New Demerara River Bridge…..SOCU pussyfooting on feasibility probe - Jagdeo

New Demerara River Bridge…..SOCU pussyfooting on feasibility probe – Jagdeo

Mar 29, 2019 News

An artist’s impression of the new Demerara River Crossing.

Opposition leader, Bharrat Jagdeo is accusing the Special Organised Crime Unit, (SOCU) of the Guyana Police Force, of pussyfooting on the probe into the feasibility study for the new Demerara River Bridge.
Jagdeo noted that a report was made to SOCU based on evidence of Government corruption months ago.
However, he noted that the matter seemed to have slipped below the radar.
“It all hush-hush because it’s not just Minister Patterson but all the members of cabinet who approved that contract will be liable.”
Jagdeo noted that SOCU had questioned all the members of the PPP Cabinet in relation to deals made in the past, “but I haven’t seen any member of this cabinet being called in to say what made them approve such a study”. According to Jagdeo, this sort of behaviour is duplicitous.
“We have seen the same thing with Volda Lawrence and the [Cheddi Jagan] airport project where we’re paying more and getting less. Yet, they are not being called in or questioned.”
Jagdeo had indicated that the report from the Public Procurement Commission (PPC), which details procurement breaches in the process that led to the award of a $148M contract to a Dutch company, which conducted a feasibility study for the new bridge design across the Demerara River will be handed over to SOCU.
“This is a documented case of corruption of unbelievable proportions, directly involving a Minister of the Government who bypassed our laws and the designated authority, according to our laws, to a Cabinet, to approve an illegality,” Jagdeo stated.
The PPC found that the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, headed by Minister David Patterson, did not tender for the project.
The report indicated that the Ministry received an unsolicited proposal from Lievense CSO Engineering Contracting BV, to provide consultancy services for the bridge project.
“We believe that this report could result in either the Minister or the entire Cabinet being charged for corruption,” the Opposition Leader noted.
He added, “Let me make it clear right at the beginning that we plan to send this report to SOCU.”
Former senior officials of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) have been the focus of SOCU’s fraud probes, with charges being laid against former Finance Minister, Ashni Singh and Winston Brassington, former head of National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL).
The Opposition, according to Jagdeo, had questioned SOCU Advisor, Dr. Sam Sittlington, as to why the PPP officials were the only ones being targeted by SOCU, while numerous reports of corruption by the coalition Government were not being investigated.
“He [Sittlington] said you can write to us and submit the report, so we will be writing SOCU and submitting this report,” Jagdeo noted.
The PPC conducted the investigation of the contract award process based on a request from Opposition Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira.
According to the PPC, Patterson, by way of a Memorandum dated November 18, 2016, made a request to Cabinet seeking consideration and approval to use funds from the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC).
Specifically, Patterson requested funds from the company’s asphalt plant accounts to fund the feasibility study and commence a contractual arrangement with the Dutch company, as of January 1, 2017.
The PPC in its investigation found that the Minister’s request to Cabinet was not forwarded through the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).