Government on Thursday dismissed criticisms by Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo on the recent award of contracts, saying they were long in the making and aboveboard.
Asked about the recent criticisms levelled by Jagdeo, Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency Joseph Harmon told reporters that the monies that will be used to execute the contracts were included in the 2019 budget.
He emphasised that the process of awarding a contract starts months before it actually reaches the point of signing. Several processes have to be completed before the contract goes for signing by the permanent secretary, he said. “There is a process which would have started, in many cases, six months, three months before and so Mr Jagdeo is fully aware of that, having been a Minister of Finance himself and therefore I think what he is trying to do is to create a situation which is seeking to say we are acting illegal,” Harmon said on the sidelines of the Guyana Defence Force’s Annual Officers’ Conference.He stressed that the funds for the contracts were allocated in the 2019 budget and as such, it is not new monies that the government is accessing. He also highlighted that the contracts were not hidden but were publicly tendered
