It appears to be somewhat of a coincidence that Jaya Manickchand, the sister of the former Education Minister,
Attorney-at-Law, Jaya Manickchand
Priya Manickchand, was selected as the legal counsel for the National Communications Network (NCN) which was previously under the control of the then People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) administration.
This, among other findings, was documented in an audit report prepared by Parmesar, Chartered Accountants.
The auditors said that the company’s legal counsel is Ms. Jaya Manickchand whose office is located at the third floor of the Maraj Building, in central Georgetown. Manickchand’s monthly retainer fee is $150,000. Her service included letters, legal opinions and legal advice on NCN’s matters.
The forensic auditors found, however, that the Attorney-at-Law breached her contract with NCN. They said that even though Manickchand’s contract states her retainer fees include letters, the lawyer was found to be charging NCN separately for letters to clients. This turned out to be a nominal fee of $15,000 per letter.
The auditors expressed that during the period 2011 to May 2015 a total of $13,880,000 was paid in legal fees; $5,400,000 for representation in legal matters and $8,480,000 for retainer fees and other services.