Irfaan Ali sticks to his guns about authenticity of qualifications

Despite being elected People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) presidential candidate, Irfaan Ali is still to categorically answer questions in the public domain about the authenticity of his qualifications.Ali’s documents suggest that he may have used a fraudulent transcript to pursue his Master’s Degree programme at an Indian University. Over a week ago, when asked to comment … Read more

Irfaan Ali accused of academic fraud

The academic achievements of one of the frontrunners in the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) race for presidential candidacy, Mohamed Irfaan Ali, are under question.Recently, Ali has been featured in the media over the 19 charges with which he was slapped by the Special Organized Crime Unit (SOCU) of the Guyana Police Force.Now, Ali is making … Read more

Fiscal Incentives for the last five years to be published in Official Gazette – Tax Chief

In keeping with the laws of Guyana, the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) will, next week, publish fiscal incentives it has granted from 2012 to 2016. According to GRA’s Commissioner General, Godfrey Statia, this is an anomaly that has been unaddressed for too long.Statia noted that according to Section 37 of the Investment Act, Government should … Read more

Govt.’s call to Auditor General falls on deaf ears …as concessions granted still not published in the media

It was in September 2015 that the Coalition administration issued a stern call to Auditor General, Deodat Sharma, to have all concessions granted within the year, published in the media. But more than two years later, it appears that the Government’s call has fallen on deaf ears. The administration had vowed that under its rule, … Read more

Ramotar’s son paid over $32M, for “poor supervision” of E-Governance project

By Abena- Rockcliffe- Campbell Alexei Ramotar- son of former President Donald Ramotar-was paid over $32M to manage the now stalled $7.9B E-Governance project. Despite his handsome salary, young Ramotar, failed in job performance.The calculated figure does not include his 22.5 percent gratuity that was made payable twice a year. Also, even though the young Ramotar … Read more

Govt spent US$5M to rehab Sanata, then sold it to Ramroop for US$3.4M – Audit report reveals

By Abena Rockcliffe The term “friends with benefits” was magnified in a section of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) audit report which confirmed that Dr. Ranjisingh ‘Bobby’ Ramroop—best friend of former President Bharrat Jagdeo—was able to grab the Sanata Complex at a gift price. The report also highlighted NICIL’s admittance that it … Read more

All concessions must be published – Minister of Governance

The administration is adamant about bringing a fresh approach to every tier of governance. In this vein, Minster of Governance, Raphael Trotman, issued a stern call to the country’s auditor General, Deodat Sharma, to respect the laws of the country. The Auditor General must also ensure that all concessions as stipulated in the law are … Read more

Publish concessions granted to foreign companies in the media – Presidential Advisor

By: Kiana Wilburg In the season of transparency and accountability under the coalition government, Presidential Advisor on Sustainability, Dr. Clive Thomas believes that concessions granted during the year should not only be tabled in the National Assembly as the law stipulates, but also published in the newspaper.In fact, the Economist feels so strongly about this … Read more

Finance Minister, AG ignored laws on disclosing, auditing, tax concessions – Chris Ram

Chartered Accountant, Christopher Ram has lashed out at the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh and the country’s Auditor General, Deodat Sharma for having failed, over several years, to adhere to the country’s investment laws. Ram was referring specifically to the sections of that Act which call for transparency surrounding the monitoring and disclosure of … Read more

Mystery monies…Govt. using secret bank accounts to finance Marriott – AFC leader

The US$57M Marriott Hotel is significantly completed but there questions remain as to where Government is finding the money from to continue construction and other critical works.Initially, Government had plugged in US$20M leaving it to find another US$37M from a private investor and a syndicated loan from Republic Bank Trinidad Limited.However, that US$37M had remained … Read more