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GRDB loan…Audit exposed $100M transaction – Sharma
The Government of Guyana was never told of the transaction when it entered office, and may have never known about it had it not been for the forensic audit, currently taking place.
Junior Finance Minister Jaipaul Sharma
This is according to Junior Finance Minister Jaipaul Sharma, who bears oversight for the forensic audits. The audit into GRDB was undertaken by Nigel Hinds and Associates and was ordered by the Government back in June of 2015.
Last week forensic auditors combing through GRDB books, discovered that $100M was ‘borrowed’ from the agency by Guyana Rice Producers Association (GRPA) General Secretary Dharamkumar Seeraj, reportedly to pay farmers who had supplied paddy but were left being owed for extended periods.
According to Sharma, the loan agreement constituted just three paragraphs, complete with the signatures of former Minister of Agriculture Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, former GRDB General Manager Jagnarine Singh and Seeraj, who at the time was the Vice President of the GRDB.
The Junior Finance Minister went on to note that the loan agreement was drawn up in such an ad hoc way, that there was no mention of the purpose of the loan. In addition, there was just a promissory note to repay signed by Seeraj.
Sharma went on to relate that the present Government was not updated about the arrangement, which was brokered in July 2014, when it took office in May last.
Thus, Sharma noted, the nation would probably have never known about the agreement had it not been for the forensic audit. Also, any reason for seeking the loan could have been advanced once it was unearthed, as the reason was not stated in the paperwork in the first place, he explained.
The Minister went on to point out that there was subterfuge and irregularity throughout the entire transaction. The GRDB, he noted, was not a bank that could give loans in the first place.
According to reports, Seeraj, a serving People’s Progressive Party (PPP) Member of Parliament signed for the ‘loan’ with the understanding that it would have been repaid in October 2014. Exactly one year later, that money is yet to be repaid.
Reports went on to indicate that the loan was approved by former GRDB General Manager, Jagnarine Singh. At the time Seeraj was serving as Vice President of the GRDB, a position he relinquished in July of 2015.
At one point, the Guyana Agriculture and Investment Bank (GAIBANK) provided financing for farmers on a developmental basis. In the past two decades, however, farmers have had to use local Commercial banks with the requisite interest rates to be paid.
The rice industry has been struggling in recent times as many farmers, faced with huge production costs and low prices per bag of paddy have indicated that they will not return to rice production. This has been coupled with the loss of the Venezuelan market and uncertainty about alternate markets for rice.
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