Demerara Waves Online News- Guyana Riding on the Crest of Truth
Last Updated on Friday, 20 December 2024, 23:28 by Denis Chabrol
PNCR Leader Aubrey Norton
Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton on Friday fended off questions of accountability and transparency by the coalition A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) administration, saying that he never asked two then government ministers about the “details” of persistent allegations by the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC).
“I did not seek details. I have an understanding of the PPP. They believe in repeating the same thing many times and don’t care how it is wrong, they believe it will become right and so the answer to your question is that I did not engage them on the details,” he said when asked why he did not ask then APNU+AFC government ministers David Patterson and Catherine Hughes about those allegations that are made frequently against them.
Asked to respond to those allegations against Mr Patterson and Ms Hughes, who are current APNU+AFC parliamentarians, Mr Norton shunted Demerara Waves to the two persons, saying they are still “active” politicians.
FILE PHOTO:Minister within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Annette Ferguson (third, right) receives the completed Feasibility Study and Design for the new Demerara River Bridge from Mr. Ariel Mol of LievenseCSO (second, right). With them are the members of the project team: DHBC General Manager and Project Manager, Mr. Rawlston Adams (third, left); Chief Transport and Planning Officer at MPI, Mr. Patrick Thompson (second, left); Senior Engineer (Transport and Planning), Mr. Ronald Roberts (left); and Transport Planning Officer (Economist) Ms. Ramona Duncan (right)
The then Public Infrastructure Ministry, under then minister David Patterson, had been cited for awarding a contract to The Netherlands-based LievenseCSO for a feasibility study and design of the new Demerara Harbour Bridge rather than heed the advice of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board. Mr Patterson and the former General Manager of the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation (DHBC), Rawlston Adams had been charged with defrauding the DHBC of GY$162,635,015 for the study and design project for which the funds could not have been used. In relation to that matter, Mr Norton said monies were paid but he was unaware that the contract was awarded. He said the PNCR and the Opposition Leader should not respond to issues for which they have no details. “I’m not here going to sit to defend anything. I have said before that there were mistakes in the last government. I don’t know all the details,” Mr Norton said.
Then Minister of Public Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes is often cited for the award of an estimated GY$6 million worth contracts by her ministry to her company, Video Mega Productions. She had denied engaging in conflict of interest.
Declaring that the People’s National Congress Reform-led APNU+AFC government was “accountable”, he said copies of official receipts recently produced by former Finance Minister Winston Jordan shows that the US$18 million signature bonus from ExxonMobil was with the government and was used by the PPPC administration to pay legal fees for its boundary dispute case against Venezuela before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). He boasted that the David Granger-led administration had established the Public Procurement Commission that allows complaints and appeals against the award of contracts. “The attempt to suggest that we were not accountable is totally untrue,” he
Mrs Cathy Hughes
said. He conceded that there was “some amount of corruption” during the coalition administration by some persons who continued to work with the government even after the PPPC lost the 2015 elections. “One of the mistakes I think we made: we inherited many public servants who were in the culture of corruption and we didn’t change them. Not saying that they all were corrupt but I can say to you in a very consistent way, the APNU+AFC in government sought to address corruption and to ensure accountability,” he said.
Mr Norton said the current PPPC administration has tinkered with the bipartisan parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC), resulting in its failure to examine expenditures from 2020 to 20224.
The Opposition Leader assailed the PPPC administration on its record of corruption, citing 19 fraud charges against Dr Irfaan Ali that were subsequently dropped after he was elected President in 2020 and several infrastructure and other scams under the PPPC.