Human Services Minister Jennifer Webster yesterday refuted claims that her daughter is investing US$15 million in the development of the planned US$30 million solid waste recycling plant and said that attempts to say otherwise are “inaccurate and malicious.”
Speaking at a press conference she called, Webster responded to an article published in yesterday’s edition of the Kaieteur News where claims were made that Mohammed Osman named her daughter, Andriana Webster, as one of the main investors in the deal for recycling plant.
Osman is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Natural Globe Guyana Inc., the company with which the Local Govern-ment Ministry on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development of the plant.
Webster told reporters yesterday that “the article is intended to expose me personally, my office as a Minister of Government, and the Government of Guyana to perpetuate the perception of conflict of interest and corruption on my part and that of the Government of Guyana.”
But, even as the minister attempted to clear the air over her and her daughter’s involvement in the deal, the question of why this particular deal was handled by the Local Government Ministry as opposed to the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) remained unanswered.
The minister explained that she has “nothing to do with Natural Globe Inc. either personally or in my capacity as a minister of government.” She also said that “I in no way attempted to influence any decision making process, nor did I ever participate in any negotiation process whatsoever or in any form of fashion.” The minister, whose statements were backed by a written one in her daughter’s name, also refuted claims that her daughter was an investor in the deal which is to bring about the recycling plant.
Writing to the media from Canada, where she works as an Information Technology consultant for Mogford Enterprises., where Osman is said to function as Vice-President, Andriana said in the statement that she is “not the female investor providing US$15 million for this project as was stated in the Kaieteur Newspaper.”
She also said that she functions as a Director at Natural Globe Inc. which is said to be the parent body of Natural Globe Guyana. Information from the High Court names her along with Mohammed Osman and Inzamam Osman as the entity’s directors.
At the news conference, Kaieteur News reporters told the minister that they had Osman on tape naming her daughter as an investor. In response, the minister said that if this is indeed true, she will advise her daughter to act accordingly.
Andriana also said that her work is not influenced by the whims of her mother–the minister–and, like her mother, denounced attempts to “assassinate their characters.”
Meanwhile President of Panther Recycling Corporation Michael Mosgrove said that his company would be holding a press conference in the coming weeks to outline its position on the alleged use of its name by Osman and to point out that this investor should be reconsidered by the government. He expressed serious doubt that Osman’s company has the financial backing that was stated he has.
Panther was one of the nine companies shortlisted for the establishment of a recycling plant but was cast aside for the preferred Osman outfit. The company has recycling operations in Jamaica and Trinidad.
Ever since news broke of the signing of the MoU between the Local Government Ministry and Natural Globe Guyana Inc. for the construction of a recycling plant, questions have been raised about the manner in which the deal was struck.
One of the more important realities is that the entity, according to the ministry, was considered “the outstanding agency after satisfactorily meeting the criteria outlined,” even though it has never built a commercial recycling plant. Stabroek News had reported that the business has only ever built a prototype of the said facility.
Furthermore, questions linger as to why the ministry was allowed to handle the deal, as opposed to the NPTAB. There is also the fact that online searches have not turned up anything linking Osman to companies which the Local Government Minister says he is associated with – Mogford Enterprises Inc. and Tadger Fuel Economy.
Mosgrove has told Stabroek News that his company in Ontario recently incorporated the name Natural Globe Inc., and therefore owns the use of the name.
He said that he is currently unable to take action because the name was not incorporated on the date of the signing, but added that if Osman, at any time in the future, states that he represents the firm “he is going to find himself in serious hot water here in Canada.” He also suggested that Local Government Minister Ganga Persaud ought to “throw out the MOU” since it “was not signed in good faith.”
Osman, in an interview with Stabroek News earlier this week, said that the company is still to get the land for the operation. He said that the company has not made a formal application for this and noted that that the MoU with the ministry marks the beginning of a formalised arrangement with government to get the project moving. “We have not yet made a formal application but we will do so when the land has been properly identified,” he explained.
He said that while the company has no operations in the Caribbean per se, it is providing consultancy services for a company in the Dutch island of Aruba and he said that Suriname has expressed an interest in having a similar facility.
He also said that while the name of the company has changed from time to time, the entity that he owns has been in business for the last 20 years. Over this period, he said that the company has been doing a lot of research into recycling and waste management and has come up with a patented technology which he would not want to disclose at the moment because of issues of confidentiality.
