Guyana Focus
Questionable land dealings at Providence and the East Bank
Georgetown – The lands transaction at Providence involving businessman Brian Tiwarie and Chinese-owned BaiShanLin was not the only questionable one of its kind.
There are indications now that Roopnarine ‘Ravie’ Ramcharitar, reportedly a right hand man of Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, also benefitted from 28.8 acres for $173M ($6M per acre).
Shortly after acquiring those Providence lands, without lifting a finger and laying the required infrastructure works, and in breach of his agreement with the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Ramcharitar resold those lands for three times the price he paid – over $570M (US$2.8M). It was a well-thought out plan, according to CH&PA documents.
Ramcharitar, a former director of the Berbice Bridge, registered a company named Luxury Realty Inc. in October 2013. He was listed then as both the Director and Secretary.
An agreement with CH&PA listed the sale price of those 28.8 acres as $172.8M.
However, it appeared that shortly after signing the agreement, in August 2014, CH&PA senior officials at the Brickdam office facilitated a new sale with an unsuspecting US-based Guyanese.
That Guyanese forked over US$2.8M, during a signing at the CH&PA offices.
Heading the Ministry of Housing at that time was former minister, Irfaan Ali whose People’s Progressive Party/Civic government lost the early general elections that were held 10 months later in May 2015.
That transaction was one of several questionable ones involving lands stretching from Eccles to Providence, sold to a number of close friends of the previous administrations. There were several hundreds of acres involved.
Several plots of those lands remained undeveloped despite conditions that construction of the infrastructure had to start within six months, in some cases.
The APNU+AFC Coalition Government has started moving to repossess some of those lands.
Ramcharitar’s transactions, of benefitting from a sweetheart deal blessed by CH&PA, would mirror that of Tiwarie, owner of BK International.
Tiwarie’s company, Sunset Lakes Inc, managed to acquire 100 acres of lands not too far from Ramcharitar’s.
However, eight weeks after securing the lands from CH&PA for US$2.2M (approximately G$440M), Tiwarie turned around and flipped the company to BaiShanLin for US$8M (G$1.6B).
BaiShanLin is a Chinese investor that ran into trouble over its operations here and had its forest lands taken away by the Coalition Government.
BaiShanLin, now facing financial problems, was unable to pay Tiwarie the US$8M it promised and early last year, the businessman took BaiShanLin to court, asking for his balance of US$4M. Tiwarie also demanded back his company Sunset Lakes and wanted the court to forfeit the US$4M that BaiShanLin had advanced him.
On the lands, BaiShanLin had started to build a number of luxury homes, announcing prices upwards of $50M. However, all that remains now is the fence and ghostly, unfinished properties. There has been little work in the last two years.
BaiShanLin and its principal, Chu Hongbo, now a Guyanese citizen, are now reportedly concentrating on gold mining.
Last week, the lands were in receivership as Sunset Lakes had borrowed heavily. They were being advertised for sale.
Receiver/Manager, accountant Nigel Hinds, announced that he was inviting tenders for local and foreign parties interested in purchasing the 100 acres, either entirely or in parts.
This latest development would continue to anger persons who have applied for house lots and homes from CH&PA, but are being told there are no lands.
There are more than 20,000 applications pending at the CH&PA, with Government announcing plans to build duplexes and apartments for low income families in the short term.
Large swaths of lands behind Republic Park and Providence have been sold under questionable circumstances to several private developers who were looking to cash in on the booming housing drive between 2010 and 2014.
There are indications now that Roopnarine ‘Ravie’ Ramcharitar, reportedly a right hand man of Dr. Ranjisinghi ‘Bobby’ Ramroop, also benefitted from 28.8 acres for $173M ($6M per acre).
Shortly after acquiring those Providence lands, without lifting a finger and laying the required infrastructure works, and in breach of his agreement with the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), Ramcharitar resold those lands for three times the price he paid – over $570M (US$2.8M). It was a well-thought out plan, according to CH&PA documents.
Ramcharitar, a former director of the Berbice Bridge, registered a company named Luxury Realty Inc. in October 2013. He was listed then as both the Director and Secretary.
An agreement with CH&PA listed the sale price of those 28.8 acres as $172.8M.
However, it appeared that shortly after signing the agreement, in August 2014, CH&PA senior officials at the Brickdam office facilitated a new sale with an unsuspecting US-based Guyanese.
That Guyanese forked over US$2.8M, during a signing at the CH&PA offices.
