" I first wanted to be a doctor. Didn't want to be merely a specialist and craftsman and cure individual aches and ills. I wanted to cure the ills of society. I want to know that I have served humanity as a human being. All of us want recognition - I am not interested in recognition conferred on the basis of my bankroll. When I would have passed away, I would like it to be recorded that Jagan did his bit in the service of humanity." 1964

A few may thing that it will not be any more, ASJ, and there are others who believe that the PPP/C will again win the next election.

The PPP is definitely out. I agree 40% at the polls is very generous.

Did George Orwell envisioned the PPP leadership and its members when he penned  his porcine Animal Farm Characters? It's too close to be a circumstance of coincidence.

Auditors are major players in Tax evasion – GRA Commissioner

  By Kiana Wilburg Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram and economist Dr. Clive Thomas are of the belief that tax evasion, even in the face of the “shamefaced” attempts by the government to reform the Tax system, is now, more rampant than ever. However, the Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Mr. Khurshid Sattaur, asserted that root of the illegal practice is the executives of major companies who are allowed to live extravagant lifestyles due to the aiding and abetting that takes place between them and their auditors.

Khurshid Sattaur, Commissioner General of GRA

Tax evasion is the method of illegally avoiding taxes one owes and on an aggregate basis, hampers governmental efficiency. While taxation is considered a major tool of economic management, Ram said that

“in Guyana,

there is one law for the rich,

the powerful and the connected

and another for the poor,

the voiceless and the helpless.

The immorality of Guyana is that

one set of people pays the tax

while another spends it.”

Dr. Thomas who also spoke on the issue, said, “Today, the tax system is fractured and, far too costly, burdensome, and inefficient.” Furthermore, the government on its competitiveness website: competitiveness.org.gy stated that since the early 1990s, Guyana’s Tax system has undergone a series of reforms aimed at stimulating investment. In 2000, the government established the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) to lead the implementation of the accelerated programme. Several of the most important reforms are in the pipeline. They include, the Value Added Tax (VAT) and Excise Tax. Even in the face of the aforementioned, Ram contended that tax reform in our case has first to deal with tax evasion and administration. Ram said, “This government has been paying lip service to tax reform ever since it came to power. Unless it thinks that imposing VAT on top of high personal tax rates is tax reform, it has done nothing and tax evasion is now worse than it has ever been. “VAT has brought in immoral windfalls, reducing the incentive for reform which the Government has delegated to the National Competitiveness Strategy. So far, that body which is chaired by the President has shown no intention, appetite or capacity to deal with it. “And the GRA is either overwhelmed by the level and scale of tax evasion or is not utilizing the tools and deploying the resources at its disposal to deal with the crisis.” The accountant added, “While laws exist for dealing with tax evasion, resources available to the revenue authority are clearly inadequate to deal with the apparent scale of this practice.”

Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram

He added, “The administrative capability to deal with this crisis must be enhanced by better staffing, training and salaries.” However, contesting these statements was GRA Commissioner General, Khurshid Sattaur.  “While Mr. Ram seems to be suggesting that the GRA has a resource problem, it is regrettable that he does not recognize the tremendous changes that have occurred.” “These include major reforms in the information technology infrastructure, creation of a semi autonomous agency that is outside of the public service, significant reforms in operational procedures that resulted in over 400 Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) in use and the reform of the actual organizational structure from being a tax type to a functional organization.” He added that Professor Thomas is not aware of the vast improvements that have occurred over the past 13 years in revenue collection. Sattaur said, “Even though I accept that there is room for improvement, it should be noted that ten years ago, the aggregate collection was a mere $50 billion. At the same rate of exchange, it is expected to be in excess of $125 billion by the end of the year and this is achieved despite abolishing six taxes and introducing VAT to replace these inefficient taxes. “In addition, the threshold today is $600,000 per annum compared to probably thirty-three per cent of that years ago and reduction of rates as well. Even companies now pay as low as 30 percent, which is the same rate that individuals pay.” The Commissioner General reiterated his disagreement with the belief purported by the duo that tax evasion is on the increase as GRA has seen a massive increase in the amount of revenues collected. Moreover, Ram on his website (http://www.chrisram.net.) called for more relevant information to be disclosed in public documents. “Principal among these would be the annual report of the Guyana Revenue Authority which the Minister of Finance has failed to table in the National Assembly for some time now. Let us see how much the construction sector, the bauxite sector, the forestry sector, the agriculture sector including rice, sugar and other crops sectors contribute to the national coffers, and how much remissions, rebates and holidays they receive which may amount to billions each year. “We should be able to see how much each region contributes and compare this with their receipts from the central government,” the accountant said. However, Sattaur in response to this said, “There seems to be an agenda to bring down the agency and the government at all cost. GRA is audited by the Auditor General and the findings are laid before the Public Accounts Committee every year.” “If we have to get to the heart of tax evasion, then one would have to investigate the lifestyles of some of these major company executives who are allowed to pander to their luxurious and insatiable appetites from the high level of aiding and abetting that takes place with their auditors. One should ask Mr. Ram. He will enlighten you. That’s why the accounting profession which has a major role to play is silent as they are the main contributors.”

Dem Boys Seh…All dem smart man hiding under Donald shur-jak

The Heist of Guyana got a lot of heads spinning. De taxpayers now understand the scampishness and lawlessness dat was tekkin place right under they nose. People start asking serious questions and all dem smart man who plan de scampishness start panicking. Some ah dem start losing weight like if dem got bad sick. Dem boys see one man walking down de road and dem see he two back pocket kissing. Dem nearly didn’t recognize he and Doctor Leslie. When dem ask he wha happen he start fuh cry. But he tell dem boys that dem got people who deh more bad than he although it ain’t showing. And is true. Brazzy shedding weight like if he stop eating. And that is a man who like to eat. De Rat, de Bees and all de rest of dem kavakamites didn’t expect that all dem schemes woulda come out in de open in this manner. De skin up was so simple that it create an explosion in the people’s minds and expose the true colours of those in charge of all of de country money. When they were preparing their schemes, they were dazzling the nation with mixed-up language. Every day was something new and different. Ask Brazzy, Ashni, Irfaat and Rob de Earth. Dem boys know that when thief man come fuh kick down yuh door, rob or shoot yuh, dem never think for one moment that dem could get ketch. But de old people always seh “Every day bucket go ah well, one day ee bamzee must drop out” De Rat, Bobby along wid de forty chores wha hiding under Donald shur-jak, feel when dem bamzee get expose to de cool breeze. In jail it gun be exposed to dem newfound friends, some of who ain’t see anything fresh fuh a lang time. Talk half and watch how dem getting dizzy.

November 10, 2013 7:14 PM

Breaking News: November 12, 2013: NY Judge rules in Kaieteur News favor in a libel case brought by New GPC (Bobby Ramroop).

