…seeking $200M in damages

FINANCE Minister Winston Jordan has sued People’s Progressive Party (PPP) parliamentarian Juan Edghill for damages in the sum of $200M for maliciously filing a charge of misconduct in public office against him recently.

The charge was dismissed by the director of public prosecutions. The multimillion-dollar lawsuit comes approximately two months after the DPP dismissed ‘misconduct’ charges brought against the Finance Minister, the Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson, and Minister of Public Service, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine over the D’Urban Park Project.
The lawsuit in the form of a ‘Fixed Date Application’ was filed in the High Court on Friday by Attorney-at-Law Roysdale Forde on behalf of Minister Jordan.

In filing the application, Minister Jordan explained that on April 23, 2018, the PPP Member of Parliament instituted criminal proceedings against him in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court for the offence of ‘Misconduct in Public Office.’
It was noted that the director of public prosecutions pursuant to Article 187 (1) (c) of the Constitution of Guyana discontinued the charge on April 24, 2018.

The Minsters of Finance, Public Infrastructure and Public Service were accused of “wilfully misconducting themselves in a way which amounted to an abuse of public trust without reasonable excuse or justification,” when they paid or authorised to be paid the sum of $906,000,000 to Homestretch Development Incorporated and contractors engaged by the said company for works done at Durban Jubilee Park without any procurement process.

In providing information upon oath, Edghill had alleged that Jordan, while performing the duties of Minister of Finance between December, 2016 and March 31, 2017, had committed the act with respect to the Durban Jubilee Park project.
However, Jordan in making his case, said that the sum of $906M was approved by the National Assembly and was subsequently made available to the Public Infrastructure Ministry from the Consolidated Fund.

It was noted that the National Assembly after deliberating on Financial Paper No. 1 of 2016, Section “B” Capital Estimates had approved $406.758M for completion of the Durban Park Development Project. The National Assembly had also approved $500M as part of the Estimates of the Public Sector, Current and Capital Revenue of Expenditure for 2017 for outstanding payments of Durban Park.

“The Respondent [Edghill] as a Member of Parliament was aware that the National Assembly approved the sum of $$906,000,000.00 (Nine Hundred and Six Million Dollars) to be made available to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure and as such, could not honestly believe that the Applicant acted without reasonable excuse or justification in respect of issuing a warrant to effect disbursements and allocation to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure in respect of the sum of $906,000,000.00 (Nine Hundred and Six Million Dollars),” the Finance Minister argued in his application.

Minister Jordan argued too that Edghill at all material times was aware and ought to have been aware that he as Minister of Finance did not pay or authorise the payment of the sum of $906M to Homestretch Development Inc.

“Notwithstanding that the Respondent was at all material times a Member of Parliament, and a former Minister of Finance within the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Guyana, even an ordinary, prudent and cautious citizen placed as a complainant in the said Criminal Proceedings of Misconduct in Public Office against the Applicant could not have reasonably concluded that the Applicant was guilty of the offence or even draw an inference that the Applicant was guilty of the Offence of Misconduct in Public Office, as alleged by the Respondent,” Minister Jordan argued.

It is Jordan’s strong belief that the charge was filed against him to “embarrass, humiliate and cause him to suffer public odium and contempt. He noted that the matter of him being charged was widely reported in the print and electronic media, resulting in him being inundated with telephone calls from family, friends and even officials employed at international financial organisations.

According to the Finance Minister, he has suffered significant harm to his reputation and integrity as a direct result of the institution of the criminal proceedings against him by the PPP Member of Parliament.
The matter will come up in the High Court on July 13 before Justice Franklin Holder.