of interest
Georgetown – Former Auditor General Anand Goolsarran has pointed out that Minister of Public Telecommunications Cathy Hughes is in breach of the Integrity Act and should relinquish all ties to her company which recently received a government contract, or resign if she wants to retain her connection to the business.
Hughes’ company, Videomega Productions, was awarded a contract for $832,200 by the Department of Energy to produce three 60-second television Public Service Announcements. She however claims that since becoming a Minister of Government, she had relinquished day-to-day management of the video production company and was unaware of the transaction.
This, in the wake of recent revelation that Valerie Patterson, Minister in the Ministry of Communities with responsibility for the Central Housing and Planning Authority, awarded a contract for the construction of houses to her husband.
Goolsarran referred to the Code of Conduct for public officials enshrined in the Integrity Commission Act which states that a person in public life must not allow private interests to conflict with his or her public duties or improperly influence his or her conduct in the performance of his or her public duties.
With reference to Minister Highes, Goolsarran insists that “To the extent she continues to retain ownership of the company in question, or an interest in it, she is in breach of the Code of Conduct contained in the Act. This could trigger an investigation by the Commission and possibly criminal proceedings.” He said that alternatively, Hughes could “choose to resign from her position” as the Integrity Commission Act is clear on the issue of conflict of interest and she should “divest” herself of the conflict of interest.
In the case of the Minister responsible for the CH&PA, an investigation should be launched to ascertain the basis of the award of the contract. If it is found that the spouse won the contract in an open, competitive and transparent manner, the issue becomes of lesser importance. However, he should be precluded from bidding for future government contracts, giving the status of his spouse as a Minister of the Government,” Goolsarran said.
He said that the two ministers need to decide swiftly what their choices would be.
Goolsarran also noted that this is not the first time Hughes has been embroiled in allegations of a conflict of interest. He recalled that in his accountability column in the Stabroek News of October 29, 2018, he had noted that the Minister’s spouse, the Managing Director of a law firm in Guyana, had announced the setting up of offices in Houston, Texas, to provide legal services in the oil and gas sector to potential clients desirous of setting up operations in Guyana.
Goolsarran referred to the Code of Conduct for public officials enshrined in the Integrity Commission Act which states that a person in public life must not allow private interests to conflict with his or her public duties or improperly influence his or her conduct in the performance of his or her public duties.
With reference to Minister Highes, Goolsarran insists that “To the extent she continues to retain ownership of the company in question, or an interest in it, she is in breach of the Code of Conduct contained in the Act. This could trigger an investigation by the Commission and possibly criminal proceedings.” He said that alternatively, Hughes could “choose to resign from her position” as the Integrity Commission Act is clear on the issue of conflict of interest and she should “divest” herself of the conflict of interest.
In the case of the Minister responsible for the CH&PA, an investigation should be launched to ascertain the basis of the award of the contract. If it is found that the spouse won the contract in an open, competitive and transparent manner, the issue becomes of lesser importance. However, he should be precluded from bidding for future government contracts, giving the status of his spouse as a Minister of the Government,” Goolsarran said.
He said that the two ministers need to decide swiftly what their choices would be.
Goolsarran also noted that this is not the first time Hughes has been embroiled in allegations of a conflict of interest. He recalled that in his accountability column in the Stabroek News of October 29, 2018, he had noted that the Minister’s spouse, the Managing Director of a law firm in Guyana, had announced the setting up of offices in Houston, Texas, to provide legal services in the oil and gas sector to potential clients desirous of setting up operations in Guyana.
Cup Finals
Softball Cricket Canada (SCC) created history when for the first time an All Stars Open Canadian team and an Over-40 Masters Canadian team made it to the finals of a Softball Cricket International Competition. But neither team saw success in the finals of the 15th Edition of the Florida Cup that was played at the Central Broward Regional Stadium over the April 12-14 weekend.
