Dear Editor,
Dr Tarron Khemraj, in the fourth paragraph of his article captioned ‘How to gain over US$1 billion per year from Guyanese Diaspora’ (Stabroek News, January 13), writes “Patronage also explains why mid-level professionals like Mr Winston Brassington are being harassed by the APNU+AFC government” and “SARU is just a charade to pacify an ethnic mass easily swayed by simplistic propaganda and flawed calculations. In any case, the marginal cost of operating SARU will be greater than the marginal benefit.”
I was shocked by the above quotes which are serious indictments of the APNU+AFC government, headed by President David Granger, and of SARU, headed by Dr Clive Thomas. I recall that leading up to the May 11, 2015 general elections, Dr Khemraj was a staunch supporter of Mr Granger and lauded his “leadership acumen”. And Dr Thomas is a world renowned economist who I believe was Dr Khemraj’s Economics professor when the latter was an undergraduate, pursuing a degree in Economics at the University of Guyana. Yet, upon reflection on the way the Goolsarran’s audit of NICIL is being handled, I am tending to believe that Dr Khemraj may be on to something.
Prior to the elections, leadership of the parties now in government were very critical of NICIL, informing the electorate of their certainty that NICIL was involved in corrupt and illegal activities. Then, shortly after assuming office, the new government established SARU to recover state assets that were believed to have been fraudulently converted to private ownership, and commissioned an audit of NICIL by former Auditor General, Mr Anand Goolsarran.
During the audit, implied audit findings relating to illegalities and corruption were reported by the Kaieteur News. In an article on October 18, 2015 titled ‘Forensic audit recommends criminal charges against Brassington -Jaipaul Sharma’, the paper quoted Minister Sharma as saying “[the audit report] exposes some alarming things, some acts of corruption which are just unbelievable and nauseating… NICIL really was operating as the PPP’s greatest force in making corrupt acts realized”.
As we fast forward to January 14, 2016, we see the Guyana Chronicle, under the caption
‘Criminal probe… SOCU questions PPP MPs, Sam Hinds,’ reporting that
Minister of State Joseph Harmon, announced that Cabinet had deliberated on the report submitted to it and directed that “the report and accompanying notes of the consultant and advice of the Minister be handed to the Commissioner of Police and the Special Organised Crime Unit for investigations, as to whether there were any acts of criminality committed by those concerned and to take the process forward; that the said reports be submitted to the Auditor General for a more precise audit of the issues highlighted in the report; that the Minister of Finance give instructions for a transaction audit of NICIL to be conducted”.
So what we seem to have is, firstly, a silencing of the two most vociferous advocates of prosecution, ie, Minister Sharma and Dr Clive Thomas; secondly, a more tempered approach by Mr Harmon as to “whether there were any acts of criminality”; and thirdly, an apparent passing of the buck where the police are left to carry the can for the politicians. Interesting too is that Auditor General Deodat Sharma is now being called upon “for a more precise audit” when his office was initially sidelined in preference for Dr Goolsarran, a staunch critic of the previous government. This late involvement of Auditor General Sharma raises the question of the value of the work by Dr Goolsarran.
We know that Mr Brassington has claimed consistently that he has done nothing wrong. He has stated that his actions were within the relevant laws, approved by NICIL’s Board, and he was guided by professional legal advice. It is unlikely too, that Mr Brassington, an astute businessman, would not have signed a retainer contract with the previous government that offers him indemnity for legal liability incurred as a result of his role in NICIL. If this is the case, then the current government may have to fund his legal bills should he be taken to court. By the time the saga of NICIL comes to an end, we will be able determine how accurate is Dr Khemraj’s assessment and if indeed SARU was just a charade for “easily swayed” supporters.
Yours faithfully,
Harry Hergash