Ramroop admits to having items recorded as already delivered to GPHC

Bharrat Jagdeo’s best friend Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’Ramroop, who owns New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (GPC), has lashed out at the Auditor General of Guyana over the discrepancies raised in his 2012 reports. Ramroop yesterday accused the Audit Office of “sloppy fieldwork by junior officials in the Office of the Auditor General.” But the Auditor General found among other things that there were several million dollars worth of drugs still to be supplied by Ramroop. These drugs were part of the more than US$15M worth of drug contracts Ramroop received from the Ministry of Health and the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).

Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop

Ramroop admitted this and called on the Ministry of Health and GPHC, “to remove its goods from the corporation warehouses as soon as possible.” In seeking to explain the non supply of the drugs, Ramroop has also conceded that the New GPC is still currently storing a very large volume of items for the Ministry and GPHC which New GPC recorded as delivered. Ramroop said that Contracts, particularly the larger orders, sometimes overlap from a consumption point of view into the following financial year. Hence, it is not unusual that some items are not collected by the Ministry at the end of the fiscal year. However, it is unusual that these items would be recorded by New GPC as delivered. He said that national budgets are approved some time between March and July and hence the quantities being ordered sometimes cater for this overlap. But for more than a decade the budget has been presented in February. Ramroop said that the Ministry receives goods based on their own pre-determined consumption pattern and that means deliveries are staggered throughout the year. Ramroop also claims that contracts are signed at different times during the year, and so for those signed in the later months, deliveries are actually intended to roll over into the following year. On the matter of bank guarantees raised by the Auditor General, Ramroop claims that they are not meant to be valid for the original sum throughout the life of the contract. “As deliveries are made, the risk is obviously decreasing and hence a bank guarantee can be, and is, often renewed for a lesser amount.” In attempting to discredit the Auditor General, Ramroop said that the report appears to have been compiled on the basis of simplistic interactions with junior and non-technical personnel within the Ministry and GPHC administrations and does not take full cognisance of the nature of the supply chain process for pharmaceuticals and related products and the environment in which we operate. Speaker of the National Assembly, Raphael Trotman, made the report public this past week and it has revealed that Ramroop’s New GPC received in excess of $3B to supply drugs to the Ministry of Health and the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC). Another $1B was spread across more than a dozen local and international companies.

Auditor General Deodat Sharma

Ramroop received the largest chunk of the drugs purchased by Government last year and according to the Auditor General, this was done based on the fact that he was pre-qualified since 2010. This means that in 2010, Ramroop’s New GPC would have been selected to supply drugs to Government without having to go to public tender until that prequalification status expires. Between the Ministry of Health and GPHC, the government spent just over $4B in drug purchases last year.

AFC councillor details widespread corruption within party

WEDNESDAY, 11 SEPTEMBER 2013 15:38 ADMINISTRATOR

Canadian Govt. sees need to fight

corruption in Guyana

The Canadian Government hopes for a reduction in the levels of corruption in Guyana and is looking for a more active public debate on issues of corruption resulting from increased awareness.

Nicole Giles, Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana

The Canadian Government feels that there is a broad consensus in Guyana on the need to fight corruption.
This is according to Nicole Giles, Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, who said, “One of the best ways to fight corruption is to shed light upon it…by shedding light on the issue of corruption, and the role that everyone can play in fighting it”.
High Commissioner Giles was at the time responding to queries of the High Commission’s involvement with Transparency International Guyana Inc (TIGI) in the erection of two billboards advising “You can Stop Corruption”.
One of the billboards is installed at the Demerara Harbour Bridge and the other at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) on Camp Road.
She said that the Canadian Government is hoping to encourage a more proactive attitude as well as a sense of civic responsibility. “The message ‘You can stop Corruption’ reminds people that their actions have an impact on the rest of society and, hopefully, serves as a reminder that corruption is neither inevitable nor insurmountable”, she said.
According to the High Commissioner, this initiative was funded by Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), which provides resources to support local needs and interests.  The CFLI is intended to address a broad range of issues, including the advancement of democratic principles, she added.
Giles said that CFLI projects are made by the Canadian High Commission or Embassy in each country where Canada is making funds available.
The Canadian Government supports Transparency International, which is active in over 100 countries and is the parent body of TIGI. Transparency International works to increase awareness and reduce corruption, to improve standards of governance, and to strengthen transparency.
“Transparency International and its affiliates work to improve public awareness and pressure for action through publications and media and public affairs campaigns, including through billboards campaigns such as the current campaign in Guyana,” she said.
President of TIGI, Anand Goolsarran, recently said that with the Guyana Government showing no tangible evidence of wanting to fight corruption, Guyana is likely to be rated very low once again on the Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).
He suspects that Guyana would not improve from its current rating of second from bottom in the Western Hemisphere or Americas. And, if Guyana makes any improvements it would be marginal because the country continues to lack anti-corruption mechanisms such as the Public Procurement Commission, the Integrity Commission, and an Ombudsman.
According to the High Commissioner, “The World Economic forum reports that corruption is widely recognized as a major obstacle to the stability, growth and competitiveness of economies. As such, the fight against corruption is strategically crucial for the success of businesses and promoting prosperity. The Government of Canada supports these findings”.
The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry, though it did not list corruption as one of the 20 barriers to competitiveness in Guyana, highlighted the need for the urgent establishment of the Public Procurement Commission, which the TIGI and Opposition Parties have been calling for.
According to Giles, in June, at the G8 Summit, Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, emphasized that “Corruption is wrong. It starves the poor, it poisons the system, it saps the faith of people in progress. it wrecks the case for aid. When we see it we should condemn it utterly.”
She noted that Canada is proud of its role as a global partner in fighting corruption both at home and abroad.
Giles stressed, “Corruption is a threat to everyone’s well being – from the people who participate in it, to the people who see it happening around them.  The perception of corruption puts a strain on public confidence and breeds cynicism and civic discontent. No society can afford not to safeguard against the threat of corruption.”
According to Giles, transparency and the fight against corruption are pertinent to economic growth for all countries. “A transparent and open business environment enables open economies and open societies. This environment in turn promotes security and stability both of which are critical components in encouraging investment,” she said.

The Canadian Government needs to understand that the PPP/C Govt is the corrupted entity, how can the poor people of Guyana fight the Government, they can only not go out and vote for them comes election time. But the scared to call elections

The Canadian Govt, the United States Govt, and the British Govt needs to pressure the Guyana Govt. Corruptions are abounds all over in Guyana.

