– Mustapha dismisses allegations of corruption, says assets declared and lawfully earned
AGRICULTURE Minister Zulfikar Mustapha has again rejected the frivolous allegations being circulated across social media by the parliamentary opposition and Leader of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) leader, Azruddin Mohamed.
The U.S.-indicted Mohamed had recently sought to imply that Minister Mustapha’s residence at Bloomfield, Berbice, was acquired through corrupt means.
Speaking on the programme “Starting Point,” aired on Sunday, the minister said he regularly submits his annual income and asset declarations to the Integrity Commission and insisted he has “nothing to fear.”
He told listeners he had worked since 1989 and that all his assets were “earned honestly.”
Responding to accusations about properties, he said he could prove loans had been taken to finance their construction and dismissed the claims made by the opposition.
“The people who are making those allegations are the persons who have things in the closet. They have things to fear, and they will be held accountable shortly,” he said.
“I am open anytime for an investigation. I always submit all my annual income and all my assets to the integrity commission,” Minister Mustapha added.
In a statement, he had maintained that the construction of the property was financed solely through a mortgage from Demerara Bank Limited and personal savings earned through lawful employment.
He pointed to his more than three decades of public service, including stints as a Member of Parliament, Regional Chairman of Region Six and, since 2020, a minister in the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government.
He said his statutory declarations to the Integrity Commission were up to date and that he could account for all assets in his possession.
On the country’s broader prospects, the minister responded to a question from a previous guest about where he saw Guyana in 10 years’ time.
In response, he predicted a transformation beyond petroleum wealth. “Guyana will be, once again, the food basket of the Caribbean,” he said, adding that the nation would not only be an oil producer but a leading supplier of food to the region.
