October 11 ,2020
Kaieteur News – Recently circulated documents show that the Minister responsible for Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, instructed his staff to hire a company that was founded by his son to provide his official portraits.
Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall
These documents, which were quick to ignite widespread concern, were posted by Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Ganesh Mahipaul via his Facebook page, yesterday.
According to the September 30 documents, the Local Government Ministry — its office located in De Winkle Building at Fort Street, Georgetown — had received a quotation from private local printery and banner service, Designz Unlimited. This was for the supply of “80 full colour, one side poster board with glossy finish, size 11 x 17”.
These 80 posters, which were all portraits of Minister Dharamlall, were stated to cost $1,000 each—thereby taking the contract’s sum to GY $80,000.
The quotation submitted to the Local Government Ministry by Designz Unlimited
What is extremely alarming is that at the bottom of the quotation submitted by Designz Limited, there is a handwritten note from someone within the Ministry, which states that, “Dear PS, please quotation submitted for purpose of printing 80 portraits of Honourable Minister Nigel [Dharamlall]. Minister has advised that we engage Designz [Unlimited] to do the printing…”
The reader should note that it is illegal and against procurement best practices for a sitting minister to signal his preference to a company, as the minister’s first and foremost duty is to implement decisions on policies. But the concern does not stop there, as Mahipaul’s claimed in his post claimed that Tariq Dharamlall, the son of Minister Dharamlall, was the owner of the company.
Kaieteur News first made contact with young Dharamlall who is a student of the University of Guyana (UG). He indicated that Mahipaul’s claims which stated that the company was owned by him were “completely false and libelous”.
Subsequent contact was made with the manager and owner of Designz Unlimited, Monica Sharma, who told Kaieteur News that it was Tariq who had founded the idea of the company while in high school. Wanting to give credit to this youth for his innovation, she thought it necessary to list him as the company’s founder on their Facebook page. According to Sharma, young Dharamlall is currently employed by the printery company, but on a “support” basis.
When asked about whether the young man held any shareholder interests in the company, Sharma responded in the negative. “I do have proprietary shares/ interests in Designz Unlimited,” she said to Kaieteur News on the phone yesterday, “Tariq Dharamlall has no proprietary interest in Designz Unlimited. Tariq Dharamlall does not benefit from any of the proceeds from Designz Unlimited.”
On the issue of the quotations, Sharma confirmed that her company was requested by the Ministry of Local Government to submit a quotation for a print service and acquiesced. “We have not since been awarded any contract and in fact, have not been informed of any development in relation thereto,” she highlighted as she noted the Designz Unlimited has been a “trusted supplier” to the Ministry over the past four years,
Despite maintaining that she had nothing to hide, Sharma refused to answer whether she shared any relation to Tariq. In fact, she became annoyed with the reporter’s questions and proceeded to abruptly end the call. Meanwhile, Minister Dharamlall has refuted all claims, which assert that he instructed his staff to procure the services of Designz Unlimited. “It’s not my job for me to instruct the Permanent Secretary with the procurement of services and goods,” the Minister commented. “That is not even my handwriting”, he added when asked about the handwritten note on the document.
He confirmed that the business’ founder is his son, but denied that he shared any relation to Monica Sharma. Notably, when the same question was posed to Sharma, she refused to answer.
Designz Unlimited has since demanded that Mahipaul’s post be withdrawn and an apology to be issued within 24 hours, or they will consider legal action. Minister Dharamlall, however, is emphatic that Mahipaul, who is currently employed under the Local Government Ministry, will be hearing from lawyers for what he labels as “unfounded allegations”, “defamatory, injurious and malicious” statements on the side of the opposition MP.
