From: ronaldd@cbnewse.cb.att.com (ronald.h.davis)
Subject: news from guyana: trying days for new administration
Organization: AT&T
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 00:15:55 GMT


according to gov't official roger luncheon [what a name!], former president
desmond hoyte, ex-financial minister carl greenidge, and other prc party
officials have really cleaned out the government of guyana's treasury...to
the tune of $100 million [guyana $, where $1 guyana is worth about 0.8 cents
(us)].


Topic 321       IPS: Trying days for new Guyana adm
caribdesk       reg.carib        2:29 pm  Nov 12, 1992

From: Bob Thomson <caribdesk>
Subject: IPS: Trying days for new Guyana administration

/* Written 12:07 am  Nov 10, 1992 by newsdesk@igc.apc.org in igc:ips.englibrary */
/* ---------- "GUYANA: TRYING DAYS FOR NEW ADMINIS" ---------- */
Copyright Inter Press Service 1992, all rights reserved.  Permission to re-
print within 7 days of original date only with permission from 'newsdesk'.

Title: GUYANA: TRYING DAYS FOR NEW ADMINISTRATION

georgetown, nov 7 (ips/bert wilkinson) -- this past month has
not been easy for dr cheddi kagan. elected to the presidency of
this south american republic after 28 years as leader of the
opposition, jagan knew that governing a country which had been
ruled by one party for all of those years would be difficult.

just how difficult, jagan's people's progressive party (ppp)
is only now beginning to realise.

since it took office, oct. 9 the new government has alleged
that vany of the documents it needs to continue running the
country have gone missing, that the treasury is virtually empty,
and that state property including land and motor vehicles have
been illegally transferred.

in addition, an injunction and a writ were filed in the
supreme court here thursday to prevent prime minister sam hinds
from taking up his position and zo nullify his appointment as
second in command of the government.

filed by businessman noel elliot, a supporter of the former
people's national congress (pnc) government, the writ cites
article 101 of the 1980 constitution which states that only an
elected member of the national assembly could be appointed prime
minister.

the writ charges that since hinds, a chemical engineer who
was head of the civic component of the winning party, is not a
member of the assembly then his appointment as prime minister is
unconstitutional.

hinds was sworn in oct. 10 and since then has been working as
prime minister and utilities minister.

the 65-member national assembly has not yet met, but it has
until dec. 28 to do so, according to the constitution.

constitutional experts here say the charges are valid but the
damage to the government will be minimal since hinds will xost
likely be a member of the national assembly when it meets. the
assembly is expected to hold its first meeting before the case
is ruled on.

jagan, an avowed marxist, included businessmen, the church
and intellectuals in his party during the election campaign to
try to change the impression that he was against big business.
consequently he won the elections on the ppp-civic ticket.
(more/ips)

guyana: trying days for new administration (2)

pat mccormack, former head of the guyana human rights
association says the jagan goernment will be in deep trouble if
it does not deal with the missing assets.

''government cannot allow this to be propagated. it will look
very bad. if the police can't deal with it internally, they
could ask for external help,'' he told ips.

in the meantime, the government has vowed to prosecute
officials in the pnc administration whom, it alleges, have
misappropriated state property.

according to dr roger luncheon head of the presidential
secretariat,  dozens of files with information showing that
senior ex-government officials  misappropriated property in the
dying days of the pnc regime had been handed over to the police.

among those named as having stolen state property are former
president desmond hoyte and his finance minister carl greenidge.
greenidge leaves for brussels later this month to take up an
appointment as a deputy secretary general of the african,
pacific and cwribbean (acp) group of countries.

''during the transition, president hoyte, former finance
minister greenidge and former head of the presidential
secretariat dr tyrone ferguson, had in their official capacities,
been involved in the transfer of government and state property to
the value of hundreds of millions of dollars, '' luncheon said.

many of the items transferred went to party supporters, he
said.

but the pnc has denied the charges and has accused the new
administration of trying to discredit it and harrass officials
it wants out of the way.

and this past week finance minister asgar ally announced that
up to 100 million guyanese dollars (one u.s. dollar is worth 125
guyanese dollars) has disappeared from the treasury.

''it cannot be accounted for,'' ally said, adding that the
government was appalled at the former regime's record-keeping
over the last two decades.

still another row is shaping up between luncheon and
hoyte over missing minutes for past cabinet meetings.

hoyte has said the government is not necessarily entitled to
them, while luncheon maintains that he cannot verify senior
civil servants' claims of benefits, leave allowances and
entitlements without them.  (more/ips)

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