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The
Real deal About That Contract |
New Global Consults Inc, the New York-based firm with which Guyana's Ministry of Legal Affairs irregularly signed a contract to reproduce the updated Laws of Guyana, is awaiting the results of the investigations being conducted by the Office of the President into the matter.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Legal Affairs, Ganga Persaud, is also mum on the subject, telling Guyana's Stabroek News that in the light of the investigation mounted by the Office of the President, all queries were to be directed to Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon.
Kawall Totaram, one of the principals of New Global Consults, told this paper that the company would not comment on statements by President Bharrat Jagdeo about the validity of the US$222,500/G$42.8 million deal, since the issue was under investigation.
Besides Totaram, other officers of the company are attorney, Trevor Rupnarine, accountant Sonny Singh and Dr. Edun Warsalie. While the letterhead also list Dr. Rajendra Singh, a source told The Caribbean Voice that Dr. Singh had been an original incorporator, but he had subsequently withdrawn from the company. However, the company was still using the original letterhead with his name on it.
Warsalie is a brother-in-law of Totaram and Sonny Singh is related to Dr. Rajendra Singh. Rajendra Singh is head of the New York branch of the Association of Concerned Guyanese, a support group of Guyana's ruling People's Progressive Party (PPP).
Contacted by this paper, Dr. Singh said he had no comment to make.
"I have no comment comrade. I've been asked not to make any comment," he said.
The company, New Global Consults, Inc. is registered in Delaware and has been in existence since 1998 according to Mr. Rupnarine, who stated that he is and has been an IBM consultant since he came to the United States. A company source also indicated that this is the second time that the company has won a bid in Guyana. A previous bid to provide supplies to the Ministry of Education was successfully carried. The company has also won bids in Trinidad & Tobago, according to our source and is currently bidding on projects in Trinidad, Vietnam and Africa.
Our source explained that the company was launched on a suggestion of the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan who had attended a function at Mr. Totaram's office in late 1997 where he was presented with a check for monies raised for his party. Noting the gathering of highly educated Guyanese, Dr, Jagan suggested that it would make sense for them to form a consultancy group so that projects that often went to non-Guyanese can be handled by Guyanese.
"We bid for three projects in Guyana," said our source. "We won one against a British and a Trinidad & Tobago firm to supply books."
Referring to the current contract that is under a cloud of controversy our source said that had first bid to revise the laws of Guyana but lost out to an American firm based in Washington. Then they bid on the contract to reprint the law books and they won, after reducing their initial bid from just over US1 million to just over US$250,000.
The original bid, our source explained, was to have the books leather-bound printed on top quality paper with quality printing.
"We did not know that the project was not advertised in Guyana," said our source who added that their company did nothing wrong.
Our source explained that the bid was a permanent secretary bid and they were one of the companies invited to bid. "Now we understand that certain procedures were not followed. But we did nothing wrong. We sent in a bid and we were told that our bid had won".
Our source indicated that the company has already started fulfilling the contract and expects that the government would honor its financial commitment on the contract.
President Jagdeo had told an Office of the President press conference that no provision had been made in the budget either last year or next year to pay for the work. He also blamed the Ministry of Legal Affairs for not ensuring that funds were available for meeting the cost of the contract as well as the Central Tender Board for not ensuring that a "no objection" statement had been obtained from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The IDB had been represented to Cabinet as the agency funding the project and the President said that the decision of Cabinet to award the contract to New Global Consults Inc was dependent on the Ministry receiving the no-objection statement for the sole sourcing of the contract from the bank. The bank in the end was not the financier of the contract.
President Jagdeo also criticized the sole sourcing of the contract, contending that the local information technology community should have been given the opportunity of bidding for the contract
President Jagdeo also dismissed allegations that he has a personal/working relationship with some of the owners of New Global Consults Inc.
Our source within the company also denied any influence peddling, stating that the president did not even know that they had bid for the contract.
Told too of another report in a U.S.-based newspaper which carried a photo and a report stating that one Kawall Totaram, one of the company's representatives, had handed over US$163,000 to him (President) for the PPP/C campaign in the 2001 elections, President Jagdeo remarked, "I wish I had that money. I wish I had received US$136,000 from anyone."
He admitted though that there was one group which offered a similar sum, but said it was never taken as the Government and the country has a dispute with the company.
"No. I did not receive any money, and especially that sum from anyone, especially Mr. Totaram.
"In fact, in the whole campaign and all the fund raisers, I did not personally take any money...people say to me `I have X amount of money to pledge' (and) I'd say `give it to the party'," the President explained
The issue is under an extensive probe by the Office of the President but Mr. Ganga Persaud had said that the contract was executed "on the basis of a Cabinet decision", which had clearly stated that an award was made.
Persaud said that in executing the contract on March 15, the Ministry of Legal Affairs was only complying with "the orders of Cabinet" and had "confirmed unconditionally with all directives therein."
His remarks were in response to an announcement by the Office of the President that the contract was executed without the knowledge of Cabinet.
Persaud cited two documents, Cabinet Decision C.P. (2001) 2:1:N issued on February 13, 2001 and signed by then acting Head of the Presidential Secretariat/Secretary to the Cabinet, Ms. Jennifer Webster; and a memorandum from the Central Tender Board (CTB) dated February 20, 2001 and addressed to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Legal Affairs,
He claimed that the signing took place at the Ministry of Legal Affairs on March 15, 2001 and those affixing their signatures to effect the project were himself, on behalf of the ministry, and Sonny Singh on behalf of the company and Mr. Edun Warsalie, also a representative of the company as the witness.
Persaud contended that in his dealing with the contract he was privy to two documents none of which made any mention of "any objection from any financial institution or agency."
He said too that the process was initiated by the Central tender Board, but the President refuted this saying it was the former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Legal Affairs, Mr. Claude Marks who did so.
He had documentation to substantiate the fact.
In addition, the President spoke of another document dated February 5, 2001, sent from Persaud to the Chairman of the CTB seeking approval for waiver of the Tender Board procedures.
The February 13 document from the Office of the President states, "Cabinet considered the above-mentioned memorandum CP2001 2:1:N submitted by the Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance and approved Central Tender Board procedure being waived to facilitate sole sourcing for the reproduction of the Laws of Guyana by New Global Consults Inc. of the USA at the cost of US$222,500."
The cost included US$65,000 for printing; handling and shipping US$7,500; US$110,000 for binding and US$$40,000 for the production of the CD discs.
But the President, responding to a query yesterday, remarked that no sole-sourcing was necessary as the requisite skills exist in Guyana.
Persaud had said that the project was looked at as an entire package, comprising the printing, compact discs and website, and he was unaware there was any firm in Guyana offering such a complete package.
Asked if Cabinet had verified whether New Global Consults Inc. of the USA was a legal entity, the President said "No", adding that that should have been done at the CTB level.
With respect to the claim by Guyana's opposition leader, Desmond Hoyte, that the contract violated a court order by Justice Claudette Singh in her ruling in the 1997 elections petition when she ordered that no major contracts were to be signed until after the March 19, 2001 general elections, the president stated that this contract did not fall into the category of major contracts.