In light of reports that the US$18 million signing bonus Guyana collected from US oil giant ExxonMobil that was stashed in a private account at the Bank of Guyana (BoG) was removed, several senior Government Ministers have dismissed the claim.
Economist Ramon Gaskin
Earlier this week, local economist Ramon Gaskin said in a letter to the media that the Bank of Guyana’s financial statement was recently issued and there was no trace of the signing bonus, which became a matter of controversy last year after it was revealed that not only did Government fail to disclose that it had received the money since 2016 but also deposited it into a private account at Central Bank instead of the Consolidated Fund. Government had defended its actions saying that the money was placed at the BoG since Government intends to use it to pay the legal team that would represent Guyana’s interest at the World Court regarding the border controversy with its western neighbour Venezuela.
However Gaskin in a letter on Monday wrote that, “The Bank of Guyana has published the list of 128 Government Account Balances at the end of January 2018 in excess of 36 billion Guyana dollars… the US$18M ‘Signing Bonus’ received by Guyana and allegedly placed in the account is not listed”.
“I conclude subject to correction by the Minister of Finance that the monies, if indeed placed there, have been removed or withdrawn or spent without the authorisation of the Parliament as required by Article 217 of the Constitution of Guyana,” Gaskin said in the letter.
He, therefore, called on “the Minister of Finance to immediately disclose precisely where exactly the money is, how much has been spent from it, and for what purpose, and what is the present balance in the account if, at all, there is any.”
But, when contacted on Thursday, an aide to Finance Minister Winston Jordan told Guyana Times that the monies have not been moved, thus could not have been spent. “It is still there,” the aide assured.
Meanwhile, Minister of State Joseph Harmon too had denied that the monies were used earlier on Thursday at the post-Cabinet press briefing.
“The signing bonus is monies that belong to Guyana but that bonus, wherever it is, will be placed into the Consolidated Fund and it is from that Fund that any team whatsoever will be paid,” he stated.
Although the legal team has already begun work and has completed Guyana’s submissions, which were filed with the World Court on Thursday by Foreign Affairs Minister Carl Greenidge, Harmon told reporters that Government intends to follow prudent fiscal management regarding the use of the US$18 million.
“Whether (the legal team) work before or they work after, it is from the Consolidated Fund, these monies will come from (to pay them. But before that)… we will of course have to make applications to the National Assembly for its approval for these funds… It is just prudent fiscal management,” he stated.
Moreover, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman when probed on the whereabouts of the signing bonus on Wednesday had declined to pronounce on the matter, but told media operatives that there is nothing sinister afoot if the monies were to be moved.
“The Minister of Finance has been speaking to Cabinet about this over a year and how it is going to be disbursed. Once we (Guyana) qualified for our appearance at the World Court which was the 30th of January I believe, then that triggered some release of the funds. There is nothing untoward or sinister about it,” he said referring to the border controversy.
However, in a subsequent statement on Thursday, the Natural Resources Ministry confirmed that steps have been taken to have to the money moved to the Consolidated Fund.
“…The Minister of Finance, Honourable Winston Jordan (has asked) Cabinet by way of a Memorandum, to release the ExxonMobil signing bonus into the Consolidated Fund to make payments to the legal team representing Guyana,” the missive from the Natural Resources Ministry details.
Nevertheless, Minister of State Joseph Harmon reiterated his Administration’s commitment of transparency, saying that the Finance Minister will follow the necessary laws whenever it is ready to move and use the US$18 million signing bonus.
