Carol Joseph was paid as petroleum advisor, other posts under APNU/AFC Govt – VP Jagdeo

…AG says proven discrepancies will result in legal approach

Despite lacking any qualifications in the oil and gas industry, Carol Joseph was appointed under the previous Administration as a Petroleum Unit Advisor – one of the portfolios used to collect large sum of monies from State agencies.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday at a press conference disclosed that Joseph was paid as an ‘advisor’ to former Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman.

“You have Carol Joseph, who gets paid from several ministries. She is a Petroleum Unit Advisor to the Minister of Natural Resources. In Trotman’s unit, she was being paid there as petroleum advisor to the government,” Jagdeo disclosed.
Now that the new administration is in transition, political appointees such as Joseph are asked to resign so that competent persons can be employed with the State. Joseph is a known supporter of the APNU/AFC coalition and was a candidate on their list.
In fact, she was the one that signed off on the District Four Returning Officer Clairmont Mingo’s fraudulent figures the second time. The first time, it was signed by PNC Executive Volda Lawrence.

“Clearly, this was the Carol Joseph who signed the second declaration with Mingo. The first one was signed by Volda Lawrence and the second one was signed by Carol Joseph…That is how it is: You are overtly political; then you should do the decent thing and resign,” the Vic -President emphasised.
When contacted on Sunday, Attorney General Anil Nandlall told Guyana Times that Government will continue to probe these discrepancies, noting that there were several instances of such appointments across the Ministries.
Politically-affiliated persons would have held different positions under the Granger-led administration and were collecting salaries, despite being unqualified for the respective positions.
“This is only one example of abuse of power, nepotism, corruption and abuse of public funds. Examples like these replicate themselves across the governmental apparatus under the previous administration,” Nandlall noted.

In light of such evidence, he went on to say that contracts are being terminated for appointments which fall under this bracket, as they are being unearthed by the new government. This will be followed by a probe by the Audit Office of Guyana. Where if violations are proven, the law will take its course.
“First, such appointments will and are being terminated. Then, the Auditor General and where necessary, the Guyana Police Force will have to be called in to investigate these irregularities. If the investigation produced evidence of violations of the law, then certainly, the law must be allowed to run its course,” the Attorney General outlined.
Nandlall said it is the constitutional responsibility of the elected government and expectation from the people that these irregularities are brought to light. As such, the State will take necessary action to address such situations once completely investigated.
“The people of Guyana expect no less from their current Government. Indeed, it is the constitutional responsibility of the Government to publicise these irregularities, investigate them using the proper organs of the state and those agencies of State must take the necessary actions. In some cases, criminal charges may result or civil proceedings will have to be filed to recover these public funds. That is the legal approach that the Government will be pursuing,” he affirmed.
The new (PPP/C Administration is faced with an uphill battle in dealing with the issue of political appointees who are refusing to tender their resignations following the recent change of Government.
Following APNU/AFC’s defeat at the March 2 General and Regional Elections, it was expected that persons who were engaged in “political work” as personal advisors or assistants to the President or Ministers would have offered their resignations.
However, Minister of Governance and Parliamentary Affairs, Gail Teixeira, during an interview with Kaieteur Radio, on Wednesday, detailed the challenges being faced by her Government is getting the political appointees to comply and do “the honourable thing”.