Guyana Government indifferent to

Corruption – US State Department

Government’s apparent ineffectiveness in implementing laws that provide for criminal penalties for corruption by public officials has been highlighted by the United States of America 2012 Human Rights Report.
The report, which was released over the weekend, stated that there remains widespread public perception of corruption involving officials at all levels, including the police and the judiciary.
“The World Bank’s Worldwide Governance Indicators assessed that government corruption was a serious problem,” the report said.
The Guyana Police Force bore the brunt of the report’s assessment, which pointed to allegations of police officers being connected to the drug underworld.
In October 2011 the Guyana Police Force’s Crime Chief submitted a report to the Minister of Home Affairs regarding allegations by a senior officer that many officers had connections to drug dealers.
According to the report, the Minister considered it but has so far taken no action.
In fact, one of the officers against whom the allegations were made is still driving a BMW that reportedly belongs to an alleged drug dealer.
Meanwhile, the report zeroed in on the fact that public officials are subject to financial disclosure laws and are required to submit information about personal assets to the Integrity Commission.
However, although the Prime Minister had stated in June last year that members would soon be appointed to this Commission, it is still not up and running.
On June 14 last year, the National Assembly approved a government motion that members submit annual declarations in keeping with provisions of the Integrity Act, but compliance was uneven, and the Commission had no resources for enforcement or investigations.
The Act sets out both criminal and administrative sanctions for nondisclosure.
If a person fails to file a declaration, the fact can be published in the daily newspapers and the Official Gazette.
Failure to comply with the law can lead to a summary conviction, fines, and imprisonment for six to 12 months.
If property was not disclosed as it should have been, the Magistrate convicting the defendant will order the defendant to make a full disclosure within a set time frame.
The report said that no such publication or convictions have occurred.
When it comes to the Office of the Auditor General, the report was uncomplimentary.
The Office of the Auditor General scrutinizes the expenditure of public funds on behalf of Parliament and conducts financial audits of all publicly funded entities, including donor-funded entities, local government agencies and trade unions and reports to the National Assembly.
However, the US human rights report stated that the effectiveness of the office remained limited since the government may or may not act on the discrepancies noted in its reports.
“Observers noted that recurring discrepancies were repeatedly highlighted in the reports without officials taking appropriate follow-up actions to investigate and resolve the discrepancies,” the report highlighted.
The 2001 constitution called for the establishment of a Public Procurement Commission (PPC) to monitor public procurement and ensure that authorities conduct the procurement of goods and services in a fair, transparent, competitive and cost-effective manner.
However, the government never constituted the PPC despite public criticism of the present system’s ineffectiveness in awarding government contracts in an equitable and transparent manner.
The report stated that under pressure from opposition parties in parliament, the government promised to establish the PPC by June last year, but this has not yet materialized.
A 2011 Access to Information Act, intended to promote transparency and accountability within the government and public institutions, provided for persons to secure access to information under the control of public authorities and for the appointment of a Commissioner of Information.
Again the US human rights report highlighted that so far the government had not issued implementing regulations or appointed a Commissioner.

Guyana most corrupt country in

English-speaking Caribbean

-watchdog body calls for Procurement Commission, new Integrity Commission,

“When desperately needed development funds are stolen by corrupt individuals and institutions, poor and vulnerable people are robbed of the education, health care and other essential services.”- UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon

Four days before the world observes the United Nations International Anti-Corruption Day, new rankings have placed Guyana as the most corrupt country in English-speaking Caribbean countries.
According to rankings released yesterday by watchdog corruption body, Transparency International (TI), the 2012 Annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) has placed Guyana at a lowly 133 out of total of 174 countries. Guyana managed a miserly 28 points out of 100.
And in the presentation of the Transparency International findings, head of the local chapter, Attorney at Law, Gino Persaud, and Secretary Frederick Collins, both lauded Kaieteur News which has been highlighting corruption in Guyana.
The newspaper has been investigating the various contracts issued under questionable circumstances and examining the numerous projects, many of which were believed to be overpriced.

TIGI officials: From left is Vice-President, Dr. Anand Goolsarran; President, Gino Persaud and Director, Frederick Collins.

The results were released by Transparency Institute Guyana Inc. (TIGI), the local contact of TI.
TI would have conducted its surveys gauging perceptions to corruption by examining relations in the public sector, the local police, Customs, procurement and doing business.
The index has become a signature tool widely used around the globe to measure the perceived levels of public sector corruption in countries and looked at keenly by investors and multilateral lending agencies.
Denmark, Finland and New Zealand tie for first place with scores of 90, helped by strong access to information systems and rules governing the behaviour of those in public positions.
Guyana tied Comoros, Honduras, Iran, Kazakhstan, and Russia.
“This ranking places us at the bottom of the English Speaking Caribbean with only Haiti below us at 165. It is noteworthy that in the Caribbean, Barbados ranks at 15 with a score of 76; both St. Lucia and Bahamas rank at 22 with a score of 71 and St. Vincent and the Grenadines rank at 36 with a score of 62,” TIG’s President, Gino Persaud said during a press conference at the offices of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) on Waterloo Street.
Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia once again cling to the bottom rung of the index. In these countries, the lack of accountable leadership and effective public institutions underscore the need to take a much stronger stance against corruption.
At the press conference also were former Auditor General, Dr. Anand Goolsarran, who is TIGI’s Vice President; and Director, Frederick Collins.
Persaud, a lawyer, said that the advocacy body will be writing government on the findings of the index.

Integrity Commission…
TIGI listed a number of measures that Government will have to implement to raise Guyana’s rankings. These include the appointment of competent and independent members of the Integrity Commission to scrutinize the financial disclosures of politicians and bureaucrats and with adequate staff and resources to ensure the Commission can adequately fulfill its mandate.
Persaud noted that Prime Minister Sam Hinds in June had promised to have new members of the Integrity Commission sworn within a week.
Among other things TIGI is also calling for the urgent appointment of members of the Public Procurement Commission to regulate government contracts and minimize their involvement; the implementation of modern anti-corruption legislation; implementation of whistle-blowing legislation; the enforcement of existing anti-corruption laws by investigating and prosecuting the corrupt and the strengthening of existing anti-corruption institutions such as the Guyana Police Force and the Financial Intelligence established under the money laundering legislation.
“These institutions are weak and unable to counter serious white collar crime and corrupt activities,” Persaud said in his read statement.
Guyana should also appoint an Ombudsman to address grievances from members of the public; ensure that all public monies are placed to the credit of the Consolidated Fund, and no public expenditure must be incurred without Parliamentary approval.
TIGI also called for all appointments to public offices to be advertised and made with due regard to technical competence, and not loyalty; and for the Access to Information Act passed in Parliament to be strengthened and made operational.
TIGI also called for the strengthening of civil society and for organisations such as the Guyana Bar Association, the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Private Sector Commission, Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and the Guyana Press Association to become more involved in combating corruption by speaking out against corruption and being proactive within its own membership on tackling corruption and by partnering with us for collective efforts.
“We call on the press corps to be more vigilant in acting as a professional, impartial and responsible watchdog body against corruption.”

