Commissioner-General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Khurshid Sattaur has rejected charges of nepotism in relation to his children being employed at the organisation and says that they were subjected to competitive interviews before being employed.
“I would like to point out that my children were not in any way given any special or peculiar treatment, not in terms of position, salary or status. Both of my sons referred to in the article have worked in junior level positions for several years before being promoted to their current positions, not unlike all other employees of the GRA and perhaps to their detriment. They are not paid any special salary as all persons in similar positions are paid exactly the same. They were subjected to competitive interviews before being employed and are eminently qualified for the positions for which they were employed and currently hold,” Sattaur said, in responding to a Kaieteur News article headlined ‘Family Affair exists at the GRA…Sattaur employs two sons, daughter, nephew, niece.’
The article reported that Sattaur’s relatives are working in managerial positions at the GRA and quoted APNU spokesman Joe Harmon as calling for an investigation and suggesting that it is nepotism.
Sattaur repudiated the comments and said that care was taken to ensure that there is no conflict or apparent conflict. He said that the interviews before his sons were employed were conducted by an independent panel and given a score rating based on numerous criteria including education/qualifications, experience, communication skills etc. “Appointments to the positions they now hold have to be sanctioned and approved by the Governing Board of the Guyana Revenue Authority and are not appointments that can be made by me