Minister of Education, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine yesterday rejected suggestions of impropriety in his role as a Director of HDI, the company which originally spearheaded the D’Urban Park Development Project (DPDP).
Speaking before the continuation of the debate on the 2017 Budget, Roopnaraine provided a personal explanation in which he said that as far as he is aware none of the individuals involved in the project before its April turnover to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MoPI) received remuneration of any kind instead they made patriotic contributions.
“I find it personally distressing that we have failed to appreciate the enthusiasm and energies of those involved; instead greed and malice has been associated with their patriotic contributions,” he told the house while stressing his own record of political activism and determination to protect same.
“In over forty years of political activism, striving to achieve a better Guyana, I have never hidden behind anyone. In over forty years of political activism, I have never engaged in any act giving off even a whiff of malfeasance and I deeply resent any whisperings or hints in the media to that effect. I promise this august assembly that I will not sit idly by and suffer in silence if I am now accused by anyone of such acts,” the Minister declared.
The Opposition People’s Progressive Party last month named Roopnaraine as a Director of Homestretch Development Incorporated (HDI) the company which funded and managed the DPDP in its first phases.
The disclosure followed a motion that the Parliamentary opposition moved in Parliament calling on government to make a full disclosure of the costs, individuals and private organisations that were involved in the project from its inception up to the April, 2016 takeover by the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson.
In response Patterson identified HDI and named its directors as L London, B Ram, G Miller and B Wilson, he did not mention Roopnaraine.
The full names on the Articles of Incorporation are Lawrence (Larry) Wilson, Bobita Ram, Gentian Miller, Victor Wilson and Rupert Roopnaraine.
Since the disclosure of his involvement the minister has refused to respond to queries from the press, advising instead that questions would be answered by President David Granger. This proved unsatisfactory to some and political analyst Dr. David Hinds in an interview with Stabroek News called on Roopnaraine to publicly address his role as a director of the company. Hinds is a member of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) which Roopnaraine leads.
Roopnaraine explained that he was asked by President Granger in January 2016 to sit on the HDI board. According to the Minister after the decision was made in July 2015 to properly commemorate the 50th Independence Anniversary, the National Commemoration Commission (NCC) was established and he was named chair.
The commission subsequently decided to develop D’Urban Park when it was determined that the National Park would require extensive repairs and that the rugby field would have to be appropriated. As a consequence the D’Urban Park Development Project was authorized by cabinet and the HDI team was given the task with no budget which meant they had to rely on donations.
He further explained that in April 2016 CEO of HDI, Larry London who is also a member of the NCC informed government that the donations and credit arrangements had been exhausted and a decision was made that MoPI would take over.
After explaining that the team had received no remuneration, Roopnaraine told the house that the HDI CEO had handed over all records of money and in kind donations to MoPI from whom he anticipates “a full accounting.”
He however noted that his understanding is that persons who made contributions don’t want to be publicly identified for fear of condemnation or worse from persons who are hostile to the project.
