Following allegations of procurement irregularities at the state-owned Guyana Oil Company Limited (GUYOIL), whose General Manager abruptly resigned yesterday, Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh has invited the Auditor General to investigate and sounded a warning that corruption will not be tolerated.
“I registered our government’s grave concern at the report that was circulating this morning and invited them to clarify the issues, which they did,” Singh told Stabroek News after a meeting with GUYOIL’s Board.
He was referencing allegations made by a fuel dealer from the firm Aaron Realty Inc (ARI), who is claiming that he is 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.
“The Board assured me that there is no contract with the company in question-ARI. Nonetheless, I said to them that given the allegations in the public domain, I would like the Auditor General to be called in immediately to investigate. The matter in its entirety will be investigated,” Singh, however, added.
GUYOIL yesterday also denied the allegations, saying that while ARI was one of several companies it had been in discussions with, it had not contracted the company to supply fuel. “There is absolutely no truth to this allegation,” the company said in a statement following the meeting between the Board and Singh. “GUYOIL wishes to categorically state that whilst ARI was one of a number of companies which GUYOIL had discussions [with] on the possible supply of fuel, GUYOIL has not at any time entered into a contract with ARI,” it further added.
An official of the oil company explained to this newspaper that it follows stringent internal procurement due diligence practices and lawful guidelines and this is why it cannot commit to the handling of any contract.
Singh stressed that he was in no way implicating anyone but wanted to underscore across all ministries, state agencies and entities President Irfaan Ali’s “intolerance for corrupt practices and mismanagement of public resources,” and to sound a warning that “it will not be tolerated and any wrongdoing will be met with condign action.”
An attendee at yesterday’s meeting with Singh said that the minister “read the riot act” as he emphasised that under his watch the violation of laws will not be condoned.
Singh’s warning came even as General Manager of GUYOIL Trevor Bassoo, who had been appointed six months ago, denied “allegations being peddled” and immediately tendered his resignation. Bassoo told this newspaper that he would not go into details on issues surrounding the allegations until after seeking legal counsel.
“I did tender, to the Board of Directors, my resignation. I would really prefer to speak to a lawyer before anything but what is being peddled is not true,” he said.
Cautious
Asked why that he would quit his job a mere six months after being hired if he knew the allegations to be untrue, he said that he prefers to be on the cautious side and not say anything that “might cause more problems…”
Bassoo promised that after seeking legal counsel, he would speak even as he assured that there was no wrongdoing on his part. “I learnt about this late this morning and it came as such a shock,” he said. “I have reached out to someone [an attorney] and will meet with them today. Wait until after that meeting,” he added.
On November 2 last year, GUYOIL announced the appointment of Bassoo as its new General Manager, effective from October 19, 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 had 20 years of experience in public and private sector management and was currently in the process of completing a Commonwealth Masters in Public Administration (CMPA) programme at the University of Guyana.
With Bassoo’s resignation accepted, the GUYOIL Board said that a sub-committee of the Board of Directors has been appointed to oversee the day-to-day operations of the company.
In the interest of transparency and public disclosure, GUYOIL said it made public the procedures in place and in practice which are followed by the company in the procurement of fuel from any entity. They include but are not limited to competitive procurement, due diligence of the supplying company, purchase order/contract, nominated quantity sent to supplier with expected date of delivery, quality and quantity surveyor appointed to overlook the loading of the cargo and certificate of quality/conformity with technical specification produce.
The supplier also needs to send the proforma Invoice necessary for the Guyana Revenue Authority to give permission to offload vessel; the certificate of origin/signed declaration that product was not sourced from an embargoed country; the details of vessel to be used, the Q88 document and a detailed report on the loading of the vessel by independent inspector. Added are the bill of lading for the loaded vessel and updates from the vessel on estimated time of arrival.
The Board of Directors of GUYOIL also stated that they want to assure the public that at all times the company will act in compliance with the laws of Guyana and best practices as it relates to conducting its business.
