GGMC rents building from its Director

Jan 01, 2018 News

The Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) is paying millions of dollars for the rental of a building from one of the Directors of its own Board.
Hilbert Shields is the owner of the three-storied building located at Fourth Street, Subryanville which the Commission is utilising.
Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, has admitted to being aware of the incestuous rental arrangement.
However, Trotman said that Shields was not a member of a sub-committee of the Board that decided to rent the building. Trotman also said that when the matter was brought to his attention, he instructed GGMC that for the sake of good practice, to discontinue use of the building.
Despite such an instruction, GGMC continues to rent the facility and is yet to even locate an alternative.
GGMC’s Chairman, Newell Dennison, was contacted on the matter.
After he was pointed to the topic of concern, Dennison questioned, “So where are you going with this, what is the problem?” Told in clear terms about the issue of conflict of interest, Dennison insisted that there was none.
He said that the Commission made a decision to rent the property at a time when “Shields had nothing to do with GGMC.” Initially, Dennison said that all negotiations and arrangements were in place since September 2016; he later said that it might have been October the same year.
Dennison jumped on the safe side and said, “It was definitely late 2016. And at that time, Shields was not a Director.”
Shields became a GGMC Director early 2017, around the same time that the building was first occupied. Dennison said that this was just “coincidental”.

GGMC Commissioner, Newell Dennison

GGMC Director, Hilbert Shields

“It just so happened that we moved into the building around the same time that he became a Director.”
Dennison said that the GGMC knew for a long time that it was in need of the extra space.
“We were looking for accommodation and we even advertised for expressions of interest more than a year ago.”
Dennison did not say if Shields sent in an expression of interest or if he was cherry-picked.
He said, “After other options proved not to be feasible, we decided to settle with that property.”
Asked what caused the Commission to delay occupation of the building, Dennison said that modifications were needed before the space could have been wholly suitable.
Dennison then refused to say how much the Commission is paying its Director each month for the rental of the building. “I do not have to tell you that.”
However, Dennison said that the Commission is “desperately” trying to get another building. He claimed that an advertisement was placed in the media in September inviting expressions of interest for the provision of a similar property.
He said that some expressions of interest were received and the Board is in the process of deciding if any of the submitted interests are suitable.

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