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http://newsroom.gy/2016/06/30/...ds-former-president/

Letter to the Editor: B.K responds to Former President

Dear Editor,

I crave your indulgence in a matter of grave concern to me and of potentially having  damaging effects to me, my family and company that I have worked honestly and hard to build.

 

Particularly, I would wish to refer to a page 11 article published in the Thursday, June 30, 2016 edition of the Stabroek News captioned “$800M in specialty hospital steel ‘awarded’ to BK”. This was also headlined in the edition referred to. The article referenced the utterances of former President Donald Ramotar questioning the ‘award’ of the containers to BK International. The Stabroek News says “the items were ‘given’ to BK International. Editor, since we did not get an opportunity to respond to the allegations of the former President, now a private citizen, we now wish to respond as follows:

 

  • Surendra Engineering owes BK International approximately G$400M for foundation work done on the specialty hospital.
  • BK International filed legal proceedings against Surendra Engineering in Guyana and India courts
  • BK International was granted judgment against Surendra Engineering by the High Court of Guyana after the company conceded that it owed BK Inc. the sum claimed
  • The Managing Director (MD)of Surendra Engineering was prevented by a Court Order from leaving Guyana pending the honoring of the judgment granted to BK International
  • The Donald Ramotar Cabinet on the advice of his Attorney General, Anil Nandlall flew in the face of the court’s decision and allowed the MD to leave
  • The containers that were shipped into Guyana were sold by auction executed by the courts of Guyana.

 

I am therefore publicly requesting that a thorough investigation be done into the issues relating to the award, periodic execution, failure and subsequent events following the suspension of Surendra Engineering from the Specialty Hospital Contract.

 

While I am not in a position to decide that the above investigations should be initiated with some immediacy I truly hope that my missive serves enough notice in this regard. Ultimately, it would serve this nation well if a performance audit was to be conducted into the presidency of Donald Ramotar. Let the facts and the findings speak for themselves.

 

Former President Ramotar in claiming that 8 containers valued $800M demonstrates clearly his gross incompetence in dealing with this issue while he was President. A school child would have even before taking the containers in their possession would have ascertained the value and contents of the container.

 

All the containers had were mere steel rods and it was clear that contrary to what was told to the government, none of the expensive steel frames was in the container.  To refresh Former President Ramotar on this issue, if he had researched it properly, he would have seen that the estimated cost of the cargo in the containers was approximately US$153,000 and that is consistent with the contents in the container.

 

BK having been granted an award against Surendra for works done at the site could have properly levied on the containers and on assets owned by Surendra but the government had taken possession of the containers and BK did not pursue that route. Instead as was stated above the container were taken to an auction and was bought by an individual, not BK.

 

The amazing omission of the former government was their failure to do elementary home work as to the contents being shipped and to monitor the expenses based on the massive amounts for mobilization that were paid to Surrendra.

 

The former government knew fully well that BK was subcontracted to do foundation work and had expended enormous amounts to do piling works and stock materials on site yet proper supervision and monitoring of the project by the government was absent.  Huge sums of money were paid over to Surendra and they were allowed to walk away.

 

It would have served the Former President Ramotar well to be careful in dealing with this issue knowing very well that the project was mismanaged by his administration.

 

Since Former President Ramotar is talking about transparency and corruption he must explain how is it that his administration sold to his brother 3 barges and 1 tug for a price below $20M. His brother flipped one of the barges in a transaction for $50M in a matter of days after purchase.  This was followed by a sale by the Ministry of Public Works  of another barge valued in excess of $150 million and this was again sold to his brother for a mere 3 million dollars,  causing the state to lose millions of dollars.

 

Former President Ramotar must explain the sale of 25 acres of sugar land belonging to the West Demerara Estates for chick pea price again to associates of his brother with his brother being a main beneficiary.

 

If steel in containers is a concern of former President Romotar, he should be equally concerned about the Fiber Optic cable fiasco. The poor service and incompetence of his son as the head of the project along with the government engineer allowed for neglect, mismanagement and fraud to be committed against the state.

 

Contrary to the views of some that BK International was a favoured contractor of the PPP Administration, the records will reveal all contracts awarded to BK were done so after a bidding process was completed.  There were some instances where BK was unjustifiably denied contracts even though we were the most competitive bidder. There were numerous occasions when BK had to challenge these injustices through the courts in Guyana.  The records will therefore show that BK was no favoured contractor in the PPP regime.

 

Editor, the records will also show that BK International was the first local company to qualified itself with the appropriate equipment, infrastructure, engineers and personnel which allowed us to bid and receive contracts for projects under the IDB, European Union, Caribbean Development and Word Banks among others.

 

To summarize the issues then and to add a few others, the former President should answer my claims on the following.

