During the examination of the 2017 budget estimates at Parliament on Tuesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge was asked whether Ambassador-designate to Kuwait, Dr. Shamir Ally who was being investigated, was receiving payments.
He responded to the question posed by Opposition Chief Whip, Gail Teixiera, and stated that Ally has not been accredited and has not been paid formally in that post.
He said too that ambassadors would normally be given allowances upon appointment and that was what Ally has been depending on.
Ally was convicted in the United States of an offence under the US Securities Exchange Act and was required to pay a fine. However, the Alliance for Change (AFC) has stressed that he was never convicted of a crime and has always maintained his innocence in the civil case brought against him.
Critics have said that both the party and the APNU+AFC government should have
been aware of the conviction and the question is also being raised, as to why Dr. Ally had not volunteered the information when he was being considered for diplomatic service.
The issues were raised following questions from Teixeira about the $200M increase in the allocation for contract employees in the Committee of Supply of the National Assembly.
Greenidge responded that the increase, “Reflects almost all the new postings in terms of Principal Foreign Officers and Ambassadors, employment of new ambassadors in London, Ottawa, Havana, New York, Brussels, Nickerie.”
He added that all of the foreign posts have been filled and that there are new officers who are also drawing their allowances including medical, gratuity, NIS, and salary increases for 2016.
Teixeira also made a request for him to present the House with a list of all the appointments, salaries and benefits of the ambassadors, as well as the listing of all posts filled with Ambassadors, High Commissioners, and Charge d’Affaires and deputies, as well as Consuls General, and the emoluments, salaries, and benefits. Teixiera stated that the contracts were taking a long time, and Greenidge said they vary between one and three years depending on negotiations with the Ambassadors.
She also questioned whether government has a policy to ensure Guyana would not be exceeding its financial obligations to support living and other arrangements for the Ambassador, with regards to Guyana’s mission in Geneva, Switzerland.
“Policy of the Ministry is not one that allows Ambassadors or Ambassador-
designates to arrive and rent a building,” Greenidge said. He added that officers within each country would assess and review suitable rental arrangements.
Teixeira also called on the minister to point out the benefits of the diplomatic missions in Geneva, Brussels, Trinidad and Kuwait. He responded that while Geneva is expensive, the Swiss Government had agreed to fund or bear the cost of office space, shared with the rest of the region, noting: “We are not paying full economic cost for the office or the residence.” Meanwhile, Teixeira questioned the $500M increase in the budgetary allocation for the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, CARICOM Competition Commission, and CARICOM Implementing Agency for Crime and Security.
The minister told the House that the increases were for payment of arrears and negotiations with the international bodies.
The Opposition Chief Whip also grilled the minister about an increase of $427M for the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC).
He explained that it “reflects negotiations between government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and external agencies for clearing arrears… we have a number of arrears for agencies including the Islamic Conference.” Guyana’s total arrears to international organisations, he said, is some US$219,000 at an exchange rate of $210 to US$1.
