Govt. appoints new GRDB Board of Directors

Jul 28, 2015 News

– Claude Housty named as Chairman, Nizam Hassan as GM

Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder

Claude Housty is the new Chairman of the Guyana Rice Development Board. Kaieteur News understands that Nizam Hassan is to be the General Manager of the State entity.

A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Government yesterday announced the appointment of a new Board of Directors for the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB).

This announcement was made by the Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder at the National Rice Industry Conference, which was held at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre, Lilliendaal. It followed on the heels of a massive shake up of state entities including the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO), Guyana Power and Light (GPL), Guyana Oil Company (GUYOIL), National Insurance Scheme (NIS) by the new administration.

Housty, former General Manager of the Guyana Rice Export Board, is also taking over at a time when the entire GRDB was overhauled by the administration over the alleged misuse of state funds, especially the PetroCaribe fund, which the APNU+AFC announced was non-existent.

Nizam Hassan, meanwhile, is the former General Manager of the Guyana Marketing Corporation. He would be replacing Jagnarine Singh, who was sent on administrative leave in order to facilitate a forensic audit. This audit is ongoing and is being conducted by Hinds and Associates. It is understood that Hassan was named as the General Manager since July 20.

The new board, according to Holder, comprises representatives from the farmers and millers, in addition to consumer representatives and representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Holder went on to indicate that the Ministries of Finance, Agriculture and the legal fraternity would also feature on the Board.

An inquiry into the spending and operations of the GRDB was launched last month. Nigel Hinds and Associates will conduct the Audit. The PetroCaribe fund was identified as one of the aspects that auditors would pay close attention to.

Kaieteur News understands that auditors have combed through documents residing at the GRDB. Earlier admissions by Guyana Rice Producers Association (GRPA) General Secretary, Dharamkumar Seeraj that the previous Ministry of Finance, under former Minister Dr. Ashni Singh, bore responsibility for the missing funds, were backed up by recent pronouncements from current Finance Minister Winston Jordan.

The PetroCaribe fund is an account used to store money the Government would have saved as a result of the Venezuelan oil for rice deal that sees Venezuela supplying oil to a number of countries, including Guyana, who would pay part of the money up front, at a minimal interest rate, over a 20-year period.

In return, Guyana would supply rice to Venezuela, which accounts for 30% of Guyana’s rice market, while using the extra money to pay farmers and millers. Millions of dollars were supposed to be in the fund, especially after assurances from the PPP/C that only US$15M was used from the fund for projects like the Hope Canal and the new Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Wartsilla generators, but the new administration discovered an empty fund staring at them.