In the finals of the All Stars Open competition SCC All Stars played against Regal All Stars, a visiting team from Guyana, but lost by a commanding 131 runs. Regal who won the toss and batted first, plundered 233 runs for 7 wickets in their 20 overs. In reply, SCC All Stars could only manage 102 runs in their allotted 20 overs.
In the finals of the Masters Over-40, SCC Masters were also unsuccessful against their opponent SVC Corriverton, a team from New York. SCC batted first and made 144 runs for 8 wickets in their 20 overs. SVC Masters overhauled the total in 19.2 overs.
The two SCC teams played 10 matches in the overall tournament and won seven of those. Their opponents included teams from New York, Guyana, Orlando, Minnesota and Florida.
Key performers among the SCC All Stars Open team were Avinash Sookdeo, with 97 runs in one game; Captain L. Ramsuchit who scored the most runs for SCC during the tournament; Bolonauth Sukhu who won the trophy for most wickets taken; and Skadachie who took 13 wickets.
In the SCC Over-40 Masters matches, key performers were Imran Ally with 158 runs in one game, consistent batting from Chattergoon, Muniram and Aftab and outstanding bowling from the Captain Bobby, Blade and Muniram.
This was the second tournament that the SCC has undertaken, the first was an Open All Star team that toured Guyana last November.
Softball Cricket Canada is a new organization that started less than eight months ago. In this brief period, it has made it to the just concluded two finals of the Florida Cup. The president Rajesh Willie, Vice-president Amar Punu and the other management team of Rabendra Lall, Leon Raghunauth, Zanil Jumarali, Rajindra Singh, Orin O’Neil, Naresh Bhagwandin, Nimraj Lekhraj and Rajendra Ramanand, are all proud of the success the team has had so far and have already started preparation for the New York Cup to be played there on June 28-30, 2019.
The organization operates on the principle that the best players from the various cricket leagues are selected to represent Canada in international competitions which are played in Florida, New York, Guyana and Canada. Player selection is based on performances during league cricket that's played in the summer months.
In the finals of the All Stars Open competition SCC All Stars played against Regal All Stars, a visiting team from Guyana, but lost by a commanding 131 runs. Regal who won the toss and batted first, plundered 233 runs for 7 wickets in their 20 overs. In reply, SCC All Stars could only manage 102 runs in their allotted 20 overs.
In the finals of the Masters Over-40, SCC Masters were also unsuccessful against their opponent SVC Corriverton, a team from New York. SCC batted first and made 144 runs for 8 wickets in their 20 overs. SVC Masters overhauled the total in 19.2 overs.
The two SCC teams played 10 matches in the overall tournament and won seven of those. Their opponents included teams from New York, Guyana, Orlando, Minnesota and Florida.
Key performers among the SCC All Stars Open team were Avinash Sookdeo, with 97 runs in one game; Captain L. Ramsuchit who scored the most runs for SCC during the tournament; Bolonauth Sukhu who won the trophy for most wickets taken; and Skadachie who took 13 wickets.
In the SCC Over-40 Masters matches, key performers were Imran Ally with 158 runs in one game, consistent batting from Chattergoon, Muniram and Aftab and outstanding bowling from the Captain Bobby, Blade and Muniram.
This was the second tournament that the SCC has undertaken, the first was an Open All Star team that toured Guyana last November.
Softball Cricket Canada is a new organization that started less than eight months ago. In this brief period, it has made it to the just concluded two finals of the Florida Cup. The president Rajesh Willie, Vice-president Amar Punu and the other management team of Rabendra Lall, Leon Raghunauth, Zanil Jumarali, Rajindra Singh, Orin O’Neil, Naresh Bhagwandin, Nimraj Lekhraj and Rajendra Ramanand, are all proud of the success the team has had so far and have already started preparation for the New York Cup to be played there on June 28-30, 2019.
The organization operates on the principle that the best players from the various cricket leagues are selected to represent Canada in international competitions which are played in Florida, New York, Guyana and Canada. Player selection is based on performances during league cricket that's played in the summer months.
