THE State Asset Recovery Programme recently set up by Government has been making progress in the recovery of State assets from a number of individuals. This disclosure was made by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon at yesterday’s post-cabinet press briefing when he noted that the Government’s resolve to recover these assets is as “sharp” as before.
The Government has been operating on a wider scale, said Harmon, by coordinating with various agencies of the State to fully recover the outstanding assets.
“The important thing is that we recover those assets, and we are going to go after those persons who have them,” declared Harmon.
Additionally, the Government has benefited from a wide degree of consultations and information from a number of agencies, while getting a clearer picture of the operations carried by the former Administration.
Police investigations led to the return of eight vehicles to the Public Service Ministry. Five vehicles were returned between June 19 and 20 while three were returned earlier. These vehicles were said to have been transferred during the PPP Administration at the behest of former Public Service Minister, Dr. Jennifer Westford.
Harmon recently opined that the persons who returned the vehicles probably took the opportunity to take advantage of the limited amnesty offered by Government, to have persons return State assets before they are prosecuted.
This then led to the establishment of the State Recovery Programme to ensure the return of not just State-owned vehicles but all State-owned assets. The unit is headed by Professor Clive Thomas and has been thoroughly examining all cases and will seek to take public action soon.
Meanwhile, Italy recently agreed to boost Guyana’s capacity to recover its state assets. Funding was done through the CARICOM Secretariat to ensure Guyana’s participation in the training programme: ‘Illicit Economy and Financial Flows Investigation and Asset Recovery’ in Italy. Police Superintendant, Wayne De Hart was identified to attend the programme from July 6 to 12.