Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Gail Teixeira has dismissed claims by the opposition APNU+AFC that the recent appointment of a special technical team to conduct a financial management review of key state agencies is part of a political witch-hunting exercise.
Responding to questions raised by the opposition about the four-man assessment team, Teixeira said in a Facebook video address that it is not conducting auditing duties and its members are working pro bono.
Noting much talk on social media about how much the team would be paid and concerns about the selection process and whether there was any tender and the like, Teixeira said that the team’s work is simply to help government assess “how bad or good things are in this country.”
The team comprises Christopher ‘Kit” Nascimento, Public Com-munications Consultant; Christopher Ram, Chartered Accountant and Attorney–at-law; Nigel Hinds, Certified Public Accountant; and Sasenarine Singh, Financial Consultant.
She said the team has been termed “rapid assessment” because it was created with a view of giving the president, in the shortest possible time, an assessment of key state agencies.
The minister pointed to National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) as being one such agency where she said a lot of state assets had been transferred or purchased, even in the aftermath of the passage of a no-confidence motion against the former government and the five months during which the nation awaited the declaration of election results.
“So we want a rapid assessment, and so this is not an audit,” Teixeira said, while noting further that if it were an audit, a different process would be employed.
According to her, “this is just to present to the government and president, a quick overview of the state of these critical government agencies.”
The new minister took issue with what she said was former President David Granger’s reference to the creation of the team as being a pattern of aggression—a witch-hunt on the part of the PPP/C government.
On Wednesday, President Irfaan Ali appointed the special technical team to conduct a rapid financial and management review of key state agencies including NICIL, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), the Guyana Power and Light, Guyana Water Incorporated, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, the Central Housing and Planning Authority, the Guyana Forestry Com-mission, the Guyana Gold Board, the Guyana Lands and Survey Commission, the Lotto Fund, the Guyana Energy Agency, the Guyana Rice Development Board, the Guyana Oil Company, the Guyana National Shipping Corporation and the Guyana Office of Investment (Go-Invest)
A statement from the Department of Public Information said that the team will also be conducting a review of the operations, policies and programmes of that very organisation, the National Communications Network Incorporated and the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.
The team will further address the functions of the Guyana National Broadcas-ting Authority.
APNU+AFC subsequently called the team a “witch-hunt squad” established “both in haste and in secret, without any regard for transparency or the established procurement procedures.”
The opposition questioned among other things how the team was being funded, whether it would be borne by the state and the budget allocation.