Corruption exists
According to Goolsarran, most countries are doing everything possible to “get to the top of the table” of rankings. He urged, as a start, that government accept the index in good faith and do something about it.
The officials drew reference to a judge in Brazil who targeted a number of politicians close to former President Lula and who was the laughing stock of many. The politicians were brought to trial.
Asked to comment on the impact of the findings, Dr Goolsarran said that serious investors use the findings by Transparency International to determine whether they would invest in a country. Many have opted to cancel plans for investment in Guyana.
TIGI is seeking funding now to educate Guyanese and will seek to meet with government and Members of the Parliament to discuss the issue which ultimately affects the way Guyana is perceived.
The TIGI officials refused to be drawn into answering questions whether President Donald Ramotar had done enough to tackle corruption in Guyana.
According to Collins, newspaper reporters and even the Auditor General’s annual report have been indicators of the situation of corruption in Guyana.
TIGI also disclosed that it has been asked by the Minister of Natural Resources to work with his Ministry on mining, an area which has been besotted with issues of corruption and lawlessness in recent years.
According to TIGI, the index demonstrates that corruption continues to ravage societies around the globe. Two-thirds of the 176 countries ranked in the 2012 index score below 50, on a scale from 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 100 (perceived to be very clean), showing that public institutions need to be more transparent, and powerful officials held more accountable.
According to Huguette Labelle, the Chair of Transparency International, “Governments need to integrate anti-corruption actions into all public decision-making. Priorities include better rules on lobbying and political financing, making public spending and contracting more transparent and making public bodies more accountable to people. After a year of focus on corruption, we expect governments to take a tougher stance against the abuse of power.”
UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon has said that corruption afflicts all countries, undermining social progress and breeding inequality and injustice.
“When desperately needed development funds are stolen by corrupt individuals and institutions, poor and vulnerable people are robbed of the education, health care and other essential services. All of us have a responsibility to take action against the cancer of corruption.”
The private sector, too, stands to gain enormously from effective action, he said. “Corruption distorts markets, increases costs for companies and ultimately punishes consumers.”
According to the BBC, corruption was the world’s most talked about issue in 2010 and 2011.

AFC councillor details widespread corruption within party

WEDNESDAY, 11 SEPTEMBER 2013 15:38 ADMINISTRATOR

Drugs purchase Libel case…US judge

tells New GPC …‘Kaieteur News never

libeled you’

-    Publications were in public interest, not mere gossip

In a huge slap to New GPC in its libel cases filed against Kaieteur News Inc. (Publishers of Kaieteur News’ New York Edition), a Supreme Court Judge in Manhattan, New York, Justice Joan Kenney, ruled that the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation (New GPC) never established that it was libeled.

Corruption, Lack of Transparency in

Guyana Government-US Report

If Guyanese expect foreigners to do what they refuse to/are afraid to do, then this problem will continue.

Why do we think that foreign govts, which have their own problems, will focus on Guyana?  Think of Obama and his Obamacare problems, the crack head mayor of Toronto, and the numerous problems in the UK, which has had at least two, and maybe more recessions within in the last 5 years.

Govt. inks MoU with ‘Ghost Company’ for US$30M plant

…Owner says company cannot be found, because it do not put ads on internet

By Latoya Giles

The Company, with which Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to set up a US$30 Million recycling plant here, could not be found on any Canadian business registration listings.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon announced the MoU, last week and said that it was a Canadian Company. That Company was later identified as Natural Globe Inc headed by Mohamed Osman.

When Kaieteur News contacted Osman yesterday seeking clarifications about his company and the fact it could not be found registered in Canada, he claimed that it is in fact registered in Guyana.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Collin Croal (right) handing over the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to Natural Globe Incorporated’s Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Osman.

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Ganga Persaud, also claimed when contacted that the company is Guyanese with a Canadian owner.

Osman, by telephone, told Kaieteur News that his company, Natural Globe Inc, was registered in Guyana five years ago. According to Osman, Natural Globe Inc has a Canadian parent company that has several branches. He was however unable to give this publication a name for this company, only to say that it operates in Ontario, Canada.

Osman said that ‘Mogford Llc’ is one of the branches under that Canadian parent company. It is the one that is working in collaboration with Natural Globe Inc. However a search online also failed to unearth any record of this company, Mogford.

When asked about the fact that none of the companies he mentioned can be found on the internet, Osman then said that they do not do any “internet ads.’ He said that this was because his company “uses innovative techniques which persons could steal.”

Osman in the same breath however, agreed that the “internet” was a great business market place.

When asked about any other countries in which he has operations, Osman said pointed to the Caribbean but declined to name any specific country.

“I have personnel people working there but I can’t mention too much because I don’t want it blown away,” Osman said.

Meanwhile Local Government Minister, Persaud, told Kaieteur News that he could not say for sure whether Dr Luncheon made a mistake by saying the company was Canadian.

According to the Minister, he does not know if the company is registered in Canada, but he knows that it has a Guyanese registration.

Persaud said that the company is being run by a Canada-based Guyanese.

Questioned about whether any investigation was undertaken by the Ministry into the background of and ability of the Company to undertake what it has promised, Persaud responded that government is “satisfied” with all the information which was submitted by the company.

“We just needed a recycling plant which is in keeping with the needs we outlined,” the Minister said. The Minister said that he does not know about the technical capabilities of the company, or about its business in Canada.

Ghost Company Panther Corporation is another Canadian company that had submitted an offer to build a recycling plant but was turned down by Government. This company is headed by Michael Mosgrove who had offered to pursue a US$26M recycling centre locally, complete with curbside pick-up for less than the garbage collection costs today.

Panther Corporation had also offered the government a Bio diesel section to the facility, but was asked not to include that. “I’m very disappointed in how the government has concluded to go with a company that has no proven track record or experience….It’s like you’re giving it to a ghost,” said Mosgrove.

Speaking with Kaieteur News yesterday, Mosgrove said that he has read what was reported about the company which signed the MoU and “nothing makes sense.”

According to Mosgrove, it is clear that based on what Mohammed Osman said, “he has no knowledge or experience in recycling.” Mosgrove said, “He (Osman) speaks about a US$30M plant in Guyana that is expected to service  Georgetown, East Coast Demerara and the East Bank Demerara. That plant would probably serve around 250,000 persons which is  nowhere close to being a national provider,” Mosgrove explained.

He said that for any company to invest $30M to service such a small market, “something is definitely wrong.”

Mosgrove also noted that Osman did not indicate any information about the type of systems he would be using. “He (Osman) said he would be making byproducts, but still does not indicate what these byproducts are.”

Mosgrove said another thing that baffled him was the fact that Osman’s company has only ever built a prototype and not a commercial establishment.

“Everything which was said by Osman does not hold merit…it’s more idiotic, but it is unclear why the Ministry did not pick up on this,” Mosgrove opined.

Last year Mosgrove’s Canadian-based recycling company embarked on a project in Jamaica to build the first solar-powered recycling centre representing a multi-billion-dollar investment and the prospect of thousands of jobs being created. The company invested US$26M to construct and outfit a 30,000 square foot modular facility in Retirement, St James. With the approval of the St. James Parish council and the Mayor of Montego Bay, Panther signed an MOU with the Parish. Over the last several months Panther worked with all the parishes to establish a National Recycling Programme. Although it was taking time, there has been great progress with each and every parish.

