Latest update December 23rd, 2024 3:40 AM
State prepares to appeal GMC case
Former GMC head, Nizam Hassan
Government has started the process to file an appeal in the case of the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) against its former chief.
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Public Security confirmed that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) is getting ready to file the necessary documents.
The official said that there is displeasure in the way the trial went, including indications that some witnesses seemed unusually unwilling to give evidence, while others were not turning up in court.
On Tuesday, days after being freed, Nizam Hassan turned up back to his duties as General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), a position he held before he proceeded on administrative leave over a year ago.
Last week, Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan dismissed the matter against Hassan and his co-accused Felecia De Souza-Madramootoo. They were charged with conspiring with others to approve payments for low-standard works on the Guyana Marketing Corporation building on Robb and Alexander Streets, Georgetown.
The Chief Magistrate in coming to her decision said that she was dismissing the matter on the grounds that most of the evidence of the prosecution’s 27 witnesses was discredited, since the individuals were found to be lying under oath. They gave contradicting evidence in the trial, she said.
The magistrate said there were several instances when the matter had to be adjourned and arrest warrants had to be issued for some of the witnesses to attend court.
Magistrate McLennan added that Police Prosecutor, Inspector Neville Jeffers, failed to prove a case against the defendants.
Hassan, 50, of Good Hope, East Coast Demerara and De Souza-Madramootoo, 34, of Lusignan, East Coast Demerara were represented throughout the trial by Attorney-at-law Glen Hanoman and Marcel Bobb.
It had been alleged that between October 28, 2010 and April 25, 2012, Hassan and De Souza-Madramootoo, conspired with each other to continuously approve payments which were made to the contractor of Constantine Engineering and Construction Services Limited, Trinidad and Tobago, for works that were incompetently and incorrectly done with inferior materials to rehabilitate the GMC building, knowing that such works should not have been approved.
Charges were recommended against Hassan and De Souza-Madramootoo after the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) completed its report into the investigations of the multimillion-dollar construction of the GMC office building.
A forensic audit report submitted in April 2016 by auditor, Saykar Boodhoo, had flagged the construction, citing several worrying things at GMC, an agency of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The forensic audit report was sent to Cabinet where it was decided that the findings of the report were serious enough to warrant a deeper investigation into not only the construction of the building, but also into the handling of hundreds of millions of dollars of fertilizer.
However, SOCU is reportedly proceeding full speed ahead on the fertilizer investigation. Whether this will affect Hassan is unclear at this time.
Government officials confirmed that Hassan turned up for duties on Tuesday at his Cowan Street, Kingston office, taking over from Allison Peters, his deputy, who had headed the Board in his absence.
Hassan would be the first officer under investigation stemming from a number of forensic audit reports, to be allowed to return to work. Several other officials who are under investigations in other state agencies were not allowed to return to work, with contracts expiring and not being renewed. Hassan’s contract reportedly has quite a few months to go. He proceeded on leave last November after charges were laid.
GRDB is the regulatory body for the rice industry, handling billions of dollars annually.
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