…DCEO accused of falsifying plane charters, contracts for infomercials

THE Deputy Chief Elections Officer (DCEO) of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), Mr. Vishnu Persaud, has been accused of racketeering during his time as Public Relations Officer (PRO) of that entity, and in the post he currently holds.Top officials of that elections management body have made this allegation against Mr. Persaud, and have said that moves are in train to have the allegations investigated.

Mr. Persaud has denied all the allegations levelled against him, and has charged that persons at GECOM are out to tarnish his reputation.

The Guyana Elections Commission is currently embroiled in a corruption scandal, with Chief Elections Officer (CEO) Keith Lowenfield being at the centre of the allegations. However, sources within GECOM have also accused the Deputy CEO, Mr. Vishnu Persaud, of misusing funds allocated for the chartering of flights from Canada to Guyana during the 2015 General and Regional Elections and Local Government Elections held earlier this year.

The chartered flights contained sensitive materials used for the two elections: ballot papers, statements of poll (SOPs) and tally sheets.

Documents seen by the Guyana Chronicle show that, in 2015, an allocation of US$234,095 was provided for the aforementioned service; however, a source has said, “When the people sent the invoice, it showed that US$70,800 (were) paid for the air cargo. Where did the difference go?” the source asked, revealing also that there is no evidence to show that the US$163,295 had been used in other areas.

Similarly, for the 2016 Local Government Elections held this year, a total of US$235,500 was allocated for the same purpose, but the “real cost” was US$62,540, according to the source.

The source has questioned why the sum requested and approved was higher — although not significantly so — than that requested and provided for in 2015.

BALLOT PAPERS
Ballot papers, statements of poll and tally sheets were produced by Canadian company Electoral Services International Inc. Guyana has, over the years, turned to Canada for the production of sensitive material to be used for elections.

Mr. Persaud has said he is not surprised, notwithstanding the mounting allegations. He told the Guyana Chronicle on Tuesday that, given his position, he expects that allegations would be placed at his feet.

“I am not responsible for anything (I am accused of) in any way, shape or form,” he said, as he explained that he had no direct monetary transaction with the Canadian company. He has described the allegations as ludicrous.

In the case of 2015, Persaud said, GECOM received invoices from Electoral Services International Inc., but sums of money were never paid or handled by specific individuals. He said it was the Ministry of Finance that approved the payment of the required amounts, and “a wire transfer was done directly to the company.”

“Accountancy records can show and verify what I am saying…. The Tender Board is also involved…so what they are saying…it cannot be…. No money is handled by third parties and middlemen,” he explained.

Seemingly perturbed by the allegations levelled against him, Persaud said it is clear that persons within GECOM have a vendetta against him. “These things are untrue…. It is so malicious!” he remarked, as he told Guyana Chronicle: “The only reason I was involved is because the Commission entrusted me.”

Asked if he could verify his clarification, Persaud said: “I don’t have access to (anything) in the Administrative and Accounts departments.”

A perusal of the contract between GECOM and the Canadian company shows that the company charged GECOM US$320,550 to provide general ballots, tender ballot, tally sheets, statements of poll, indelible ink, PP Seal with sequential numbering, wax seal stamp, and transport by air and charter. However, in the case of transport by air and charter, no specific monetary allocation was made, as was the case with the other items. Instead, that item remained blank.

That aside, the contract indicated that “payment shall be made to the contractor’s (Electoral Services International Inc.) account”. Information specific to that transfer was provided. “Confirmation of wire transfer from the Employer’s Bank to the Contractor shall be sufficient notice of payment of the contract sum,” the contract, dated April 20, 2015, stated.

INFOMERCIALS
DECO Persaud has also been accused of handpicking a video production company, TroyTec Video Productions, to produce infomercials for GECOM over the past 5 years. According to the source, from 2011 to the present, TroyTec Video Productions, owned and managed by Troy Christopher who operates out of South Ruimveldt, Georgetown, was paid approximately $600M.

Asked whether other persons were required to submit quotations to GECOM, the source said, “He (Persaud) would get [other] quotations, but the other persons would be disqualified for one reason or another.”

Guyana Chronicle was informed that Troy Tech Video Productions has reportedly failed to pay Value Added Tax (VAT) to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), and reportedly owes in excess of $50M to that entity.

“He (Persaud) did the analysis…he recommended that VAT be paid to Troy Tech…. This is fraud,” declared the source.

Documents seen by this publication revealed that, from 2011 to present, other companies had indeed submitted proposals to provide infomercial service to GECOM, but were mostly unsuccessful.

Guyenterprise, Merundoi, Video Mega Productions, Night Video Production, and Digicel Inc. had submitted quotations and (or) proposals to GECOM for the required services but were sidelined, according to the source.

In defence of TroyTec Video Productions being chosen, Persaud said: “It was not only about the cost.” He said the production company provided the “widest coverage…and the production cost was less.” He added that the process of selection was a transparent one, as advertisements were published in every instance.

But the GECOM source has said that, even with TroyTec receiving the bulk of money for infomercials, “only 50 per cent of the work was completed.”

NOT ME
“GECOM has no verification system…The DECO said he monitors, and after monitoring he issues a certificate of performance and recommends final payment,” the source said. Notwithstanding the source’s allegations, Persaud said that before recommendations were made for TroyTec to be paid, statements had to be submitted from all media houses verifying the information was published.

However, when contacted, Troy Christopher said he has not received in excess of $600M from GECOM. He told Guyana Chronicle that he bid for contracts based on advertisements published by GECOM. “I have not received that kind of money,” he said.

He explained that, since 2011, he has been doing work “on and off” for GECOM, and that he is “only a middle man.”

Asked to explain why he does not pay VAT to the Guyana Revenue Authority, he said, “The tender never stated anything about VAT…quotations are submitted with VAT…I don’t charge VAT.” Christopher said he was told by GRA officials that he “can’t sign up for VAT…I have to earn over $10M or thereabout before I can charge VAT.”

He explained that his business is an agency which channels money to television stations based on work produced for broadcast. “I don’t know about that kind of money,” he remarked repeatedly.

LEAKING INFO
Persaud has also been accused of leaking to the Kaieteur News information about what is perceived to be sinister activities carried out by several senior GECOM officials. Kaieteur News, in its latest article, headlined “GECOM used fake quotation in $100M radio purchase”, dated October 4, 2016, accused senior GECOM officials of using fake quotations to purchase radio sets in the lead-up to the May 2015 elections.

“When I first saw the publication — or rather heard about it — I was on vacation in New York…. It was brought to my attention then, and I was shocked; but now this thing is increasing. I have not leaked anything, I don’t have access to (anything)…. If they think I am leaking information, then that’s probably why they are doing things to besmirch my character,” said Persaud.