Heading the Ministry of Housing at that time was former minister, Irfaan Ali whose People’s Progressive Party/Civic government lost the early general elections that were held 10 months later in May 2015.
That transaction was one of several questionable ones involving lands stretching from Eccles to Providence, sold to a number of close friends of the previous administrations. There were several hundreds of acres involved.
Several plots of those lands remained undeveloped despite conditions that construction of the infrastructure had to start within six months, in some cases.
The APNU+AFC Coalition Government has started moving to repossess some of those lands.
Ramcharitar’s transactions, of benefitting from a sweetheart deal blessed by CH&PA, would mirror that of Tiwarie, owner of BK International.
Tiwarie’s company, Sunset Lakes Inc, managed to acquire 100 acres of lands not too far from Ramcharitar’s.
However, eight weeks after securing the lands from CH&PA for US$2.2M (approximately G$440M), Tiwarie turned around and flipped the company to BaiShanLin for US$8M (G$1.6B).
BaiShanLin is a Chinese investor that ran into trouble over its operations here and had its forest lands taken away by the Coalition Government.
BaiShanLin, now facing financial problems, was unable to pay Tiwarie the US$8M it promised and early last year, the businessman took BaiShanLin to court, asking for his balance of US$4M. Tiwarie also demanded back his company Sunset Lakes and wanted the court to forfeit the US$4M that BaiShanLin had advanced him.
On the lands, BaiShanLin had started to build a number of luxury homes, announcing prices upwards of $50M. However, all that remains now is the fence and ghostly, unfinished properties. There has been little work in the last two years.
BaiShanLin and its principal, Chu Hongbo, now a Guyanese citizen, are now reportedly concentrating on gold mining.
Last week, the lands were in receivership as Sunset Lakes had borrowed heavily. They were being advertised for sale.
Receiver/Manager, accountant Nigel Hinds, announced that he was inviting tenders for local and foreign parties interested in purchasing the 100 acres, either entirely or in parts.
This latest development would continue to anger persons who have applied for house lots and homes from CH&PA, but are being told there are no lands.
There are more than 20,000 applications pending at the CH&PA, with Government announcing plans to build duplexes and apartments for low income families in the short term.
Large swaths of lands behind Republic Park and Providence have been sold under questionable circumstances to several private developers who were looking to cash in on the booming housing drive between 2010 and 2014.
Georgetown – Former Auditor General, Anand Goolsarran says ExxonMobil’s funding of a recent trip by five government ministers to its Texas headquarters was improper and that the Guyana Government should reimburse the company.
Writing in his accountability column in the Stabroek News, Goolsarran also cited several laws that would have been breached as a result.
“First, both the Government and Exxon-Mobil should have been aware that it is highly inappropriate from an ethical and moral standpoint for the latter to fund the trip. The agreement with ExxonMobil is in the nature of a procurement contract, and our Procurement Act prohibits the acceptance of gifts and other favours from suppliers/contractors”, Goolsarran declared. He said that the acceptance of the gift/favour has the potential of influencing decisions in favour of suppliers/contractors and therefore presents a potential conflict of interest.
“Additionally, the Integrity Commission Act has a … Code of Conduct (schedule) that prohibits the acceptance of gifts and other favours. The Code has since been revised and gazetted but the related amendments to the Act are yet to be tabled in the National Assembly”, he noted.
He pointed out that in an apparent attempt at damage control, Government officials have said that the cost of the trip will be included in Exxon’s investment to be recovered against revenue when oil production begins in 2020.
“This explanation should be rejected since the US oil giant’s investment cannot include expenditure incurred on behalf of the Government of Guyana. A competent and independent auditor is more than likely to reject such an expenditure as a charge to Exxon in its books. This practice can also open the floodgates for all sorts of government expenditure to be incurred and included in Exxon’s investment”, the chartered accountant said.
Further, he said that there is no provision in the Fiscal Management and Accountability (FMA) Act or the Constitution that allows expenditure to be incurred and charged against future revenues neither can there be netting off of expenditure against revenue. He noted that Section 38(1) of the FMA Act specifically states that “All public moneys raised or received by the Government shall be credited fully and promptly to the Consoli-dated Fund …” The cost of the trip should therefore have been financed by the Government through the budget process, he declared.
He said that one also needs to consider whether such a costly visit to obtain an update on progress by ExxonMobil, was indeed necessary, considering that in the technological age virtual meetings can be conveniently held via Skype, conference calls and other technology-related means.
