….legal action sought

MINISTER of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, has expressed concern about sensitive personal details which a social media page, allegedly connected to the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP), obtained regarding a trip he made overseas in 2016.

Minister Patterson noted on his Facebook page on Friday evening that the operators of the page claimed that a sum of US$9000 was transferred to his personal bank account.
He explained that in April 2016, via the Chinese Embassy in Guyana, an invitation was extended to him to attend and make a presentation at the 7th International Investment and Construction Forum in Macao, China.

The orgainzers committed to reimburse travel-related expenses up to US$10,000, he said and the government green-lighted his participation in the event. He said the advance for the trip was paid by the Maritime Administration Department.

“I attended the conference, and sometime in 2017, a refund for my travels was processed and paid to me as the attendee. I promptly remitted same to MARAD. This is not an unusual practice with regard to reimbursements for international travel,” he said.
He said what is “deeply worrying” about the situation is that the PPP has illegally sought and obtained his personal financial details from a bank used by him or an agency that receives such information.

He said that he has since instructed his lawyers to take the necessary legal actions against any offending party.