The intended supplier of urea fertiliser worth $420m is based in Long Island, New York according to Guyana Rice Producers Association (GRPA) General Secretary Dharamkumar Seeraj.
Seeraj stated on Friday at a press conference that cabinet had recently approved a contract for the procurement of about $420M in urea fertiliser and that the RPA was calling on the authorities to backpedal on the deal. The RPA challenged the contract on the ground that there had been no public tendering and that the intended supplier had connections to the governing coalition.
On Friday, Seeraj, a PPP/C MP had condemned the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) for being, what he alleged, the executing agent in the signing of the contract. “This is in direct contravention to the laws, norms and conventions applicable to the acquisition of farmers’ inputs,” Seeraj said, stating that there was no advertisement or bidding, which is imperative in sourcing of farming supplies. He went on to say that the supplier who has been contracted was a publicly-known campaign financier of the APNU+AFC coalition in the recent general elections. He had also said that while the RPA had been directly involved in the negotiations over the past decades when it comes to the GRDB and the rice farmers, they were not notified this time.
The government has remained silent on the accusations. On Friday, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder referred Stabroek News to the Head of the GRDB, Nizam Hassan. Stabroek News relentlessly tried to contact Hassan on Friday but was fruitless. Stabroek News tried again today, to no avail. Hassan has in the past not spoken to Stabroek News on GRDB matters. Stabroek News had also been told that the GRDB had planned to issue a statement on the matter since Friday but up to today no statement had been released.
Seeraj had also added that the GRDB was planning on selling the fertiliser at an increased price. He said that while it is currently being sold for about $4,300 per bag, the new deal will see the price jump to $5,000 per bag.