CHAIRMAN of the Alliance For Change (AFC) Khemraj Ramjattan is fully backing his ministerial colleagues and AFC executive member Cathy Hughes against conflict-of-interest accusations levelled at her.
Included among the accusations by critics is that she has breached the Code of Conduct contained in the Integrity Commission Act, claiming that she is still the owner of Videomega Productions.

The accusation of conflict of interest and incestuous relationships surfaced after opposition People’s Progressive Party’s Chief Whip Gail Teixeira claimed that Hughes’s company benefitted from a multi-million dollar contract to produce radio, television and other media materials for the Ministry of the Presidency’s Department of Energy.

But Hughes in a reply stated, “In my declarations to the Integrity Commission made in July 2018, prior to the declarations of most members of the National Assembly, including the leader of the opposition, I fully disclosed my interest in Videomega Productions Ltd,” she said in a statement.
She categorically stated that she has not engaged in any conflict of interest in her ministerial capacity. “I have taken no decision in my capacity as Minister of Public Telecommunications or in my personal capacity, which has been the subject of a conflict of interest,” the minister added.

Asked at a news conference on Friday, whether the party (AFC) has engaged Hughes on the issue, Ramjattan remarked, “ We do not engage our ministers like that, when there is something egregious, we will certainly do; we have not found anything egregious at all, and so why should we go engaging her, and that’s the end of the matter quite frankly.”
Earlier, Ramjattan had noted that while the minister made several statements in relation to the matter, and had indicated that while the company was one that benefitted from certain contracts, Minister Ramjattan said his understanding is that it is just a commission. In addition, the company is largely handled by one Russel Lancaster.

“She has nothing to do with the company at the time, and if indeed that was done, … we all know she didn’t have to declare that she was a member of that company, we all know she has disassociated active participation from that company and I do not see where the conflict of interest is.
“That’s my opinion, she’s made the declaration, she has disassociated from the management of it , Russel Lancaster runs it ,and if indeed the company has done contracts , why not, the company should be awarded those contracts and that is what has happened. “
The minister reiterated his understanding that the commission from these contracts from which the company benefitted is very minimal as compared to the overall amount.

On this note, he spoke of the Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo “is going making mountains out of molehills,” adding that that’s the nature of the territory that we `wuk’ as politicians, “but quite frankly I don’t see anything deleterious about it , I don’t see anything damaging about it. In the circumstances of Cathy Hughes , Minister Of Public Telecommunications making the declarations and coming very transparent,” he added. .