Former Finance Minister and NICIL head slapped with another charge of misconduct in public office
DPI, GUYANA, Friday, June 8, 2018
Embattled former Minister of Finance, Ashni Singh and former head of the Privatisation Unit and NICIL, Winston Brassington, today were charged with another round of misconduct in public office offences.
A News Source article today said the charges read that “both Brassington and Singh, while performing duties as Minister of Finance and Chairman of the National Industrial, and Commercial Limited, between 26th October and the 20th December, 2010, at Barrack Street, Kingston, acted recklessly when they agreed to the sale of the Sanata Textiles Complex to the Queens Atlantic Group.”
Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan.
The charges are in addition to three counts of misconduct in public office that were brought against the two, last month. Singh and Brassington were charged with three counts of misconduct in public office, contrary to the public law.
They have been accused of acting recklessly when they sold 103.88 acres of state lands without first having procured a valuation of the property from a competent valuation officer.
The second charge alleges that they sold 4,700 acres, also the property of the state for the sum of $150,000,000, knowing that the said property was valued at $340,000,000 by Rodrigues Architects Associate.
The final charge alleges that the former Finance Minister sold a plot of state land at Turkeyen, for the sum of $185, 037,000, without first having procured a valuation of the said property from a competent officer.
Last month Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan said political expediency will never guide the government in the application of justice.
Minister Ramjattan noted, the former administration “contorted the law to accommodate illegalities.” He added that this is one the reasons the government began the forensic audits. He said should the government fail to act, members of the current administration may feel the need to practice and advocate selling state properties and do so with impunity.
By: Tiffny Rhodius.