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Fuel related corruption can be traced to very top of Govt. – Jagdeo

Jun 20, 2018 News

By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell
Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, believes that “there is a huge cabal that reaches very high into Office of the President, Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Public Works in the fuel smuggling arrangement.”
He said that that is one of the main reasons why Government has refused “to lower the price of fuel at the pump.” Jagdeo said that the main players in Government know that if the price at the pump is reduced, the fuel smuggling racket “becomes less lucrative. However, if you are an investigative reporter you will get to this in two weeks. The facts are available; it is all visible to us.”
Jagdeo said this at his most recent Press Conference.
The politician, in his opening statement, said that the government is in “grabbing-mode”.
“They are basically grabbing because they know, they are a one-term government. All of the ministries are grabbing…Most of the ministers – maybe 90 percent of these ministers are grabbing,” Jagdeo alleged.
The politician made a call specifically to the Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, asking him to stop the “runnings” that purportedly exists within government-controlled entities.
Asked to specify cases of the “runnings” he spoke of, Jagdeo said that there are at least eight instances of bribe-taking in the past on which he has already ventilated his concerns.
Chief amongst these instances, he recounted, was the docking of a vessel that had been fingered in fuel smuggling.
“What about the one with the fuel smuggling? Dig deeper and you will get all the connections. Then you will see how high it goes up into the government,” the former Head of State said.
Jagdeo said that if the media wants to get another clear example of government’s “grabbing-mode”, he suggested that one goes undercover to get a gun licence. He said that the cost involved would prove him to be accurate in his accusations against the government.
Smuggled fuel continues to be an issue for Guyana, with millions of dollars in taxes being evaded annually. With up to 50 percent in taxes charged, smugglers have been having a field day selling to loggers, miners and residents in the hinterland.
A number of gas stations are said to be involved in the business too, with stolen Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) markers, which indicate taxes have been paid, being used to legitimize the fuel at the pumps.
An Audit Report back in 2015 would have picked up on some of these occurrences.
Back in April last, authorities took control of the vessel, “Jubilee” which is reportedly linked to several local business persons. Media reports indicate that the vessel reportedly purchased fuel from Trinidad and Tobago for Suriname. However, the customer in Suriname reportedly backed out of the purchase.
The vessel, which entered Port Georgetown, was subsequently caught with 600,000 litres of unmarked fuel by Customs Officers.

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