A question for the Finance Minister

5
* Are monies from Lotto funds being kept away from Consolidated Fund for “corrupt purposes”?
By Mohabir Anil Nandlall, MP, Attorney-at-Law
I  am grateful that the Minister of Finance found time in his closing address of the Budget debates of  2016 to focus on my presentation in those debates.
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Mohabir Anil Nandlall, M.P., Attorney-at-Law
Mohabir Anil Nandlall, M.P., Attorney-at-Law

The Minister of Finance was kind enough to point out that I was wrong in my contention that 28 billion dollars was standing in the Lotto funds. He informed the Nation that the account only has $500 million.

I admit that I was wrong. What I intended to say was that there exists, approximately, a total of 28 billion dollars in all the extra budgetary funds and statutory agencies within the State’s financial architecture. More fundamentally, however, the Minister completely ignored the gravamen of my contention.

In my presentation, I recalled the relentless agitation of the APNU/AFC , while they were in the Opposition, for these monies to be transferred to the Consolidated Fund; I reiterated the arguments which they advanced – that it was “unlawful and unconstitutional” for these monies to be kept out of the Consolidated Fund, and that they were so kept for  ”corrupt purposes”; I drew attention to a Motion  laid in the National Assembly during the Tenth Parliament, calling upon the then Government to forthwith deposit those monies into the Consolidated Fund; I referred to legal proceedings instituted in the High Court by Desmond Trotman to, inter alia, achieve this objective. The extra budgetary funds/statutory agencies, to which I referred include the Lotto funds, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, the Guyana Gold Board, the Guyana Forestry Commission, the Central Housing and Planning Authority, among others.

While the Minister informed us that after $1B was transferred, $500M still  remains in the Lotto funds, he failed to address my main concern which is, why these billions which were “unlawfully” and “unconstitutionally” kept separate and apart from the Consolidated Fund by the PPP/C Govt,  were not and are not  immediately deposited in that fund after nine moths of being in Government.
Am I, and the Nation, to, therefore, conclude that these monies are kept away from the Consolidated Fund for “corrupt purposes”?
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5 COMMENTS

  1. Hi Scumbato,
    These people did not produce anything so far, no one evaluated them yet they considered themselves qualified to do the Nation Job and give themselves 50% increased in pay. What a shame and who they think they are. If this is not bare face thief then I don’t know what is.

  3. The new government has found that it is unable to resist the temptation to ‘take’ what is not theirs. It is committing all the evils it blamed the PPP of doing..

  5. A question for the Finance Minister
    While you busy asking dem bana anything which they will just ignore you or get their most favored gossip papers sn and kn to publish some nonsense about what you asking that money done gone for PNC Jump UP Jump Up..Check in at the airport and see who coming for PNC Jump Up Jump Up and check out who coming with BlingBling and who coming with Galahar and who own will be taken away..You bet Bling stays with BlingBling people while deGalahar people will be hauled in..INews you have your work cut out for you.

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