Following disclosures by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo of the transfer of millions in funds from the Department of Public Service to the children of Minister Simona Broomes, Director-General of the Ministry of the Presidency Joseph Harmon on Friday said the sums represented scholarship payments which they earned as part of their contracts with government.
Speaking at his weekly press conference two weeks ago, Jagdeo said as part of his duty to expose misconduct, he had made enquiries into transfers of significant sums to the personal accounts of the children of Minister with responsibility for Youth Simona Broomes. “We have asked for clarity, but there has been nothing but silence,” he said, while calling the transfers “state-sponsored kleptocracy.”
According to him, just over $20 million was transferred from the Ministry of the Presidency’s Department of Public Service to the accounts of two of the minister’s children. Her daughter, who this newspaper understands was a top academic performer at a local private school, received $10.47 million in 2018 and a further $7.63 million in 2019, while her son received $2.5 million sometime in 2018.
While Jagdeo claimed that “children should be left out of politics” and indicated that he would apologise if the information is wrong, he stressed that “the Minister and the Ministry of the Presidency need to answer.”
Harmon on Friday told a post-Cabinet press briefing that “monies are transferred based on agreements, on contracts and in this case on scholarships.”
“These are the proceeds of scholarship agreements in which the state provides funding and the parties are bound to provide service at the end of their period of training,” Harmon stated.
Sunday Stabroek contacted several professionals who received government scholarships for an explanation of the process and they each indicated that it is the norm for government to make payments into the account of the recipient.
One former scholarship awardee noted that the Chevening Award offers recipients a cash card with which they can conduct financial transactions within the first months of their arrival in the United Kingdom but the Government of Guyana does not have a similar facility. “Government scholarship recipients there take with them a banker’s draft when they travel. They use this draft to pay first year tuition, set up a bank account, locate and pay for suitable accommodation etc,” the former awardee explained.
From the second year of study, government then transfers to the student’s personal account an annual sum to cover all expenses. “Once you acknowledge receipt of these sums, you are exclusively responsibly for monies being paid for school fees and rent. Also included is a monthly stipend, warm clothing allowance and book allowance. They send it all at one time to save on International money transfer fees, which can kill you,” the former awardee added.
Specifically these monies are paid to students in August and they are required to submit an annual status report by the end of the school year. This report most often is expected to include a letter from someone at the institution of study, such as a Dean, to verify that the student is registered and attending classes.
