– threatens legal action if statement is not withdrawn

THE Ministry of Agriculture on Saturday fiercely debunked “malicious, false, and libelous” allegations of the smuggling of chicken made by the Office of the Leader of the Opposition APNU+AFC.
The political opposition, in a statement issued, claimed that “major corruption was unearthed in the Ministry of Agriculture where it is alleged that the Minister of Agriculture and at least one other senior official in the Ministry of Agriculture linked to the PPP are accused of smuggling truckloads of chicken and then instructing the police to release their booty.”

The Opposition did not provide any evidence and only cited a “police source.” This cause the Ministry of Agriculture to vehemently deny the allegation, noting that a decision was made by the government to import chicken given the fact that local chicken consumption has vastly increased, resulting in the local supply being unable to meet the growing demand.
The Agriculture Ministry released the Application for Import Licence which was issued to the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC); the supplier was Simextra International from Suriname.
The ministry also released the document from the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), which basically granted permission for the chickens to be imported. The GMC was also granted an import permit from the Guyan Livestock Development Authority.

In justifying its decision to import the chicken, the ministry explained that the local chicken industry was seriously affected by an outbreak of avian influenza in the United States of America earlier this year. It was also noted that the outbreak, in turn, negatively affected the importation of hatching eggs, which led to the depletion of an already inadequate supply of chicken in Guyana.

“The decision to import chicken was to not only ensure adequate supplies but also to stabilise prices in an effort to protect consumers.
“In the circumstances, the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC), a Public Corporation, owned and controlled by the Government of Guyana and which falls under the supervisory authority of the Ministry of Agriculture was duly instructed and authorised to import chicken in order to meet the demand of the local market,” the ministry contended.
Considering that there are relevant documents that support the legal importation of the chicken in question, the Ministry of Agriculture called on the Office of the Leader of the Opposition to withdraw the “baseless, reckless, and libelous allegation immediately. The statement has already been sent for legal advice. Unless withdrawn, legal proceedings will be instituted.”