Latest update April 18th, 2024 12:59 AM
Feb 04, 2010 News
…newspaper stands by its story
The Guyana Revenue Authority yesterday responded to an article this publication carried titled ‘Sattaur’s absence from PAC lands GRA in ‘hot water’ calling it appalling with poor journalistic and unprofessional ethics.
However, Kaieteur News insists that the absence of the Commissioner General of the GRA Khurshid Sattaur, frustrated the Public Accounts Committee’s effort at probing the issue and insists that it did not misrepresent the issues discussed at the meeting as is charged by.
Sattaur was represented by five senior personnel representing Customs and Trade Administration, Tax Operations and Revenue Accounting, and according to him the officers are all qualified and were capable and prepared to provide clarifications on the written responses.
This, however, was not the case. On more than one occasion the officers were unable to provide answers to the committee outside of the written responses that were prepared for the PAC, according to reports from the Parliament Chambers.
Sattaur, in his statement to the media, said that it is unclear whether Bibi Shaddick, “for instance did question GRA staff pertaining to missing printers as reported since these items were procured by the National Board of Procurement and Tender Administration as such GRA could not be responsible for fulfillment of a contract it did not award.”
This publication maintains that question was indeed posed to the GRA staffers even though Finance Secretary, Neermal Rekha was present.
Shaddick, a former Minister, was upset that as a taxpayer, the entity could pay monies over to an individual and years later was still unable to receive what it paid for, more so to allow the person to leave the jurisdiction without not even a court action.
Shadow Finance, Winston Murray, deemed the action by the GRA as negligent. He also questioned why no action was taken through the court to recover the monies paid.
“This is a waste of our time,” according to Murray, in response to the GRA officials, who in the face of probing questions, just sat without uttering a word.
The officers were unable to provide answers to the point that the PAC’s chairperson Volda Lawrence was forced to ask each of the officers individually whether they were briefed by their superiors prior to the meeting.
They all answered in the negative with one officer even told the PAC that he was not there to answer any specific questions.
That same officer told the PAC that whilst he did read the report and the comments made by the Auditor General he did not read it recently.
Shadow Finance Minister Winston Murray sought to find out why Sattaur was not present. He was not presented with any explanation by any of the members of the GRA team.
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