Georgetown : Setting the first day of the coming month (June) as the deadline, A Partnership for National Unity’s (APNU) point man on Finances, Carl Greenidge, has moved to the National Assembly to force the Finance Minister to bring NICIL’s affairs to the forefront.
Greenidge has tabled for debate in the House next week, a motion which calls on the administration to among other things, “lay in the National Assembly for review and where applicable, for ratification, all international agreements, (including mining agreements involving the award of state lands and fiscal concessions), and signed by the Government since 1st January, 2000.”
Greenidge is also looking to have the National Assembly requests the responsible Ministers of Government to: Provide the National Assembly with a report in keeping with the law, on the disposal by sale or otherwise of all state lands, including the terms on which they were disposed of and the criteria used, which took place: Further between the date of announcement (Sunday, 9th October, 2011) of the National and Regional Elections and 31st December, 2011 and between 1st January, 2000 and 9th October, 2011.
Greenidge in his motion also seeks to have the responsible Minister make financial provision for the urgent commissioning of an independent financial audit of the operations of the National Industrial Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) and the Privatisation Unit.
The long awaited motion by the former Finance Minister also calls on the House to obligate the relevant Ministers of Government to provide the National Assembly as early as possible with: A detailed report on the disposal by sale or otherwise of all state assets entrusted to NICIL and the Privatisation Unit, the terms on which they were disposed of and the criteria used; the outstanding bi-annual reports and annual audited accounts required of NICIL and the Privatisation Unit under the relevant legislation; the handing over report from the former Executive Director of NICIL (and Head of the Privatisation Unit and), Winston Brassington, if applicable at this time and a report on the disposal by sale or otherwise of all other state assets, including the terms on which they were disposed of and the criteria used.
He is seeking also to cause the House to ensure that a report on all the fiscal concessions, including duty free concessions, granted in response to specific requests or as part of contracts awarded by the Tender Board and the criteria on which these awards were based be placed before the National Assembly for review.
Greenidge in prefacing his resolutions to the House points to recent reports on Guyana as it relates to transparency and corruption by the international community. These reports he says includes the World Economic Forum, Transparency International and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) which have rated Guyana poorly.
Greenidge motion is also prefaced by the fact that, “Guyanese are concerned about the widely reported acts of lawlessness in the guardianship of our national resources and assets as well as the lack of transparency and accountability associated with the disposal of those assets.”