 

  • The sale of 25 acres of GUYSUCO lands at the Boerasirie on the West Coast of Demerara to Mr. Donald Ramotar’s relative
  • What part Mr. Ramotar played in the near collapse and wrong-doings of GUYSUCO while he sat on its board for all the years
  • How a 40 foot container of spares for a Barge/ Tug valued at US$100K delivered to the former President’s brother by a Chinese businessman operating at Land of Canaan.
  • What import duties etc. were paid on the said container
  • How NICIL was able to sell the Former President’s brother three barges and one tug for less than G$20M during his tenure
  • Why was there no tender for this sale
  • How was his brother able to resell one of the barges to a West Coast, Demerara businessman for G$50M
  • What was the inner workings on the project of laying the fiber optic cable from Lethem to Linden
  • How and why was the contract for the Ruby Backdam road awarded personally and directly by the Former President to the highest bidder as opposed to BK with the lowest tender
  • How was Surendra Engineering awarded two Prospecting Licenses in the North West District
  • How did a Former Attorney General become a Real Estate mogul
  • How many properties in and out of Georgetown was acquired by the same Former Attorney General during his tenure in office
  • How many hotels are owned, in some cases partially, by the same Former Attorney General
  • To whom were Casino Licenses granted and why.

 

For those like Former President Ramotar and others who want to convey the impression that BK only jumped ship after the new Government was formed in May 2015, I want to make it abundantly clear that like every patriotic person in Guyana, I took a conscious decision to support the move for change and this decision was made one year before the 2015 elections. There are numerous persons who can support this.

 

Our manner of doing business was never, nor is not to deal with issues in any underhand way and we urge the former President to get his facts correct when making derogatory statements against a company like ours.

 

BK International will continue to provide support and growth of our nation while we continue to provide employment of numerous Guyanese for the betterment of themselves and their families.

Replies sorted oldest to newest

What a laugh....dog biting hand....hand wants to know how mouth can say hand fed the dog!

Ramotar, Gilly once said, was an honest man. Well we came not to praise him but to bury him. He was an  honest man!

FM
Last edited by Former Member
Danyael posted:

What a laugh....dog biting hand....hand wants to know how mouth can say hand fed the dog!

Ramotar, Gilly once said, was an honest man. Well we came not to praise him but to bury him. He was an  honest man!

 

Thanks for the reminder. Now, having regard to the latest available information, Gilly says unequivocally that Ramotar is a F-ing dishonest creep. No apology for my statement today July 1, 2016.

BTW, I know that Donald Ramotar's brother Shaymus was a corrupt man since around 1992 when he owned a boat that was used for smuggling fuel from Venezuela. I had thought at that time that Donald was different from Shaymus.

FM
Gilbakka posted:
Danyael posted:

What a laugh....dog biting hand....hand wants to know how mouth can say hand fed the dog!

Ramotar, Gilly once said, was an honest man. Well we came not to praise him but to bury him. He was an  honest man!

 

Thanks for the reminder. Now, having regard to the latest available information, Gilly says unequivocally that Ramotar is a F-ing dishonest creep. No apology for my statement today July 1, 2016.

BTW, I know that Donald Ramotar's brother Shaymus was a corrupt man since around 1992 when he owned a boat that was used for smuggling fuel from Venezuela. I had thought at that time that Donald was different from Shaymus.

I know the peeps they were hustlers since in the 80's,i asked a friend of mine if they moved up when Ramu was presi,well i didn't get a straight answer,the revelation by BK says different.

Django

Poor Ramotar, he tried to gain some political milage by sling mud at BK for switching to PNC but BK return left hook not only knock him out cold but all his cronys on GNI  loss their voice.....

sachin_05
Last edited by sachin_05
Nehru posted:

BK is a Businessman and has a RIGHT to swing whichever way he please. Guyanese Politicians are money grabbers, all of them. I feel sorry for the Guyanese people.

Now we are on the same page,i have known that a long time.

Django
Churchill posted:

BK forgot to mention about the suspicious scholarship which Ramouthar's daughter received.....

 

You ought to chide your AFC comrades in Gov't. for allowing greater corruption with the same old bags.

Billy Ram Balgobin
Mars posted:
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:

It is evident that the new gov't. has its doors wide open for corruptocrats.  

Is that what you gathered from BK's letter? Don't you people have any shame?

Do you really believe BK is a highly ethical company? Do you think their hands a clean when it comes to government corruption??

Billy Ram Balgobin
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:
Mars posted:
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:

It is evident that the new gov't. has its doors wide open for corruptocrats.  

Is that what you gathered from BK's letter? Don't you people have any shame?

Do you really believe BK is a highly ethical company? Do you think their hands a clean when it comes to government corruption??

