THE time has come for the Government of Guyana to re-establish the Office of the Ombudsman. An example that vividly illustrates the need for this is a $41 million dollar question that needs to be answered by University of Guyana’s Faculty of Technology and the Guyana Geology and Mining Commission. To be precise, it is a $41.5 million question. The said Faculty received grants of $41.5 million from GGMC for the academic years 2004-05 through 2009-10. During this period the Dean of the Faculty was Professor Sherwood Lowe. To date, these grants have not been accounted for. There is some evidence of its use: a small shed was built to store geological samples and some scholarships were awarded to students. However, these expenditures are only a fraction of the $41.5 million. What was the remainder spent on?

If there was a functioning Office of the Ombudsman, an inquiry could have been conducted forthwith. It would be independent of the government and would have investigators that include Chartered Accountants. They could audit the use of the grants by the Faculty and determine if the grants were misappropriated, which is what some are alleging. 

Furthermore, the investigators would have also found the disappearance of three of the ten computers provided to the Faculty of Technology by CGX Energy Inc, the oil and gas exploration company, while Professor Lowe was its Dean. Students speak in hushed tones that Faculty instructors have those three computers in their homes. If so, this criminal practice must be addressed immediately by the Criminal Investigation Department of the Guyana Police Force.

Clearly, these events at the Faculty of Technology under the stewardship of Professor Lowe are unacceptable. They border on the criminal. Mr. William Woolford, the Acting Commissioner of GGMC must immediately demand proper accounting for the state’s money. Also, this matter ought to be of grave concern to Prime Minister Sam Hinds because GGMC falls under his portfolio.

Of course an Office of the Ombudsman would have been all over these matters already. Even under the PNC Government a then Minister, David Singh, was being investigated for misappropriation of Government funds intended for developments along what is today called Homestretch Avenue. He died before the investigation could be completed.

I am calling on the relevant authorities, including the Prime Minister of Guyana, the Acting Commissioner of GGMC, the Commissioner of Police and the Chancellor of the University, to coordinate an inquiry into these matters. Please do not shirk your responsibilities to our students and the nation. The $41 million question and the disappearance of three computers intended for students use must be answered by the past immediate Dean, Professor Sherwood Lowe.