“Is it not a case of waste and extravagance in the use of public funds?” he queried
He said that ExxonMobil should be asked to present to the Government an invoice for the expenditure incurred and reimbursement made at the approved travelling rates for Ministers and other officials. As it stands, Goolsarran said that the expenditure will not be reflected in the public accounts and added that he hopes that there will not be a repeat of this practice.
He also said that he is not impressed with the explanation provided by the government for failure to make the agreement with ExxonMobil available to the public.
“Everything that our neighbour to the west needs to know about the agreement is already in the public domain. If there are some clauses that border on territorial integrity or national security, a redacted version of the agreement can be released to the public”, Goolsarran stated.
On August 17, at an AFC press conference, it was disclosed that the trip by the five ministers: Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson, Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan, Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin and Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge was paid for by ExxonMobil and was the second of its kind.
Answering questions at the press conference, Patterson said that while some would believe that the ministers are influenced by having the company pay for their travel and accommodation this is not the case.
Minister Gaskin added that the AFC ministers are above being influenced. “I speak for all of us here when I say we are not bribable,” Gaskin told reporters.
This confidence in their own integrity is one of the reasons the ministers cited for why they are not concerned about the secrecy surrounding the ExxonMobil contract.
Meanwhile, AFC Chairman, Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan, explained that the contract is secret as a result of both a non-disclosure clause and an amendment to the Petroleum Act. “This government is not one to have secret agreements but we are confined by the reality of the contract and legislation…. These things are not such that another administration can go wrecking because it will affect what Exxon can do,” Ramjattan explained.
Patterson also noted that government has been advised as part of a United Nations review process to keep the agreement secret.
Writing in his accountability column in the Stabroek News, Goolsarran also cited several laws that would have been breached as a result.
“First, both the Government and Exxon-Mobil should have been aware that it is highly inappropriate from an ethical and moral standpoint for the latter to fund the trip. The agreement with ExxonMobil is in the nature of a procurement contract, and our Procurement Act prohibits the acceptance of gifts and other favours from suppliers/contractors”, Goolsarran declared. He said that the acceptance of the gift/favour has the potential of influencing decisions in favour of suppliers/contractors and therefore presents a potential conflict of interest.
“Additionally, the Integrity Commission Act has a … Code of Conduct (schedule) that prohibits the acceptance of gifts and other favours. The Code has since been revised and gazetted but the related amendments to the Act are yet to be tabled in the National Assembly”, he noted.
He pointed out that in an apparent attempt at damage control, Government officials have said that the cost of the trip will be included in Exxon’s investment to be recovered against revenue when oil production begins in 2020.
“This explanation should be rejected since the US oil giant’s investment cannot include expenditure incurred on behalf of the Government of Guyana. A competent and independent auditor is more than likely to reject such an expenditure as a charge to Exxon in its books. This practice can also open the floodgates for all sorts of government expenditure to be incurred and included in Exxon’s investment”, the chartered accountant said.
Further, he said that there is no provision in the Fiscal Management and Accountability (FMA) Act or the Constitution that allows expenditure to be incurred and charged against future revenues neither can there be netting off of expenditure against revenue. He noted that Section 38(1) of the FMA Act specifically states that “All public moneys raised or received by the Government shall be credited fully and promptly to the Consoli-dated Fund …” The cost of the trip should therefore have been financed by the Government through the budget process, he declared.
He said that one also needs to consider whether such a costly visit to obtain an update on progress by ExxonMobil, was indeed necessary, considering that in the technological age virtual meetings can be conveniently held via Skype, conference calls and other technology-related means.
“Is it not a case of waste and extravagance in the use of public funds?” he queried
He said that ExxonMobil should be asked to present to the Government an invoice for the expenditure incurred and reimbursement made at the approved travelling rates for Ministers and other officials. As it stands, Goolsarran said that the expenditure will not be reflected in the public accounts and added that he hopes that there will not be a repeat of this practice.
He also said that he is not impressed with the explanation provided by the government for failure to make the agreement with ExxonMobil available to the public.
“Everything that our neighbour to the west needs to know about the agreement is already in the public domain. If there are some clauses that border on territorial integrity or national security, a redacted version of the agreement can be released to the public”, Goolsarran stated.
On August 17, at an AFC press conference, it was disclosed that the trip by the five ministers: Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson, Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan, Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin and Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge was paid for by ExxonMobil and was the second of its kind.
