MoTP Says… No procurement regulations breached in contract award to cathy hughes media company

Apr 11, 2019 News

---

..There was no impropriety—Ministry of the Presidency

Amid deep public scrutiny, the Coalition Government insists that proper procedures were followed in the awarding of a contract to a Media Company that had close links to Minister of Public Telecommunication, Cathy Hughes.
According to the Ministry of the Presidency, its Department of Energy worked closely with the ministry’s Procurement Unit in finalizing the contract.
The contract being referred to is one for $832,000 to Video Mega Productions, a company that has its address at the Middle Street property said to be controlled by Hughes and her husband, attorney-at-law, Nigel Hughes.
“The Ministry wishes to make it pellucid that the Department of Energy contracted Videomega Productions to develop three 60-second television and radio Public Service Announcements (PSAs) at a cost of $832,000, as part of its public awareness and sensitization campaign with regards to the Co-operative Republic of Guyana’s emerging oil and gas sector.”

According to the Ministry of the Presidency, in a statement late Tuesday night, it wishes to make it clear that the Department of Energy is not engaged in any “incestuous relationship” as is being claimed by the Opposition, and its Parliamentary Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira.
Rather, the department has from its inception, “worked in compliance with all rules and regulations relative to the procurement of goods and services”.
The allegations of impropriety were made by the Opposition and came on the heels of a recent disclosure that Pastor Godfrey Yearwood, the husband of Minister Valerie Patterson-Yearwood, who has charge over housing, was awarded a contract to build homes.
That award only came to light after a worker complained of not being paid.
Under practices worldwide, it is an accepted rule that family members and companies with linkages are not awarded contracts from the particular public entity or ministry in which a relative works.
Even a number of private companies have such rules.
Even if the contract went out to tender, officials say, to ensure that there are no questions from the public, it is the general rule not to award.
According to the Ministry of the Presidency, the reports about impropriety were malicious misinformation.
The ministry noted that it was Opposition Chief Whip, Gail Teixeira, who took up the issue on Tuesday in a Facebook post.
“Ms. Teixeira, in a video statement on the People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) Facebook page, this evening, accused the Department of Energy of singlehandedly contracting Video Mega Productions to produce brochures, television and radio advertisements for the Department.
“That one would speculate that the contract relates to campaign material for the APNU-AFC Coalition for elections is outrageous and completely baseless. The material being developed is solely in keeping with the furtherance of the mandate of the Department of Energy.”
Minister Hughes herself, in a statement Tuesday, said that her attention was drawn to a press release by one Edward Layne and a subsequent press statement the Opposition member Gail Teixeira in which reference is made to the award of “a multimillion-dollar contract” to Video Mega Productions “to produce brochures, as well as Radio and TV PSA’s for the Department of Energy”.
“Prior to the two press releases I was completely unaware of the award of any contract to Video Mega Productions.”
Hughes stressed that in May 2015, upon her assumption of the role of Minister of Tourism, she relinquished any involvement in the day-to-day running of Video Mega Productions.
“Russel Lancaster was appointed Manager and is responsible for the operations of the company.
I have since been informed that the contract was for the production of three sixty-second television Public Service Announcements. The value of the contract is $ 832,200.”
The minister insisted that the award of this contract was never brought to her attention neither would she have been aware of it in the normal conduct of the company’s business.
Her manager, in a separate statement, refuting the reports of impropriety, denied it was a multi-million award.
“I was contacted by the Department (of Energy), and informed that based on my experience and knowledge of the industry, they would like to get an example of the kind of work that could be provided and it was I that informed them that I was now managing Video Mmega and would like the work to be contracted to the company as opposed to me personally.”
Lancaster said that Minister Hughes was completely unaware of this as she has had no involvement with the company’s operations since assuming the post of Minister.
“As a matter of fact, she only called this evening to find out about this issue after she heard of the false report being propagated. Both she and Ms. (Beverley) Alert, also mentioned in the statements made earlier, are no longer connected to Video Mega.”
The manager said that when he was approached by the department, he was informed that they were in the process of reviewing the work of a number of service providers in an effort to find a fit suitable for the department, since this was a burgeoning industry and they wanted to be sure that any such provider selected would be able to represent the oil and gas sector adequately.
“As such, they asked that we produce three 60-second TV Public Service Advertisements in an effort to determine our suitability. The cost we charged was $832,200. We were never asked to provide any other service and we want to be pellucid in this regard.
“We would like to state that we are deeply disturbed by the allegations being peddled and consider that this does not augur well for the maintenance of a stable environment when statements are made in the public domain by members of the press and sitting parliamentarians without any attempt at verification.”
Lancaster said that this would suggest that a few persons are trying to score cheap political points at the expense of truth and good behaviour and that decency has long been thrown out of the window.
“We would trust that a public retraction will be made and that in future, some effort will be made to determine the true facts of a matter before embarrassing oneself in such a shoddy fashion.”

 

 

---

---