Law enforcement expected to handle matter- Min. Holder

Jun 12, 2016 News

-as GRPA General Secretary still to account for $100M loan, monthly subventions

Back in February, Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder, had addressed the National Assembly and had

Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder

called on the opposition to account for a $100M loan which was taken from the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) and assented to by a trio of officials to pay farmers in 2014, but was never repaid.
In response, Guyana Rice Producers Association (GRPA) General Secretary Dharamkumar Seeraj had disputed the Minister’s address, saying that the loan was arranged through the GRPA, with the records submitted to the Rice board. The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) parliamentarian had stressed that the money went to farmers.
Speaking to Kaieteur news on Friday, Holder made it clear that that money is still to be repaid. This is despite existing documents including a promissory note, signed by Seeraj, which stipulated that the money be repaid on or before October 31st, 2014. Holder noted that at this stage, the matter was expected to be handled by law enforcement.
In addition, the Minister has had cause to lament the fact that the GRPA has been the recipient of $2.5M from the previous administration. However, no audited statements have been produced showing how the money was expended.
According to Holder, there is still no accounting for the monies that RPA received as part of the subventions. He made it clear that the onus lay with Seeraj, who is a sitting Member of Parliament for the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), to provide answers.
“Why isn’t he accounting for it,” Holder queried. “(And the) $100M (taken from) the rice board, ostensibly

GRPA General Secretary Dharamkumar Seeraj

to assist farmers or something, as a loan to be repaid by October 2014. It never was. There is no accountability.”
Asked about whether any punitive action was on the table for the General Secretary’s actions, he expressed optimism that the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) or the police authorities might have the matter in their hands. He noted that it was outside his ministry’s remit, but rather in the realm of Public Security and the police.
Last year, an audit into the GRDB unearthed documents attesting to GRPA General Secretary Dharamkumar Seeraj, receiving a $100M loan from the GRDB back in 2014. According to the documents, Seeraj signed for the ‘loan’ in July of 2014 with the understanding that it would have been repaid in October 2014. Exactly one year later, that money was yet to be repaid.
Documents also showed 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. Also signing on to the agreement was then Agriculture Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy.
Minister within the Ministry of Finance, Jaipaul Sharma, had been critical of the transaction when it came to light late last year. He had noted that the transaction was done under the wraps and may never have been uncovered had it not been for the forensic audit.
Sharma, who bore oversight for the platitude of forensic audits launched last year,

The promissory note which auditors found while combing through the GRDB records.

also told this newspaper that at the time the auditors uncovered the questionable loan, it was found to be suspicious since there could be found no record as to a reason for the loan, nor collateral.
Former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran, had stated that a priority should be to recover the money or hold principals accountable. He had cited the fact that the GRDB amendment Act of 1994 makes no provision for granting loans, making it null and void.
Co-Chairman of the Rice Producers Association- Action Committee and current GRDB board member, Jinnah Rahaman, had also denounced the entire transaction, noting that the GRDB was not a lending agency.
Both Seeraj and Ramsammy have defended their roles in the transaction, with Seeraj stating that the money had been secured for part payments for rice farmers who had supplied paddy to Ruimzeight millers, but were not paid on time.
Dr Ramsammy had also been quoted in sections of the media saying that he would “do it again” as the transaction brought relief to rice farmers.

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