In a heated exchange in the National Assembly yesterday, APNU+AFC MP Volda Lawrence raised concerns about the increased expenditure on security services for primary, secondary, and post-secondary education, asking whether the hike would cover the entire year of 2024, and whether it included a rise in both hourly rates and the number of security personnel.
During consideration of Financial Paper No.3, Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, confirmed that the increase would account for both a rise in the number of guards and higher hourly rates, with security now extended to 24 hours a day. However, Manickchand clarified that the increase would apply to the projected costs for the remainder of 2024, not the full year.
Lawrence pressed further, asking whether the funds for this increase—totalling $119,283,522 million—would come from the contingency fund and whether the increase in security staff would mean new contracts. Manickchand responded that the funds were yet to be spent, and that the increased number of guards was in response to the new rates agreed upon in contracts signed earlier in the year. The Minister emphasized that the contracts had been publicly tendered and were in line with the rates negotiated.
Opposition MP Ganesh Mahipaul questioned the apparent discrepancy between the budgeted amount for security services and the contracts awarded, pointing out that the sum of $1.142 billion allocated for security services in the 2024 budget far exceeded the value of the contracts, which totalled $946.893 million. Mahipaul raised concerns over why an additional $119 million was needed, especially when the budget showed an excess of funds, suggesting that the Ministry could shift money between programmes under the Financial Management and Accountability Act (FMAA).
Manickchand defended the increase, explaining that the rise in rates, which were not reflected in the original contract amounts, was needed to cover VAT costs that had not been included in the original contract terms. She stressed that the contracts were signed based on rates from January, and the Ministry was now obligated to meet the VAT costs, which had been added by the security companies.
The debate took a dramatic turn when Mahipaul raised the issue of a company, Centaur Investment Inc., asking whether there were any times between Manickchand and this company and asking whether the company had received any security contracts. Manickchand, visibly upset, emphatically denied any personal ties to the company.
“I have no ties to any security companies!” she protested. The accusation sparked uproar in the House, with MPs from both sides of the aisle heckling. The MPs from the Government’s side demanded an apology from Mahipaul.
In a fiery exchange, government ministers called for Mahipaul to apologize for implying corruption, accusing him of making baseless allegations. Mahipaul, however, did not apologize, saying he was merely asking for clarity.
The tension escalated further when government MP Joseph Hamilton heckled Mahipaul, calling him “scandalous,” prompting even louder voices from both sides of the chamber. Speaker of the House, Manzoor Nadir, was forced to intervene, calling for silence in the chamber. He commanded, “Once the Speaker is on his feet, the members of the House are to ‘shut up!’” The situation subsequently returned to normalcy.
