Dear Editor,
As a citizen, I have always believed in accountability by public officers and transparency in their action. Criticism with merit must be welcomed by any public official when it is genuine and is presented by someone that’s real. As the Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Sugar Corporation (Guysuco), I am always open to constructive criticism.
The evidence will reveal that there is no one by the name of Patrick Lewis who is in the employ of Guysuco at the LBI Head Office for the past 25 years and who purportedly authored a letter in yesterday’s Sunday Stabroek. The only reason why I am responding to the letter is because I hold Stabroek News to be a responsible newspaper that historically verified the authenticity of its letter writers.
I want to state three pertinent facts, not in response to that letter, but for public consumption:
As CEO of Guysuco, I worked hard to implement the spirit and letter of Section 24 of the Procurement Laws of Guyana. With the help of the newly installed Board, some 85% of the value of Guysuco’s capital procurement is now done at the National Procurement & Tender Administration (NPTA). Let me be clear – these projects are designed by Guysuco and all documents are supplied to the national authorities for them to conduct the procurement process. The Procurement Law of Guyana dictates where these tenders are evaluated and approved and it is not within the Corporation.
The remaining 15% is procured by way of open tender, subject to the full scrutiny by the Board by way of the Procurement Sub-Committees.
Guysuco many years ago hired a former Auditor General of Guyana, with a Doctoral Degree in Accounting Systems, to write its Procurement Manual. That Manual was approved many years ago by a former Board of the Corporation and is still in place today. A re-training programme is being launched for all procurement staff to remind themselves of the words, spirit and intentions of the Guysuco’s Procurement Manual.
All for the public’s information.
Sasenarine Singh
Chief Executive Officer
Guyana Sugar Corporation
