‘DISTORTIONS, INACCURACIES, LIES, FABRICATIONS’
– stands by earlier statement Ministry does not award contracts
EDUCATION Minister Shaik Baksh has taken offence at being called a ‘liar’ in yesterday’s edition of the controversial Kaieteur News and has announced that the matter will now be taken to court – a higher forum that will serve to ‘test’ just how accurate the statement is.
“Distortions, inaccuracies, lies and fabrications,” were words prominently used by the minister yesterday as he described the information featured in the said newspaper.
Baksh spoke at the usual post-Cabinet news conference following a presentation by Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, at the Office of the President, Shiv Chanderpaul  Drive, Georgetown.
Addressing issues surrounding the award of contracts to Digital Technology, Baksh explained that a paid advertisement from the Education Ministry was featured in yesterday’s edition of the daily newspapers, with the exception of Kaieteur News, that sought to clear up several distortions.
Baksh stressed that the Education Ministry does not award or grant contracts and that he was in possession of evidence to show that the $70M contract was awarded by the Tender Board on April 20 last, based on a no-objection issued by Cabinet on April 13 last.
The Kaieteur News has however, reported that the $223M contract was awarded before the $70M contract by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
Furthermore, the minister said the $222, 947,632 contract was awarded by the Tender Board, by way of letter, on July 12. “This is the clearest of all the evidence that this newspaper intends to distort information for some ulterior motive. It’s clear as day. It will not end here because to call a minister a liar has to be tested in a different forum,”  Minister Baksh declared.
“The tender processes are transparent and all Kaieteur News had to do was go to the website. The Procurement Board, about a year or two ago, decided to make public all awards of tenders. They (the newspaper) have decided to continue to exhume the sludge to misrepresent this matter,” Baksh pointed out.
Explaining the process involved, the minister said public advertisements are placed, tenders are opened at the Procurement Board and an evaluation committee is subsequently appointed, one that has independence. “It has no influence by any ministers,” Baksh said.
The Tender Board then meets and submits a report with recommendations to Cabinet for no objections. Based on these no-objections, the recommendations are returned to the Tender Board subsequent to which the awards are issued.
“I stand clearly by that process. There is a transparent process in operation and the Procurement Board is the authority set up by legislation to do its work, including the appointment of the  evaluation committees,” the minister remarked.
Baksh also sought to clear-up the said newspaper’s claim that a minister of government is suspected to be a financier of Digital Technology. He charged that any “responsible media house” will not make such a public statement without going further and naming the minister.
“It has a bounding duty so to do,” the minister declared, adding that the newspaper’s reputation will be adversely affected in future since its readership expects it to name the minister and provide the evidence.
“Kaieteur News takes it upon itself to be a protector and an anti-corruption crusader and when you have evidence of conflict of interest and corruption, you must state it publicly. I’m quite sure that is the Government of Guyana’s position.”
Kaieteur News reporters were not prevented from asking questions following the minister’s remarks. However, the disrespectful attitude with which one of the reporters continued to ask questions, prompted moderator Mr. Kwame Mc Coy, to call in security.