showed that an initial $72.8 million was previously approved for the D’Urban Park Development Project and government was seeking approval for a further $406.7 million, which had already been spent. The $479.6 million total which was spent by government does not include donations from companies and citizens. Previously, Patterson had said that $150 million was provided from the Contingencies Fund to complete Phase 1 of the project. In a statement in May that year, he had also revealed that donations were made to a registered company under a separate head outside of the ministry.
It has been revealed that then Education Minister Dr Rupert Roopnaraine was a director of HDI. Granger has defended him saying that the minister’s role was only to represent the government’s interest.
It would have been better if these people stole a couple millions, but to squandered one billion dollars to build a White Elephant. If this was Africa I would understand, Who is the government? I understand.
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