THE SCANDALS ARE OCCURRING WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY

Sep 20, 2017 Letters

Dear Editor,
Hardly a week passes without this Government not finding itself in the throes of a scandal. In fact, on most occasions, one scandal erupts even before the previous one subsides. At his Press Conference held on the 13th day of September 2017, the Opposition Leader disclosed two massive scandals brewing without divulging much of their details.
The first one relates to family, relatives, cronies and friends of a strategically positioned Minister of this Government forming themselves into a syndicate to acquire mining blocks in the rich petroleum zone of Guyana, by utilizing their ministerial connection. From the information received, it has been already decided that these mining blocks, when acquired, would be disposed to one of the established oil companies, at a whopping profit of $100M USD, to be distributed among the architects of this syndicate. It is expected that the crusaders against corruption both in the media and in civil-society organisations will diligently and persistently pursue this nefarious plot and will make public, the gory details of this intended skullduggery.
The second scandal to which the Leader of the Opposition alluded relates to the construction and location of the new Demerara Harbour Bridge. It is public knowledge that $150M was already sourced directly from the Treasury to conduct a feasibility examination for the best possible location for the bridge. No one knows whether these scientific enquiries where actually conducted; if they were, who did them; at what cost and by what process of procurement were the services of these contractors procured. The shocking disclosure made by the Leader of the Opposition at his Press Conference was that the West Demerara end of the bridge will terminate upon a plot of land in Versailles owned by a long-time financier and leader of the PNC/Reform, who has been very emphatic in his advocacy for a new Demerara Harbour Bridge, in a proposal titled ‘Vision 2030’. In Hollywood, this may be described as serendipity. In Guyana, this presents fertile ground for compelling inferences to be drawn of corruption and nepotism. Again, it is my expectation that these vulgarities will be exposed fully by the persons to whom I made reference above.
However, the real scandal upon which I wish to focus in this piece is a Cabinet Decision. It ought to be clear that this Cabinet Decision relates to the controversial and unlawful procurement of drugs, contrary to and in breach of the Procurement Act, by the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) from Ansa McAl to the tune of $515,178,268, upon the directions of Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence. It is imperative that this document be scrutinized to appreciate its various levels of deception and sophistry.
1. Based upon the content of the document, it is clear that this matter was first considered by Cabinet on a previous occasion and transmitted to a Cabinet Sub-Committee for consideration;
2. that it was considered by that Sub-Committee and returned to Cabinet for Cabinet to stamp it with some form of imprimatur/legitimacy;
3. it is clear that Cabinet did so, using remarkably and extraordinarily vague and obtuse language;
4. it should be observed that Cabinet scrupulously avoided the use of the word ‘APPROVED’, in respect of the report which emanated from its Sub-Committee, which is the normal parlance used by Cabinet in such circumstances;
5. it should also be observed that the Minister of Finance, indeed, and, I think deliberately so, did not seek Cabinet’s approval; again, this is deliberate; instead, he brought it for Cabinet to “note”; so it was brought for Cabinet’s “notification” and not “approval.”
It is public knowledge that the total value of the contract for drugs unlawfully procured from Ansa McAl is $605,962,200. My information is that $90,783,932 was already paid to Ansa McAl by a previous Cabinet Decision. This was clearly done when the controversy did not reach the gigantic proportions to which it eventually exploded. I will have more to say shortly
Anil Nandlall

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