Dem boys seh…Guyana like mad people

Guyana just tie up a deal wid a Canadian company which is a Guyanese company which got a Canadian owner who is a Guyanese man. Dem boys confuse when dem hear all that. Dem can’t understand what Ganga de Parsad; No man  de Tikka and Rob de Earth brother, OId King Croal try fuh tell people when dem sign de agreement wid de Canadian who is a Guyanese. Wha ketch dem eye is de money. De man tell dem how he coming wid US$30 million fuh recycle de nonsense and try fuh pick any sense that might come out dem mouth. When people check dem can’t find de company nowhere. It ain’t deh pun line neither de hook. It ain’t deh pun de internet. De biggest laugh dem boys get was when dem ask he how nobody can find he on de internet. He tell dem that he ain’t deh pun de internet because he don’t put he company ad pun de internet. Well dem boys want to know if DDL, Banks DIH, de Waterfalls paper and de Ministry of Public Works does put dem company ads pun de net. De madness nah stop deh. De Canadian who is a Guyanese seh that he got personnel people all over de Caribbean. When people ask which part of de Caribbean he seh that he can’t talk because he company gun get blow away. This is de same man who sit down wid de Minister and mek big plan and sign deal. When dem boys ask Ganga de man seh that he satisfy wid wha de man talk. He seh that de government happy fuh deal wid mad people and con men. Ganga recommend and de government happy. He seh that dem only concern wid a part of de US$30 million. Once dem get dem cut, de man can put down coconut plant, artificial plant and even cocoa plant. Is that same attitude mek Brazzy and Bharrat bring Fip. Dem see de hydro money and dem didn’t care wha kind of hydro Guyana get. It coulda been hydro seed wha some of dem already got. Ask Brazzy and Fip. Birds of a feather.

Talk half and see wha kind of plant dem putting down.

Public Service Union threatens strike action

• Wednesday, 13 November 2013 21:19

Consultation on key appointments…

AFC calls for Granger, Ramotar

to “get on with the job”

  The Alliance For Change (AFC) is calling on all Guyanese to take a stand and demand their Constitutional Rights, among them and most importantly; an Ombudsman, a Human Rights Commission, a Public Appellate Tribunal and a Public Procurement Commission. AFC’s Treasurer, Dominic Gaskin at a press conference yesterday, said that Guyanese have, for too long, been denied these rights as a result of the Government not taking the necessary steps to have these offices filled.

AFC Dominique Gaskin

Gaskin told media operatives that “the AFC recognises that filling these offices calls for consultation between the President and the Leader of the Opposition and we call on the holders of these two offices to ‘get on with the job”. He posited that leaving these critical offices vacant could be viewed as a denial of democracy and of the oath of elected officials to honour and uphold the Constitution. “In addition, it does not harbour well for the promotion and preservation of law when our Constitution, the supreme law of our land, is being subverted by way of non-compliance or disregard for sections of that document. Our President, Ministers and other elected officials need to be brought to task for this state of affairs and it is time for all citizens, in their private capacity and through civil society representative organisations and non-governmental organisations to demand all our constitutional rights.” Gaskin pointed out the recent “huge hue and cry over” the continued operation of the Ethnic Relations Commission, though all the nominated Commissioners would have served their full term in office. “The AFC demands that the same fervour be placed on filling the offices of the other Commissions, Tribunal and Office of the Ombudsman. They are as equally important as the ERC.”

Minister’s daughter to invest US$15M as business partner – says Canadian investor Mohamed Osman

Govt. inks US$30M MoU with ‘Ghost Company’ for recycling plant…

- Company only registered three months ago, not six years as claim

- Media scaring away foreign investors – Govt.

Natural Globe Incorporated, the company, with which Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to set up a US$30 Million recycling plant here, was only registered in Guyana three months ago.

CEO of Natural Globe Inc., Mohamed Osman

This is a clear contradiction to what the CEO of the Company, Mohamed Osman, told this newspaper on Wednesday.

He had previously claimed that the company is six years old but public records have since revealed this as not being factual and that Osman only registered the company, Natural Globe Inc., three months ago, on August 13, 2013.

He had said too that the proposal for the recycling plant was submitted 14 months ago. Osman yesterday told Kaieteur News that the company, registered locally, has as its directors himself, his son and another female, whom he refused to name.

But in a surprising twist of events, the public records disclosed that the other director and shareholder is in fact Adrianna Webster, the daughter of the Human Services Minister, Jennifer Webster.

The names on the business registration were Mohammed Osman, Adrianna Webster and Imzamam Osman. Adrianna Webster also resides in Canada.

Osman told this publication that it is he and this female investor that would be putting US$15M each. He said that they are not looking for other investors and that they had all of the required cash and are just waiting on the ‘go-ahead.’

Asked about the source of his finances to back such an ambitious project, Osman claimed that he is the Vice President of a Canadian Company, Mogford Enterprises, and that he owns half of this company along with a man he identified as John Mogford.

As he made this claim, a Kaieteur News reporter commenced an online search, to no avail, as no website for this company could be found and Osman was at a loss to give an explanation.

Pressed further on the source of his share of the financing, he said that Mogford Enterprise is the parent company for a subsidiary called the Tadger Group International.

While there was no website found for the parent company, one was located for what he claimed is the subsidiary. When questioned further about this company; details such as contact information, among other things, Osman said he could not recall at the time and would text Kaieteur News the information.

Minister Jennifer Webster

Efforts yesterday to contact the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Ganga Persaud proved futile. A woman identifying herself as the Minister’s Secretary repeatedly claimed that Persaud was in a meeting.

The Minister however released a public missive yesterday evening which in itself exposed Osman and again contradicted his claims.

According to the Minister’s statement, “Osman is also an active member of the Tadger’s Fuel Economy Solutions, which is also a key player for environmental management in Ontario, Canada…Mr. Osman serves in the capacity of Technical Adviser to this agency.”

On Wednesday this newspaper had done a search throughout several Canadian business registration listings and nothing was found on Osman or his company. Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon in announcing the MoU last week, had said that it was a Canadian Company.

The Company was later identified as Natural Globe Inc., registered in Guyana, with Osman as a shareholder. Osman had told Kaieteur News that Natural Globe Inc., has a Canadian parent company with several branches.  He was however unable to give this publication a name for this company, only to say that it operates in Ontario, Canada.

When asked about the fact that none of the companies he mentioned can be found on the internet, Osman then said that they do not do any “internet ads.’ He said that this was because his company “uses innovative techniques which persons could steal.”

Local Government Minister Ganga Persaud on Wednesday last had also said that he could not say for sure whether Dr Luncheon made a mistake by saying the company was Canadian.

According to the Minister, he does not know if the company is registered in Canada, but he knows that it has a Guyanese registration.

Questioned about whether any investigation was undertaken by the Ministry into the background and ability of the Company to undertake what it has promised, Persaud responded that government is “satisfied” with all the information which was submitted by the company.