Answering questions at the press conference, Patterson said that while some would believe that the ministers are influenced by having the company pay for their travel and accommodation this is not the case.
Minister Gaskin added that the AFC ministers are above being influenced. “I speak for all of us here when I say we are not bribable,” Gaskin told reporters.
This confidence in their own integrity is one of the reasons the ministers cited for why they are not concerned about the secrecy surrounding the ExxonMobil contract.
Meanwhile, AFC Chairman, Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan, explained that the contract is secret as a result of both a non-disclosure clause and an amendment to the Petroleum Act. “This government is not one to have secret agreements but we are confined by the reality of the contract and legislation…. These things are not such that another administration can go wrecking because it will affect what Exxon can do,” Ramjattan explained.
Patterson also noted that government has been advised as part of a United Nations review process to keep the agreement secret.
Dr. Harold Drayton's Memoir
By Harry Hergash
The Turkeyen Campus of the University of Guyana (UG) was the venue on August 24 for the launch of Dr. Harold Drayton's memoir titled “An Accidental Life”. In 1962, Guyanese-born Harold Drayton, who was a lecturer in zoology at the Kwame Nkrumah University in Ghana, was invited by Cheddi Jagan, then Premier of Guyana, to work on the “university project”. From January to September 1963, Drayton worked tirelessly to get the UG started with its first batch of students in October 1963.
The book launch was coordinated through the office of Dr. Barbara Reynolds, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Planning and International Engagements, and supported by a number of organizations. Chairperson for the event was Ms Gwyneth George, UG's Librarian. Speakers included Professor Michael Scott, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic Engagements, who gave the opening remarks; UG Lecturer, Mr Andrew Kendall, who reviewed the book; and Professor Harold Lutchman who introduced Dr. Drayton. Attendees included many friends and former students of the author.
The Turkeyen Campus of the University of Guyana (UG) was the venue on August 24 for the launch of Dr. Harold Drayton's memoir titled “An Accidental Life”. In 1962, Guyanese-born Harold Drayton, who was a lecturer in zoology at the Kwame Nkrumah University in Ghana, was invited by Cheddi Jagan, then Premier of Guyana, to work on the “university project”. From January to September 1963, Drayton worked tirelessly to get the UG started with its first batch of students in October 1963.
The book launch was coordinated through the office of Dr. Barbara Reynolds, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Planning and International Engagements, and supported by a number of organizations. Chairperson for the event was Ms Gwyneth George, UG's Librarian. Speakers included Professor Michael Scott, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic Engagements, who gave the opening remarks; UG Lecturer, Mr Andrew Kendall, who reviewed the book; and Professor Harold Lutchman who introduced Dr. Drayton. Attendees included many friends and former students of the author.
Ms Gwyneth George. (Picture: courtesy of Ms George)
Harold Drayton received his secondary education at Modern High School where one of his classmates was Sir Shridath Ramphal whose father was the founder and principal of the school, and later, at Queen's College. In 1948 he won an open scholarship to the University College of the West Indies, Jamaica, now University of the West Indies, but was soon expelled because of his left wing political activism. After a stint of high school teaching in Jamaica, he entered the University of Edinburgh, Scotland where he completed his bachelor's and doctoral degrees before taking up the lectureship position in Ghana.
At the UG, he was the first Deputy Vice Chancellor, 1963-64 and Professor of Biology, 1963-72, leaving UG for a secondment to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) regional office in Barbados shortly after a near assassination of his close friend, Dr. Joshua Ramsammy. He remained at PAHO for more than two decades where he developed health education programs for countries in the region and provided advice to governments on related matters. Subsequently, he moved to the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, as Director of the World Health Organization Centre for International Health, a position he held for over ten years. He is now retired and living in the USA.
Dr. Drayton was unable to be present at the launch and gave his address via Skype to the audience that included many of his former students and friends in Guyana. He was represented in person by his wife, Dr. Vonna Drayton. At the conclusion of the speeches, Dr. Vonna Drayton presented copies of the book to Ms George for the UG library. The book is now on sale at Amazon.com and a Toronto launch is planned for later this fall.
