PPP still waiting on NCN to send invoices for political advertisements- Rohee

Last Updated on Monday, 6 June 2016, 11:59 by Denis Chabrol

The People’s Progressive Party  (PPP) on Monday brushed aside suggestions that it used its advantage of incumbency to secure free political advertisements on  Guyana’s National Communications Network (NCN) for the 2011 and 2015 general election campaigns, and said it was up to the company to submit its invoices.

“We have asked for the data, we have asked for the invoices. We asked also for the materials to be attached as evidence for these debts. We haven’t received anything as yet,” said party  General Secretary, Clement Rohee. He declined to say specifically how long ago and from whom the information was requested.

He said NCN has long been asked in writing to send its invoices, and he hinted that no new request would be dispatched to the state radio and television broadcaster despite reports of a more than GYD$20 million debt. “They have correspondence from us that remains unanswered. That’s a government agency, they have to do their work,” Rohee said.

Rohee said his party wanted copies of the numerous forensic audits of NCN and other entities to be formally presented to the party and the former chairpersons of those entities so that they could respond.

Asked whether the PPP used its then incumbency to acquire free advertisements, he said “I know the party pays for whatever services it purchases or solicits or procures or that is outsourced – the PPP I am talking about- so we need to make a distinction between whatever they have; whether it is the government ministries or whether is the PPP,” he said. He labeled  as a “judgment issue” about whether the party had used its position as the party in power.