“We just needed a recycling plant which is in keeping with the needs we outlined,” the Minister said.   He said that he does not know about the technical capabilities of the company, or about its business in Canada.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Local Government in its public missive deemed the articles written by both this newspaper and the Stabroek News as incorrect, mischievous and misleading and questioned the intention behind the articles.

The Ministry questioned if the articles were meant to scare investors from Guyana.

Govt. inks MoU with ‘Ghost Company’…It’s a stark reminder of the Fip Motilall rip-off – AFC

  Alliance for Change (AFC) General Secretary, David Patterson has expressed disbelief and dissatisfaction at reports that the Cabinet unanimously agreed to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a company that seemingly doesn’t exist. At an AFC press conference held at Sidewalk Café yesterday, Patterson told media operatives that this move by the government is a stark reminder of the Fip Motilall Amaila Falls deal. “It has happened before; we have seen it with Fip Motilall.”

AFC’s David Patterson

Secretary to the Cabinet, Dr. Roger Luncheon had last week announced Cabinet’s approval to the signing of the MoU with a Canadian company that was later identified as Natural Globe Inc. That MoU is to secure the company’s setting up of a US$30M recycling plant in Guyana. Upon checks, Kaieteur News discovered that the company has no record of its existence on the internet. As the newspaper sought explanation and clarification, the owner of the ‘company’ Mohamed Osman, said that his company refrains from advertising to avoid copycats who might want to steal ideas. Patterson said yesterday that he cannot comprehend how an entire Cabinet of over 20 Ministers and other Government Officials, including the President, could have agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with such a company. Patterson added that this is a glaring example of what the Government can do if it’s no objection in the awarding of contacts is continued. The Politician once again called for the immediate establishment of the Public Procurement Commission as he reiterated his party’s non- support for Cabinet to maintain its “no objection” power in the procurement process. Even though Makeshwar ‘Fip’ Motilall initially benefited from the US$15.4M contract, in particular the construction of the access road, it is still unclear the actual amount of money he walked away with from the Amaila Falls Hydro Electric Project. It is also still unclear whether Government conducted due diligence on Motilall to ascertain if he was deserving of an interim licence for Guyana’s hydro-electric power development, a huge undertaking requiring massive investments. Winston Brassington, Head of the Technical Team for the Project, who was Government’s representative at a public consultation, dodged queries on both matters. Synergy Holdings Inc. was granted an interim licence on July 29, 2002, for the development of a Hydro-electric power station and reservoir, and the construction of a transmission line to the coast to sell electricity. Motilall later sold his interim licence to Sithe Global Amaila Holdings Inc. In relation to the “ghost company,” Patterson said he could not stress enough how bad it is that “this agreement got the blessing of the entire cabinet.” It seems as if government and Opposition will go head to head on this one, as the Opposition is maintaining that there must be a Procurement Commission and only that body will award contracts, while Government remains steadfast in its position of maintaining its input in the awarding of contracts, and has tabled an amendment in the National Assembly to ensure same.

GPHC boss sent on leave

• Friday, 15 November 2013 11:32
• Add new comment

Chief Executive Officer of the

Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, Michael Khan

Looks like Mitwah donated a lot of money to the AFC. According to Yusuf, he must be a very worried man but is hiding his shame.

Govt. inks MoU with ‘Ghost Company’…It’s a stark reminder of the Fip Motilall rip-off – AFC

Minister confirms daughter’s link to ‘Ghost Company’

…denies claim by CEO that her daughter is US$15M investor

…distance herself from company but provides insight into the financial structure

Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Jennifer Webster, has confirmed the link between her daughter and the company pursuing a $US30 Million recycling plant in Guyana, but insists that her daughter is not the $US15 million investor. On Monday Government inked an MoU with Natural Globe Incorporated, the company, which has proposed to set up the recycling plant.

Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Jennifer Webster

Webster yesterday responded to the claim by Chief Executive Officer of the company Mohammed Osman, that her daughter, Andriana Webster, would be investing half of the money in the project. The Minister vehemently denied this and said that her daughter was only a director in the Company and not a shareholder in the project. The Human Services Minister yesterday held a press conference in the boardroom of her Ministry and distanced herself from the company entirely saying that she has no ties to it. She added that “every person is entitled to live his or her separate life regardless of the affiliation of his or her family members.” According to Webster, she does not exercise any control whatsoever over her daughter’s decisions in respect of her personal or professional life. “I do not have anything to do with this company, either personally or in my capacity as a Minister of Government. I in no way attempted to influence any decision-making process, nor did I ever participate in any negotiation process whatsoever in any form or fashion,” Webster stressed. Despite distancing herself from the project, the Minister did provide some insight into the proposed financing structure for the project. She said that it is not a case where a person’s personal money would be invested but rather it was the company that is investing the money. Minister Webster however failed to address the fact that this company was only registered in Guyana three months ago while the proposal for the recycling plant was submitted to Government 14 months ago. The Minister said that the company would be using a debt and equity structure to build the plant, meaning that the Company would invest a certain amount and the remainder of the money would be borrowed from a Bank. How did the Minister know that this is another matter up for contention? This, however, is in stark contrast to what the CEO of the Company had said one day earlier. Osman visited Kaieteur News on Thursday and said that the company had the entire US$30M required for the project. He said that it was he and the Minister’s daughter that would be making the investment.

Mohammed Osman

 

 

Minister Webster said that she would be advising her daughter ‘accordingly’ should it be proven that Osman did indeed say that. In defending her daughter, Minister Webster said that her daughter, Adrianna Webster is a 28-year-old professional. According to Minister Webster, her daughter is an information technology consultant who does not have that “kind of money.” She said that her daughter has been living in Canada for several years and is also a consultant for Mogford Enterprise. Osman had told this newspaper that he is the Vice President of Mogford Enterprise which is said to be the Canadian counterpart for Natural Globe Inc. Minister Webster claimed that the article carried in yesterday’s publication of Kaieteur News was inaccurate and malicious. A visibly upset Webster contended that, “the article was intended to expose her personally, her office as a Minister of Government, and the Government of Guyana to public ridicule and to perpetuate the perception of conflict of interest and corruption on my part and that of the Government of Guyana”. A point to note is that this publication’s article never dealt with the issue of the Minister having anything to do with the company Natural Globe Inc. She accused this publication of attempting to  imply or convey the impression that her daughter’s professional pursuit “is as a result of some undue influence exercised by me upon the Government of Guyana is not only erroneous, but is an assault on my personal and professional integrity and that of my daughter.” “She maintained that when the MoU came up for consideration at the level of the Cabinet, she was not present and in fact travelling at the time.” Minister Webster, read a statement she said was from her daughter who resides in Canada. In that statement read by the Minister, her daughter denied that she was the female investor providing US$15M to any recycling plant. The woman did admit to being a director of the locally registered company Natural Globe Inc. She continued that her daughter claimed that her work is not in any way influenced by Jennifer Webster, Minister of Human Services and Social Security in the Government of Guyana. “I have my own income and my own liabilities and my decision to work with the firm is merely on a professional basis…The proposed solid waste recycling project to be undertaken in Guyana, of which I am a registered director of the company— Natural Globe Inc, is purely being undertaken by the company…In fact, the financing for this project is already in place.” The names on the local business registration for Natural Globe Inc are Mohammed Osman, his son, Imzamam Osman, and Andriana Webster. Osman on Thursday told this publication that it is he and this female investor that would be putting US$15M each. He said that they are not looking for other investors and that they had all of the required cash and are just waiting on the ‘go-ahead.’ Asked about the source of his finances to back such an ambitious project, Osman claimed that he is the Vice President of a Canadian Company, Mogford Enterprises, and that he owns half of this company along with a man he identified as John Mogford. As he made this claim, a Kaieteur News reporter commenced an online search, to no avail, as no website for this company could be found. Osman was at a loss to give an explanation. Pressed further on the source of his share of the financing, he said that Mogford Enterprise is the parent company for a subsidiary called the Tadger Group International. While there was no website found for the parent company, one was located for what he claimed is the subsidiary. A statement from the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development contradicted this position by announcing that he was merely a consultant with the company and not owner as was claimed by Osman. When questioned further about this company; details such as contact information, among other things, Osman said he could not recall at the time and would text Kaieteur News the information. He is yet to provide this information. Questioned recently about whether any investigation was undertaken by the Local Government Ministry into the background and ability of the Company to undertake what it has promised, the Subject Minister, Ganga Persaud responded that government is “satisfied” with all the information which was submitted by the company. “We just needed a recycling plant which is in keeping with the needs we outlined,” the Minister said.   He said that he does not know about the technical capabilities of the company, or about its business in Canada.

