Chief Executive Officer of the Alesie Group of Companies Dr Turhane Doerga has voiced concerns over corruption in the award of contracts for the supply of paddy and white rice for the Venezuelan market.
During a press briefing held at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition yesterday, Doegra said there were plans for the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) under the order of Agriculture Minster Dr Leslie Ramsammy to revoke the company’s milling licence—a claim that the GRDB refuted yesterday.
The Alesie group runs Ruimzeight Ri-ce Processors Inc.
Doegra said that on Monday he had raised concerns of corruption during a meeting between millers and rice farmers and the ministry and the GRDB to discuss the current rice crop and to come to a consensus in relation to prices.
He produced a document with the various expressions of interest by millers seeking to sell paddy and white rice under the Venezuela Rice Agreement. He charged that some millers were given priority treatment by the ministry. He said that many newcomers and millers who had government ties were given large allocated amounts while other well established millers were being left out.
Stabroek News asked Doerga if he could name the millers who were being given preferential treatment and if he was able to say what the final allocated amounts were of the rice producers who were contracted under the Venezuelan Agreement. He said that it would be very dangerous to name names but noted that from the expression interest the millers with the bulk of the contact could be inferred.
In the expression of interest for the spring crop of 2014, Cayume Hakh and Sons, Rayaadul Hakh Rice Industries and Wazeer Hussein and Sons Rice Mill were each listed with an allocated amount of 15,000 tonnes of paddy under the 200,000-tonne Venezuelan agreement. Additionally, Saj Rice Group has an allocated amount of 12,500 tonnes while Buddy’s Rice Milling Complex and Kisson Dyal and Son had allocated amounts of 11,000 tonnes each.
For the provision of white rice, Tecnomills Guyana Inc was listed with an allocated amount of 5,000 tonnes, while Saj Rice Group, Cayume Hakh and Sons, Fairfield Rice Inc, Rayaadul Hakh Rice Industries, Wazeer Hussein and Sons Rice Mill and Quality Rice Coop were each listed with an allocated amount of 4,000 tonnes.
Doerga stated that during the meeting on Monday, the minister threatened to revoke the licence of millers if they were unable to produce their accounts to the GRDB to assess if excessive profits were being made.
Stabroek News understand that after the government spent millions in bailout to millers who have been unable to pay farmers in a timely fashion for paddy, the ministry decided that a stronger stance would have to be taken with millers. Earlier this year, the government paid in excess of $300 million to millers so they could pay rice farmers who were still owned from the last rice crop. In July, $400 million was provided to Essequibo miller Nazeemul Hakh, as an advance so payments could be made to rice farmers.
Doerga stated that it was in fact the ministry that was responsible for the low paddy prices due to the wharfage and deductions millers had to pay to the GRDB. He said that when millers worked backwards the cost they were required to absorb meant that break even paddy prices paid to farmers could not exceed $2,800 per bag. Farmers have long said that their own carrying costs meant that their break even sale per bag of paddy fluctuated between $2,200 to 2,800.
Stabroek News asked how that was possible considering the average US$600 plus that was paid to millers per tonne of paddy/white rice under the Venezuelan Agreement. Doerga said that it was only a few millers who benefited and the rest were just as hand-to-mouth as farmers.
Meanwhile, head of the GRDB, Jagnaraine Singh told Stabroek News that following an altercation between Doerga and Ramsammy on Monday there has been no official move to revoke any milling licenses.
Singh dismissed the suggestion that the GRDB had any cause to do so. When contacted by the Stabroek News, a representative of the Ruimzeight Rice Processors Inc stated that up to yesterday the company had received no word from the GRDB about a licence review.
In a release, the GRDB stated that Doerga was in fact asked to leave the meeting on Monday after “he became very confrontational and threw papers.”
The GRDB noted that during the Monday meeting the allocation quotas for the Venezuelan Agreement was discussed. “It was pointed out that this quota allocation was discussed with the Millers Association on several occasions. Mr Doerga then refuted that claim that a Millers Association exists even after several of his colleague millers clarified that they are indeed a part of the Millers Association who meet often.”
The Rice Millers Association was recently reengaged and headed by Dr Peter deGroot. He was not present at the meeting on Monday and this publication was unable to reach him up to press time.
The GRDB added that “while Mr Doerga is of the view that the industry is in trouble, the Rice Sector for the first time in Guyana’s history recorded in excess of 500,000 tonnes of rice. This year, GRDB is moving to exceed this production target.”
