After the Guyana Oil Company (Guyoil) stopped issuing fuel to Government vehicles owing to non-payment, the regional administration of Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) is expected to pay the more than $5 million bill no later than Thursday, according to Regional Chairman David Armogan.
Region Six Chairman David Armogan
In a brief telephone interview on Wednesday, Armogan explained that the delay in payments to Guyoil was owed to the fact that the monies had to be approved by the Finance Ministry in Georgetown.
“We are trying to get Guyoil to be paid by Wednesday (today) or Thursday, because what happened is that the cheques had to be cut in Georgetown. The cheques are not normally written up in Berbice here, because we have to request the money from the Ministry of Finance, then the cheque is being prepared by Finance then we collect it,” Armogan explained.
Region Six Vice Chairman Dennis DeRoop on Monday told Guyana Times that the administration has been recalcitrant in paying for fuel supplied, and the supplier has consequently pulled the plug. According to DeRoop, the administration has money to purchase fuel from Guyoil, but under the current arrangement, the fuel is supplied and then billed for, before payments are made.
DeRoop explained that the administration was normally given a month’s holdover, and was expected to make payments for fuel in a timely manner; but has failed to so do, resulting in the company withholding fuel.
However, while some departments are made to suffer as a result of what the Vice Chairman calls negligence, some Government vehicles have been exempted from that type of treatment. He, however, noted that Guyoil continued to issue fuel to ambulances attached to Government hospitals.
“There is no fuel shortage, but Guyoil has stopped giving (Region Six) now, because they have a big outstanding bill. This started to happen last year, and the Oil Company (stopped supplying) fuel, so all the important work has stopped (because) the engineers cannot go out in the fields…,” DeRoop noted.