This Minister is one of Mr Jagdeo's concubines. There you have it. You now know who is the investor. 

WHERE IS THE MONEY COMING

FROM?

Thirty million Uncle Sam dollars or six billion Guyana dollars is a lot of bread. Even for massive multinational corporations whose profits dwarf the gross domestic products of small countries, such a sum would not be invested anywhere without the approval of the power men in the Boardroom.
The reason why Board approval would normally be necessary for such a relatively small investment is because of the principle of accountability. The Board of Directors of a major multinational corporation knows that a bad investment anywhere can hurt the image of the institution and therefore they would wish to approve of even such a small investment, relative to their overall worth.
Thirty million US dollars or six billion Guyana dollars is a lot of money for any company, much less one that is not listed on the worldwide web and about which not much is known. Thirty million US dollars or six billion Guyana dollars is a lot of bread for a company which has only recently been incorporated in Guyana.
Imagine then reading a report in the newspapers which suggests that for an investment of that sum that is being put into a waste recycling plant in Guyana, fifteen million US dollars will come from one person and another person will put up another fifteen million dollars.
Now where is this money coming from?  This is a legitimate question that needs to be asked of all investors coming to Guyana? In fact, one of the first tasks of due diligence on any investor is to establish the source of the funds that will be invested. No government wants to enter into an arrangement with any investor, only to find that the promised funds for the investment are not forthcoming or are from a suspicious source. This can place the entire project which the investment is expected to fund in jeopardy.
The Ministry of Local Government recently signed a MOU with a firm in which the proposed investment is supposed to be thirty million dollars. The media has every right to demand answers as to the reputation of the contractor and the source of the funding.
Guyana has had a terrible experience with a foreign firm which was contracted to build a major access road to the site of a hydroelectric facility which was to be constructed.
When the contract was first awarded this newspaper did an investigative piece and discovered that the company was operating out of a small puja job in Florida.
Questions were also immediately raised about the experience and expertise of the contractor. These concerns were never adequately addressed and the result is now history. After advancing billions of dollars to the contractor, the contract had to be terminated and billions more had to be spent to proceed with its completion. It is still not complete.
It is therefore a fair and legitimate question for the government to be asked as to the source of the fifteen million dollars each that the proposed investors will be putting up for the waste recycling plant in Guyana. Where is the money coming from?
That is what the public is entitled to know. Will it be borrowed from the local commercial banks, or will it be borrowed from foreign banks. If so who are these banks and what commitments have been provided by these banks that would have allowed the Ministry of Local Government to proceed with the issuance of a Memorandum of Understanding.
If the funds are being borrowed, one would expect that there will be some equity involved. After all, most banks would expect the borrowers to put up some of their own funds before lending such a large sum. So what is the equity contribution of the two investors that it is said will be injecting some fifteen million United States dollars into this project?
Or will two corporations be advancing the sums to be invested. If so what are the names of these corporations?
The public needs to know the answers to these questions.

Something seems to be fishy here.

Would not be surprised if Crorrupt PPP/C Jagdeo is involved here incognito.

Would not be surprised if Corrupt PPP/C Jagdeo is involved here incognito.

Ramotar condoning an illegality with drug purchased from Ramroop – Harmon

The Public Procurement Commission is the answer to the dilemma that Guyana finds itself in. Without it one man can be handed 75 per cent of the contracts for drugs and further be pre-qualified for years at a time.
This is according to Executive Member of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), Joseph Harmon, who said that while former President Bharrat Jagdeo, would have put the system in place the current Head of State, Donald Ramotar, is condoning that level of illegality.

APNU Joseph Harmon

Harmon insists that it has to be unlawful for one person to be handed contracts for such long periods without any competitive bidding.
“When you say to one man I am going to give you a contract for three or five years what are you doing to the rest of the market there?”
Harmon suggested that Government through this practice has locked itself into a position where Head of the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Corporation, Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, can now spike the price of the drugs that he sells, “which he did.”
He said that under this arrangement Ramroop can deliver drugs late, or close to expiry with no recourse and would still seek to challenge the Auditor General.
Harmon said that the arrangement with Ramroop has to be revised and “this is why we have to put in place a Public Procurement Commission.”
According to Harmon, the President and his Cabinet have to act constitutionally “because this country will go nowhere when the supreme law of the land can be dealt with in a manner with which they are”.
He said that offices such as that of the Ombudsman, an effective Integrity Commission and the Public Procurement Commission are not matters for political negotiations or bartering.
“The Constitution makes provision for a Public Procurement Commission and therefore the opposition parties need not have to beg for it or barter for it, it is the law.”
Harmon accused Ramotar of being in violation of his oath of office because he swore to uphold the constitution which makes provision for those bodies.
He said that were there a proper procurement commission in place then the nation would not be experiencing the turmoil it finds itself in and pointed to the US$30M recycling plant.
“The whole episode is ridiculous…We have people sitting at the Cabinet who don’t know a thing about what is happening.”
He suggested that for a ‘no objection’ to be given to this project, then one can imagine the level of scrutiny and due diligence that would have engaged projects such as the Amaila Falls Hydroelectric Project, the Expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport and the Specialty Hospital among others.
“This Cabinet is displaying a certain level of incompetence; it seems incapable of dealing with the most rudimentary of things…negotiation is terrible.”
Harmon said that on many occasions what in fact happens is that Winston Brassington would be tasked with putting together a number of deals and once he has signed off they are approved.
This, he said, leaves a situation where projects are negotiated without the input of lawyers or accountants and other professionals “to see if this is in the best interest of Guyana…If we have a proper Procurement Commission a number of these things would not be there.”
He said, “If we had a proper Integrity Commission with the authority to investigate the statements when they get it a lot of these Ministers who are living large from the wealth they are accumulating would have to explain it.”
Asked about the statement by Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, that the government had the support of the APNU for the passage of an amendment to preserve the ‘no objection’ status for Cabinet in the Procurement laws, Harmon denied this.
“Luncheon could say anything he wants; we never pledged any support…We have no arrangement with Dr Luncheon for the passage of this legislation.”
Harmon insists that the Constitution requires certain bodies be put in place. “What we are saying and what we will continue to say let them put it in place and the President must do it.”
He was adamant also that the Integrity Commission must be properly staffed and charged with the ability to investigate and be able to report back to the National Assembly.
Harmon suggested that “these Ministers got children, husbands and wives and what they are doing is putting things in their names so you have to draw a circle around all of these public officials.”
The APNU Executive said that in the United States some years ago he benefitted from a programme in law enforcement and drug seizures. He said that in the US there is law called the “doctrines of relations back”.
He explained that in the USA, if a person is found with any large quantity of drugs and convicted then a circle is created around that person. There is a revert to ten years prior where any and all of their connections including family members, would have to explain their wealth.
He said that when this recommendation was put to government the reply was, “Don’t worry with this.”
According to Harmon, “too much of the wealth of this country has been frittered away on friends and family while the people of this country continue to be in a level of poverty.”

