Following just over two hours of consideration the Committee of Supply yesterday approved expenditure totalling more than $5.67 billion for the now disbanded Ministry of the Presidency and a contract with former APNU+AFC official Larry London for the purchase of birth certificates raised eyebrows.
The current expenditure sum of $3.66 billion and a capital expenditure of $358 million are unique allocations for the appropriation bill as they represent sums already spent in the first three quarters of 2020.
The considerations also saw these allocations both presented and questioned by the government side of the House.
In one such instance Junior Minister of Public Works Deodat Indar asked Minister of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs, Gail Teixeira to explain a $29 million expenditure by the Department of Citizenship for ‘print and non-print’ materials.
Teixeira in responding revealed that the APNU+AFC government had entered into a US$150,000 contract with party operative Larry London for the purchase of Birth Certificates.
According to Teixeira in 2019 the coalition government purchased 100,000 birth certificates and 20,000 passports some of which were delivered in late 2019 and paid for in 2020.
The passports were procured through Canadian Bank Note and the birth certificates via Universal Procurement Services of Miramar, Florida.
Larry London signed the contract on behalf of Universal Procurement Services.
“I’m not sure what is the proficiency of this company nor the due diligence done. This is the first I’ve heard of it,” Teixeira said explaining that as a former Minister of Home Affairs she knows that birth certificates are normally printed locally with security watermarks.
The Minister added that she first thought the company was similar to Canadian Bank Note which prints Guyana’s currency and election materials such as ballot papers.
“The principal makes one have certain concerns,” she said of London who has been identified as a Director of the company which managed the controversial D’Urban Park Project.
According to the Florida State Registry, London’s company has been inactive since 2017.
It was first incorporated by a Donna London in 2007. At the time Lawrence “Larry” London was listed a secretary.
London who held the post of Director of Parks under the coalition government has been publicly identified as one of several political employees collecting above average remuneration while not performing the duties of their post.
Yesterday, his position was also identified as one of several contract positions receiving significant benefits.
According to Teixeira the former government expended millions of dollars in salaries to contract workers within the Ministry of the Presidency.
She revealed that a climate change consultant was employed for approximately US$6000 or G$1.2 million monthly.
Teixeira was at the time responding to questions about the Ministry of the Presidency’s current expenditure in regards to Policy Development and Administration.
Attorney General, Anil Nandlall inquired about an item under “other”
which has decreased from some $120 million in 2019 to $34 million.
Teixeira in response noted that that item within the estimates covered the expenditure for emergency situations that could arise along with the payment of a consultant.
“A large percentage of it is spent on a consultant who was paid approximately US$6000 a month and this is what we inherited” she stated.
When asked it was revealed that the consultant who was not named was attached to the Policy Management Office and was dealing with climate change.
Further as they went on to discuss salaries under the said Ministry, government Parliamentarian, Dr. Jennifer Westford asked the minister about the category of workers under Statutory Salary and Wages for the said ministry including the highest paid and lowest paid within the category. According to Teixeira the category of workers range from the Commissioner of the Guyana Lands and Survey’s commission who was paid approximately $1.3 million along with gratuity, rental, traveling and other allowances.
To this end she gave a breakdown of the category of workers along with their pay scale stating that the Head of the Office of Climate Change was paid some $821,000 per month while an advisor on land matters was paid $820,638.
“Operations manager $640,633, senior advisor to the president $640,633 and of course I’m leaving out the benefits, gratuity, rents and stuff like that” she indicated.
A ministerial planning officer was paid $611,319, while two project managers under the policy management office were paid, $578,322 and $557,093 respectively.
“The Head of office of public parks, this is a famous one as I’m sure you know who this is, $557,093,[with] gratuity, duty (allowance) at $25,000, entertainment 25,000” the minister said.
Meanwhile it was noted that the lowest paid staff included a large number of cleaners and household support staff who we paid approximately $60,000 within the list of 182 workers.
“So there’s a lot of cleaners, housekeepers and gardeners and so on and their salary would have been in the range of approximately $60,000. So they are the lowest paid in the list”, Teixeira told the committee.
