AS the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) convened on Monday, Public Works Minister, Juan Edghill, lamented the lack of documentation to outline the $1.88 billion transaction between the former government and local contractor, BK International.
The monies were paid to the company as settlement in a 2015 lawsuit where the company claimed to have had its services on the Haags Bosch Landfill project “wrongfully terminated” by the Government of Guyana.
It was the People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s Donald Ramotar-led administration that terminated BK International’s contract in February 2015 based on what it said were several breaches to the project contract, including missed deadlines.
By June, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) which funded the bulk of the Haags Bosch project, threatened to pull funding if the contractor, BK International was not removed.
Notwithstanding this, the company denied the allegations and filed a lawsuit against the government for wrongful termination, and the then Chief Justice, Ian Chang ruled in favour of the company. It was then agreed that the government would enter into an out-of-court settlement, and in 2017, following negotiations with the Ministry of Legal Affairs, under the Coalition Government, payments to the company were made via three Inter-Departmental Warrants (IDWs).
On Monday, Permanent Secretary (PS) for the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development (LGRD), Prema Roopnarine, was asked to provide documentations chronicling the transaction, but she could not do so.
The Permanent Secretary, who was not in the position when the matter was being dealt with,
said that she could not locate any documents relating to the settlement within the ministry.
The former Permanent Secretary, Emil McGarrell, who joined the meeting virtually, explained that the settlement payments were not handled by what was known then as the Ministry of Communities. Rather, the monies were disbursed by the Legal Affairs Ministry, which was, at that time, headed by Basil Williams of the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC).
McGarrell indicated that he too never saw the transaction documents but believes that they can be sourced from the Legal Affairs Ministry.
Consequently, Minister Edghill sought clarity as to why the payments were made by the Legal Affairs Ministry and not Local Government Ministry.
Similar questions were raised by Opposition PAC member, David Patterson. At this point, the Accountant General intervened to explain that the issuing of settlement payments falls within the jurisdiction of the Legal Affairs Ministry.
With even more questions being raised in relation to the settlement, Permanent Secretary Roopnarine was instructed to track down and submit a number of documents to the PAC.
Minister Edghill requested submission of the initial application filed in the court, along with evidence of not only the court hearing but the negotiated settlement as well.
Patterson on the other hand asked that details of the original contract signed in 2009 also be presented to the PAC.
Added to that, Patterson wants to be furnished with a copy of Cabinet’s decision on the matter, along with the initially proposed settlement offer.
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira added her voice to the argument, asking that the report explaining the IDB’s concerns be provided as well.
Teixeira wants a copy of the Cabinet decision which greenlighted supplementary funds to compensate the contractor.
Moreover, attorney-at-law Sanjeev Datadin requested a copy of the settlement contract, along with a copy of the minutes taken during the settlement meeting with BK International.
PS Roopnarine and her team are expected to return to the PAC within two weeks.
