Minister with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh has summoned the Board of the Guyana Oil Company to an urgent meeting this afternoon, following allegations of a procurement irregularity at the entity and the subsequent resignation of its General Manager Trevor Bassoo.
“Since the matter was brought to my attention this morning, I have summoned the Board of Directors to a meeting this afternoon,” Dr. Singh told Stabroek News when contacted.
Only six months into his appointment as General Manager, sources told this newspaper that Bassoo tendered his resignation with immediate effect.
The issue at the state-owed oil company follows allegations made by a fuel dealer that he was now left with a large quantity of fuel on hand after commitments were made by some company officials that GUYOIL would buy it. The dealer claims that he has evidence of the commitments by officials of the company who also tried to solicit kickbacks in return for the company’s purchase.
However, GUYOIL, according to sources has no official records or documentation of a contract with the alleged supplier.
The Finance Minister said that a statement will be made on the matter after this afternoon’s meeting.
On November 2nd last year, GUYOIL announced the appointment of Bassoo as its new General Manager, effective from October 19th, 2020. It said in a statement that Bassoo was interviewed and selected by the Board of Directors to join the company.
GUYOIL had said that Bassoo is the holder of a BSc. in Computer Science from the University of Guyana, a CAT accounting qualification from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, a PhgC. in Business Administration from the University of Leicester and an MBA from the Australian Institute of Business.
GUYOIL had also noted that Bassoo has 20 years of experience in public and private sector management and was currently in the process of completing his Commonwealth Masters in Public Administration (CMPA) at the University of Guyana.