“The Constitution makes provision for a Public Procurement Commission and therefore the opposition parties need not have to beg for it or barter for it, it is the law.”

Ramotar is openly breaking the law.

The day I resigned from the PPP – Ralph Ramkarran

Former Central Executive member of the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Ralph Ramkarran, has detailed his final moments as a member of that party, saying that the last straw was when he was accused of being untrustworthy. In his now weekly article posted last evening on his website, conversationtree.gy, the former two-time Speaker of the National Assembly also said that hours after his resignation, on June 30, last year, senior officials of the PPP were more concerned about the negative publicity rather than his departure.

Ralph Ramkarran

Next weekend, the PPP is heading to Berbice to hold its first national Congress without the presence of the any of the Jagans. It will also be the first time that Ramkarran, and his wife Janet, will be absent too since 1974. The party, which lost its voting majority in the National Assembly in the November 2011 General Elections for the first time in its 20-year reign, has been facing one crisis after another, including cuts to the National Budget and blocking of a number of major projects, including the flagship Amaila Falls hydro-electric and expansion of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. Last week, in response to a number of stinging criticisms, the party said that Ramkarran never raised the issue of corruption while he was making a bid to become the Presidential Candidate in the lead-up to the 2011 elections, a charge that the lawyer has denied. Ramkarran, in the article titled “The Day I Resigned From The PPP”, disclosed that shortly before that last meeting, he had written an article on pervasive corruption in Guyana. On June 29th, there was a Party Executive meeting where he was met with hostilities from party members which appeared planned “by willing and practised hands”.

Untrustworthy It was at the end of that meeting that he was “gratuitously and irrelevantly accused of being untrustworthy. After forty years in the leadership of the PPP, such an accusation was about as much as I could bear.” “Not after two decades, the 1970s and 1980s, during the most frightening political conditions in our country, discussing ultra sensitive matters in the ultra secure group of the leadership, in ultra secure conditions, given the most confidential information and (legal) tasks by that group and never found wanting. I erupted and there was loud talk. I left the meeting after a refusal to withdraw the accusation.” The meeting so badly affected him that he remained silent after returning home and his family thought he had suffered a stroke. Immediately after breakfast, on June 30h, he made the decision to quit the party. “I knew that the time had come for me to sever my fifty-year formal connection with the PPP, which went even further back into childhood.” Ramkarran said that his connections included not only the Executive and the Central Committee, but from the Party itself. “I did not speak to or consult anyone but realised that I could take no more of the years of hostility, abuse and torment that had been heaped upon me, starting in 1997, subsiding for a few years, then recommencing with studied vindictiveness and renewed venom in 2005 at the Essequibo Congress, lasting I later learnt, up to shortly before President (Donald) Ramotar was sworn in.” He said that he had thought that the hostilities would change with the elections being over. However, matters got worse. “A Cabinet had been appointed, but I was to learn that my exclusion was demanded by some, ostensibly because I did not campaign, but in reality because of the lingering hostility and vindictiveness.” He returned to writing for The Mirror, the party’s newspaper and even did outreaches. “I even allowed my name to be put up for Speaker, which I advised was a losing proposition.”

Outspoken Ramkarran, who said earlier this week that the party grew increasingly intolerant to criticisms of corruption, believed that it was not merely his “alleged contrariness” that got him into trouble, but his outspokenness too. “My presence, my independence, the fact that I spoke up and disagreed sometimes, and when insulted did not take it quietly, these could not be tolerated. It dawned upon me that I had completely alienated myself from the ruling cabal and had ceased to be seen as a team player among that group because I was not obsequiously compliant.” Ramkarran steered away from naming the party officials who felt that way but indicated that the “new” ruling group had imposed a culture of implacable hostility to internal or external views contrary to those of its own. After sending his resignation in, there were calls from a number of friends but none who were at the executive meeting. “No one would have been asked to call if the draft press statement was not included with my resignation, indicating my intention to go public. They could not have cared less about my resignation and would have welcomed it, if done quietly. Their only concern was the negative publicity.” He said that later that day, he sent a copy of the press statement to a private newspaper. On his resignation, Ramkarran said he was not merely forced to leave a room. “I was degraded so often that this time it could only mean that I was being kicked out of a treasured life of shared commitment and endeavour, achievements and setbacks, joys and sorrows, arguments won and lost, great debates in the Cheddi Jagan era, playing a role in the direction of the country, great friendships and fraternal comradeships.” Snatching this life and these memories away in such a vulgar manner was a punishment more cruel than any that could have been devised, and devised it was, awaiting only the opportunity to spring it.” Despite an apology from the party, it was obvious that it was a limp one. “The limp attempt at an apology in my absence, too little too late, could not disguise and did not address the real problems as outlined above. The steps which could have stopped my impending resignation, or reversed it even after it became public, were not taken.”

Where is my silly little antiman fren, Rev?

Outspoken Ramkarran, who said earlier this week that the party grew increasingly intolerant to criticisms of corruption, believed that it was not merely his “alleged contrariness” that got him into trouble, but his outspokenness too. “My presence, my independence, the fact that I spoke up and disagreed sometimes, and when insulted did not take it quietly, these could not be tolerated.

Who Vex, Vex!

Mits I do not DouBT.....what or who rev is....

 
Anti-man.....Rev R U 1 2

Who Vex....Vex