-says Luncheon being malicious
The PNCR has again denied that it has been unable to account for the $100M allocated to the party for the payment of scrutineers and said that each month it has been submitting a pay-sheet listing the scrutineers’ names to the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM).
In a press release on Saturday following comments by head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon that the opposition party had not accounted for the $100M allocated to it for the payment of scrutineers in the national house-to-house registration process, the PNCR said that his comments were misleading and demanded an apology.
“The People’s National Congress Reform demands an unqualified apology from Dr. Luncheon for the deliberate and malicious misinformation which, as spokesman for President Jagdeo, he deliberately spread to the nation about the PNCR being unable to account for $100M from GECOM”, the party declared adding that Dr Luncheon should clean his own stables first and find out whether the PPP/C can account for the $100m-plus, which was also paid to them.
The PNCR statement asserted that it is clear that Dr. Luncheon wants to deceive the public into believing that money paid to the scrutineers comes to the PNCR as a Party. The statement explained that it was agreed that an allowance be paid to scrutineers for the work they are required to do to guarantee the integrity of the Registration process. It noted that under the agreed system, scrutineers were appointed by the PPP/C and the Opposition and accredited by GECOM. “It is on the basis of this appointment and accreditation that the agreed sums are calculated for payment”, the party said.
It declared that every month the PNCR has been submitting a pay-sheet listing the names of scrutineers to GECOM adding that on this basis a cheque is issued against which each scrutineer is paid the amount entitled to and for which each scrutineer signs as having received. The statement explained that the document is then returned to GECOM as evidence of payment of the money released from the commission.
“The PNCR has accounted for all sums of money received in the aforesaid manner, with the exception of some sections of Region Eight and Upper Mazaruni in Region Seven. The sum involved is less than $1M”, the statement declared. It added that the Deputy Chief Scrutineer for those areas has signed acknowledging receipt of the bulk sum and individual receipts were being awaited because of the difficulty in accessing these areas on account of the terrain. As soon as these individual receipts are returned they will be submitted to GECOM, the party said.
Following Dr. Luncheon’s assertions, Stabroek News had contacted PNCR leader Robert Corbin and in dismissing the allegations, he had stated that “No money came to the PNC. It is dealings between GECOM and the Chief Scrutineer. Money was passed to that person to pay scrutineers working on the registration exercise,” Corbin had pointed out.
President Bharrat Jagdeo at a press conference at State House on Saturday had also accused the PNCR of misusing the $100M and said that the funds would be audited and if misuse was proven, the government would move against the PNCR for fraud. Jagdeo had stated that the cheques had gone directly to the Chief Scrutineer. When contacted on the issue yesterday, Chief Scrutineer for the PNCR, Amna Ally declined comment and said that she would prefer if Corbin is spoken to first.
The PNCR, in the release, also charged that Dr. Luncheon had been directed “to unleash a mischief making misinformation campaign” to divert the nation’s attention from issues such as the rising cost of living.
It said that the President had failed to undermine the party’s cost of living demonstration last Thursday and accused the PPP of ordering the police to arrest youths from areas such as Albouystown, where the party was mobilizing for the march, declaring that this was a dangerous development which Acting Police Commissioner Henry Greene must explain. The main opposition party also alleged that the police had been directed on Wednesday to prevent the passage of buses transporting participants from the West Coast of Berbice and other outlying areas and said this action too failed “hence Dr. Luncheon’s misinformation campaign, with respect to the payment of monies from GECOM for the work of Party scrutineers, was unleashed as a final assault.”
The party said that it would not take lightly any attempts to intimidate, harass or victimize protestors who are in pursuit of their legal and constitutional rights. It added that it hopes that President Jagdeo “will come to his senses and recognize that, as President of this country, he has the responsibility to effectively deal with the dire economic and social conditions being visited on the Guyanese masses as a result of the spiraling cost of living, induced primarily by 16% VAT”.