At the UG, he was the first Deputy Vice Chancellor, 1963-64 and Professor of Biology, 1963-72, leaving UG for a secondment to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) regional office in Barbados shortly after a near assassination of his close friend, Dr. Joshua Ramsammy. He remained at PAHO for more than two decades where he developed health education programs for countries in the region and provided advice to governments on related matters. Subsequently, he moved to the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, as Director of the World Health Organization Centre for International Health, a position he held for over ten years. He is now retired and living in the USA.
Dr. Drayton was unable to be present at the launch and gave his address via Skype to the audience that included many of his former students and friends in Guyana. He was represented in person by his wife, Dr. Vonna Drayton. At the conclusion of the speeches, Dr. Vonna Drayton presented copies of the book to Ms George for the UG library. The book is now on sale at Amazon.com and a Toronto launch is planned for later this fall.
Georgetown – Trevor Thomas, a sacked Permanent Secretary (PS) of the Ministry of Public Health, has been rehired by the ministry as a contract worker on a five-year $1.6B Maternal and Child Health Improvement Project that is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The former PS was fired following the recommendations of a Board of Inquiry (BoI) into allegations of mismanagement and malpractices in the procurement of pharmaceuticals at the ministry. That BoI was set up by President David Granger.
“He is the Coordinator of the Maternal and Child Health Improvement Project,” Terrence Esseboom, Public Relations Officer for the Ministry of Public Health, said.
The project will support an in-depth revision of all guidelines, protocols, and strategies related to the health of women of reproductive age, pregnancy, delivery, emergency care, and postpartum challenges, according to the ministry. The programme also envisages a focus on specific needs of adolescents, men and indigenous peoples. Further, the project also intends to provide quality reproductive, maternal and neonatal care and strengthen the supply chain for contraceptive methods and drugs and blood products.
According to the BoI report, done by retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Winston Cosbert, “The Permanent Secretary Mr. Trevor Thomas should be removed from the Ministry of Public Health due to his inability to effectively carry out the mandate of the ministry.” This was among 21 recommendations that were made to “to increase transparency and improve efficiency and effectiveness in the procurement of pharmaceuticals,” at the Ministry of Public Health.
Minister of State Joseph Harmon had said that it was on the BoI’s recommendations that government acted. “There was a recommendation that the Permanent Secretary be removed from that office and therefore with effect from 1st March, 2017, the Permanent Secretary has been removed from that office….,” Harmon explained.
Harmon also informed that while Thomas’s services as Permanent Secretary was terminated, he still remains employed in the public service.
Ironically, Thomas had replaced another sacked permanent secretary, Leslie Cadogan, who was dismissed for alleged gross negligence and misconduct in the performance of his duties.
Cadogan, who was sent on accumulated leave on July 20, 2015 by Minister of State Harmon was dismissed with effect from September 1, 2015.
The former PS was fired following the recommendations of a Board of Inquiry (BoI) into allegations of mismanagement and malpractices in the procurement of pharmaceuticals at the ministry. That BoI was set up by President David Granger.
“He is the Coordinator of the Maternal and Child Health Improvement Project,” Terrence Esseboom, Public Relations Officer for the Ministry of Public Health, said.
The project will support an in-depth revision of all guidelines, protocols, and strategies related to the health of women of reproductive age, pregnancy, delivery, emergency care, and postpartum challenges, according to the ministry. The programme also envisages a focus on specific needs of adolescents, men and indigenous peoples. Further, the project also intends to provide quality reproductive, maternal and neonatal care and strengthen the supply chain for contraceptive methods and drugs and blood products.
According to the BoI report, done by retired Assistant Commissioner of Police, Winston Cosbert, “The Permanent Secretary Mr. Trevor Thomas should be removed from the Ministry of Public Health due to his inability to effectively carry out the mandate of the ministry.” This was among 21 recommendations that were made to “to increase transparency and improve efficiency and effectiveness in the procurement of pharmaceuticals,” at the Ministry of Public Health.
Minister of State Joseph Harmon had said that it was on the BoI’s recommendations that government acted. “There was a recommendation that the Permanent Secretary be removed from that office and therefore with effect from 1st March, 2017, the Permanent Secretary has been removed from that office….,” Harmon explained.
Harmon also informed that while Thomas’s services as Permanent Secretary was terminated, he still remains employed in the public service.
Ironically, Thomas had replaced another sacked permanent secretary, Leslie Cadogan, who was dismissed for alleged gross negligence and misconduct in the performance of his duties.
Cadogan, who was sent on accumulated leave on July 20, 2015 by Minister of State Harmon was dismissed with effect from September 1, 2015.
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