GUYANA | AFC says PPP Regime now a “Naked Dictatorship,” Former Finance Minister arrested

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, December 4, 2021 -  The Alliance for Change, one of the partners in the APNU+AFC Coalition, says the arrest of former Finance Minister Winston Jordan by the PPP Civic Government, “has cemented the position that the PPP regime is now a naked dictatorship”. 

The AFC said Jordan’s arrest  was unlawful adding that the plan to file charges against him in relation to the sale of wharf facilities by the former Government to local contracting company BK International was vulgar.

The AFC said at all times, Minister Jordan acted within the strict parameters of the Constitution and Financial Management and Accountability Act and No decision was personal or without Cabinet approval.

The Alliance For Change noted that to charge and prosecute a former Minister for taking actions pursuant to a decision(s) of Cabinet is vulgar, abusive, unlawful and unconstitutional.

Jordan was arrested on Thursday morning after being invited to the headquarters of the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) for questioning about the government’s  sale of the wharf facilities that had been leased to BK since 2006. 

The sale of the wharf facilities was initiated under the PPP regime in 2013, but got entangled in a Court matter that came to an end in 2017, clearing the way for the sale.

The position of the police is that the facility was sold to BK at a value below its market price and for that, it intends to charge the Minister who signed the vesting order for the sale, for misconduct in public office.

In its statement today, the AFC noted that the arrest of the former Finance Minister comes just weeks after the Vice President publicly chided SOCU for its sloth in investigations against former government officials.

According to the AFC, the nation needs to be reminded that Winston Jordan was, at all material times, a gazetted Minister, with responsibility for Finance, within the President David Granger constitutionally appointed Cabinet of Ministers and Ministers operate under the doctrine of “collective responsibility” and are answerable to the National Assembly of the Parliament.

Similar charges were filed against another former Government Minister, Dr. George Norton, but the charges were withdrawn by the DPP because the issue was also a cabinet decision.

In a statement police said Jordan was contacted on Wednesday and invited to attend the office of the unit at Camp Road, Georgetown for questioning in relation to he allegations. According to the police on Thursday at about 10:30 hrs, Jordan, in the company of two Attorneys-at-Law, attended the SOCU office at Camp Road and was interviewed. The first transaction that he was interviewed about, relates to the sale and vesting of the state’s largest wharf facilities located at Kingston, Georgetown, valued approximately GUY $8 billion (US$40,000,000) which was sold for GUY $110 million (US $500,000.), the police release stated.

According to the police the purchaser BK Marines Limited, paid only 10% of this purchase price, that is GUY $20 million(US$100,000) and Minister Jordan issued a vesting order passing Title to the purchaser, without the payment of any further sum of monies. “The vesting order stated that the property is being sold free from encumbrance and liabilities and no further sum of money is owed by the purchaser. Transport was subsequently issued for this property and the value strangely stated on the Transport was GUY $400,000,000 million (US 2,000,000.) Further, the agreement of sale stated that Title must only pass upon full payment of purchase price,” the release stated.

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