Civil society activist, Jonathan Yearwood says he is disappointed at the quality of service being provided by the Commissioner of Information as he is still to be supplied with details of a key Housing Ministry contract.
Yearwood’s comments come on the heels of his request for information on the number of contractual agreements between the Ministry of Housing and Water and Impressions Inc relating to the International Building Expo.
It has been over five months since Yearwood began the process to gather information on the contract details.
“I am extremely disappointed at the quality of service I have received. The Commissioner made promises but failed to fulfill,” he lamented.
According to Yearwood, he has lost all faith in the office of the Commissioner of Information and its ability to function.
“It is all yap yap and nothing. This has caused me to lose all faith in the commission. The commissioner promised to put pressure on the ministry but nothing has been done. It is a lot of talk and no action,” Yearwood complained.
According to Yearwood, he last received correspondence from Commissioner of Information, Charles Ramson Snr, in October when he was informed that he had officially written to the Ministry of Housing requesting a copy of the contract(s) entered into by the ministry and Impressions Inc.
Asked if he has abandoned the process, Yearwood responded in the negative but pointed out that his work takes priority. He however stated that he will continue to pursue the matter as time permits.
Ramson Snr during a meeting with Yearwood in October informed him that the ministry was bound by law to respond to the request for information. Ramson Snr also indicated that there is still no guarantee as to whether the Ministry would provide the requested information.
Yearwood, who initially wrote to Ramson Snr requesting the documents, was instructed to write Minister of Housing Collin Croal for the information. He did so but did not receive a reply from the ministry. That letter was dispatched on July 18 but to date, not even an acknowledgement has been received.
As Stabroek News had previously reported, Impressions Inc appeared to be the sole company of its kind selected to organise and run the ongoing International Building Expo at the Providence Stadium. Croal previously told this newspaper that Impressions was not running the Expo, but that the ministry had set up a secretariat within the company’s building to deal with members of the public who were interested in being a part of the Expo. He cited a lack of space at the ministry for this arrangement.
However, when Stabroek News visited Impressions’ office to take a photograph of the secretariat, it was told that the owner, Patrick `Neal’ Sukhlal, had to give permission for it to do so. A staff member said that Sukhlal was responsible for the secretariat. Also on the Building Expo website, Impressions’ email and phone number were listed as contacts. A call to the number listed verified information that Impressions was responsible for organizing and running the Building Expo. The company is the one that exhibitors had to contact to acquire and pay for a spot.
In response to the Stabroek News report, Yearwood wrote to Ramson Snr asking for copies of the relevant contracts and associated documents. In his application, Yearwood listed a number of concerns he had in relation to the arrangement between the Ministry and Impressions
He submitted that vast sums of money were being collected and processed by a private company on behalf of a government ministry and questioned whether the company will be utilising its private bank account to receive and use the government’s finances.
“Given that it is a private company, Government expenses will be paid for utilizing the Company’s cash and bank accounts [and] official expenses on behalf of the Government could be paid through a private entity’s account. The requirements of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Act of Guyana could be bypassed. We are concerned that the Company could or would report large receipts and or payments from circumstances and transactions described by the Act,” Yearwood’s application stated.
He also questioned the fees being charged by the company for the services that were provided.
Premium packages for spots at the Building Expo were listed at $8 million, Gold packages at $5 million, and Silver at $3 million. Other smaller packages were listed at $1 million, $500,000, $450,000, $380,000, $200,000, $120,000, $60,000, with the cheapest being $15,000 for a table space.
Additionally, Yearwood has also submitted a letter requesting access to the contracts entered into between Impressions Inc and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport for branding services for the ongoing Guyana Cricket Carnival.
