Minister Dharamlall halts process to hire company founded by son

Oct 12, 2020 News

– Local Govt. Permanent Secretary sacked

Kaieteur News – The Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, has halted a procurement order for portrait posters.
The transaction has caused widespread concerns.

Minister of Local Governance and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall

Sacked Permanent Secretary,
Emil McGarrell

The minister’s decision came after Kaieteur News on Sunday reported that he had instructed his staff to hire a company that was discovered to be founded by his son.
In a statement to the press yesterday, Dharamlall was keen to indicate that he gave no instruction to his staff to use any particular company to print 80 posters—which attracted the price of $80,000.
“Moreover, I was totally unaware that portrait posters were being procured,” the minister wrote in his statement.
“Since the note was brought to my attention last week, I took action to halt the procurement process and a memo to this effect was sent to the office of the PS… Our policy at the ministry is to ensure that all processes are followed and can withstand public scrutiny.”
It was Opposition Member of Parliament (MP), Ganesh Mahipaul, who on Saturday released documents highlighting the damning revelations.
In those September 30th documents, the Local Government Ministry — its office located at De Winkle Building at Fort Street, Georgetown — had received a quotation from private local printery and banner service, Designz Unlimited, for the supply of “80 full color, one side poster board with glossy finish, size 11 x 17”.
What is extremely alarming is that at the bottom of the quotation submitted by Designz Limited, there is a handwritten note from someone within the ministry, which emphatically states that, “Dear PS, please see quotation submitted for purpose of printing 80 portraits of Honorable Minister Nigel [Dharamlall]. Minister has advised that we engage Designz [Unlimited] to do the printing…”
The reader should note that it is illegal and against procurement best practices for a sitting minister to signal his preference to a company, as the minister’s first and foremost duty is to implement decisions on policies.

The quotation submitted to the Local Govt. Ministry by Designz Limited.

Minister Dharamlall has since refuted all of the claims made against him by Mahipaul, as he is convinced that this “nefarious act” is aimed at impugning his integrity and “was contrived by known APNU+AFC elements still on the payroll of the [Local Government and Regional Development Ministry].”
“For this matter”, the minister wrote, “to now be put in the public domain by a member of staff and APNU+AFC activist Ganesh Mahipaul, whose employment has been under scrutiny, points to his intent aimed at besmirching my character.”
It was confirmed in a number of quarters that Designz has been tendering and awarded contracts in a number of government ministries.
Meanwhile, it is now being confirmed that Permanent Secretary, Emil McGarrell, was on Friday sacked from his post in the ministry.
The PS reportedly received a letter from Minister Dharamlall, directing him to proceed on his accumulated leave with effect from October 12, 2020 until the contract comes to an end on January 12, 2020.
McGarrell was requested to “immediately” return any property and records of the Government of Guyana, which may still be in his custody.