THE Office of the President (OP) has strongly condemned the Sunday page one lead story in the Kaieteur News headlined `In excess ofUS$50M gifted to OP’ and has called for a full withdrawal of the “false statements”. In a statement last night, OP said the article included “gross untruths and malicious, fabricated assertions”.
“The article falsely claims that the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Co Ltd (GT&T) has gifted part of their revenue amounting to in excess of US$50M to the OP between the period 1999 and 2009.
“OP strongly asserts that at no time during the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration has GT&T gifted any monies whatsoever to OP”, the statement read.
It added: “The only monies that have been collected by  OP from GT&T have been sums that are due under the law namely,  Licence Fees payable under the  Operating Licence granted to GT&T in 1990 under the Telecommunications Act, 1990 (No. 27 of 1990). The Licence Fees as stipulated in the GT&T Operating Licence  is fixed at a rate of 0.1% of the gross revenues of GT&T based on the company’s revenues for the  preceding year of operation and is payable at the beginning of each year.  Such Licence Fees have been paid to the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Public Works and Communications for the period 1991 to 2007 and to the OP with effect from 2008, consequent upon the reversion of portfolio responsibility for the telecommunications sector to OP.  Such Licence Fees received by OP for the period 2008 to 2010 have approximated US$271,000 all of which has been paid into the Consolidated Fund as is required by the law.” 
OP expressed its “profound disappointment with Kaieteur News for the irresponsible publication of such specious, baseless statements and blatant lies under the guise of journalism. The blatant lies published by Kaieteur News cast serious aspersions on the professional conduct and ethics of GT&T, a significant member of the private sector of Guyana as well as on OP and the Government of Guyana.”
The statement said OP “censures Kaieteur News for engaging in such irresponsible, reprehensible and unprofessional conduct that appears calculated to damage and undermine the private sector and investment climate in Guyana and thwart the economic development of the country and is as such tantamount to a grossly unpatriotic act. 
“OP expects a full withdrawal of the false statements by Kaieteur News.”