Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday disputed reports that his party received a hefty donation from Chinese company Baishanlin for its 2015 elections campaign.
Speaking at a news conference yesterday, Jagdeo said the company did not donate a cent to the party’s campaign.
He noted that he spoke with the PPP’s General Secretary and Campaign Manager and they both informed him that the company was not a campaign donor. He said he saw reports suggesting that the party received over $100M from the company and dismissed them as just rumours. “So much could be rumoured… can we go a little light on the rumours because most of these rumours go to the brunt of the PPP,” he said.
With reference to the vehicles seized by government from Baishanlin earlier this week Jagdeo, said he believed that government was within its right to investigate the deals and it was something he thinks all new governments should do. “I believe any government has all right to, including new governments, to check everything and if they find cases where people had made agreements or made promises with the government that they had not fulfilled then they have a right to enforce those agreements, not capriciously, but following the course of the law,” he asserted.
“Take for example Baishanlin, they did not pay the taxes on these luxury vehicles. If that’s the agreement, they should pay the taxes,” he added.
On Tuesday, the Guyana Revenue Authority seized two vehicles belonging to Baishanlin, from its providence, East Bank of Demerara Office.
The seizure was due to the mining and logging company’s failure to pay import taxes on the two luxury vehicles. The two vehicles, a Lexus SUV and a Nissan mini-van, are presently being held at GRA’s storage bond.