No comment on Ramotar? You obviously believe that he's innocent and you're trying to deflect the blame on BK.

Mars
Last edited by Mars
Mars posted:
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:
Mars posted:
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:

It is evident that the new gov't. has its doors wide open for corruptocrats.  

Is that what you gathered from BK's letter? Don't you people have any shame?

Do you really believe BK is a highly ethical company? Do you think their hands a clean when it comes to government corruption??

No comment on Ramotar? You obviously believe that he's innocent and you're trying to deflect the blame on BK.

Two wrongs does not make one right.  BK's letter looks like it was written by a bitter anti-PPP politician rather than a business executive. He defended the PPP administration by stating that he never received any favors from them.  Do I want to believe that?

Billy Ram Balgobin
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:
Mars posted:
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:
Mars posted:
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:

It is evident that the new gov't. has its doors wide open for corruptocrats.  

Is that what you gathered from BK's letter? Don't you people have any shame?

Do you really believe BK is a highly ethical company? Do you think their hands a clean when it comes to government corruption??

No comment on Ramotar? You obviously believe that he's innocent and you're trying to deflect the blame on BK.

Two wrongs does not make one right.  BK's letter looks like it was written by a bitter anti-PPP politician rather than a business executive. He defended the PPP administration by stating that he never received any favors from them.  Do I want to believe that?

Still no comment on Ramotar who's the subject of the letter?

Mars
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:
Churchill posted:

BK forgot to mention about the suspicious scholarship which Ramouthar's daughter received.....

 

You ought to chide your AFC comrades in Gov't. for allowing greater corruption with the same old bags.

FYI....I am not an   " AFC comrade ".....and by the way the  " same old bags "  were known to Jagdeo and Ramouthar when they occupied  office....in fact most of them were drinking buddies.....

FM
Churchill posted:
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:
Churchill posted:

BK forgot to mention about the suspicious scholarship which Ramouthar's daughter received.....

 

You ought to chide your AFC comrades in Gov't. for allowing greater corruption with the same old bags.

FYI....I am not an   " AFC comrade ".....and by the way the  " same old bags "  were known to Jagdeo and Ramouthar when they occupied  office....in fact most of them were drinking buddies.....

True! That's why I'm saying this new gov't. offers nothing but a continuation of past abuses with greater intensity and more hardship on the ordinary man. This is the reality.

Billy Ram Balgobin
Mars posted:
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:
Mars posted:
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:
Mars posted:
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:

It is evident that the new gov't. has its doors wide open for corruptocrats.  

Is that what you gathered from BK's letter? Don't you people have any shame?

Do you really believe BK is a highly ethical company? Do you think their hands a clean when it comes to government corruption??

No comment on Ramotar? You obviously believe that he's innocent and you're trying to deflect the blame on BK.

Two wrongs does not make one right.  BK's letter looks like it was written by a bitter anti-PPP politician rather than a business executive. He defended the PPP administration by stating that he never received any favors from them.  Do I want to believe that?

Still no comment on Ramotar who's the subject of the letter?

Even if those allegations against Ramotar are true it still does excuse this gov't. from doing what's unethical nor does it justify a businessman like to BK to continue his pillage.

Billy Ram Balgobin
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:
Mars posted:
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:
Mars posted:
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:
Mars posted:
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:

It is evident that the new gov't. has its doors wide open for corruptocrats.  

Is that what you gathered from BK's letter? Don't you people have any shame?

Do you really believe BK is a highly ethical company? Do you think their hands a clean when it comes to government corruption??

No comment on Ramotar? You obviously believe that he's innocent and you're trying to deflect the blame on BK.

Two wrongs does not make one right.  BK's letter looks like it was written by a bitter anti-PPP politician rather than a business executive. He defended the PPP administration by stating that he never received any favors from them.  Do I want to believe that?

Still no comment on Ramotar who's the subject of the letter?

Even if those allegations against Ramotar are true it still does excuse this gov't. from doing what's unethical nor does it justify a businessman like to BK to continue his pillage.

BK is one of the few contractors in the country who has the equipment and skill to execute certain contracts. Once the current government deals with that company in a fair manner, that is beneficial to the country. This current government would have to be there for another fifty years before they can match the amount of corrupt deals that the previous government pulled off during their tenure. You can continue to bury your head in the sand and believe that Ramotar was an altar boy.    

Mars
Mars posted:
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:
Mars posted:
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:
Mars posted:
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:
Mars posted:
Billy Ram Balgobin posted:

It is evident that the new gov't. has its doors wide open for corruptocrats.  

Is that what you gathered from BK's letter? Don't you people have any shame?

Do you really believe BK is a highly ethical company? Do you think their hands a clean when it comes to government corruption??

No comment on Ramotar? You obviously believe that he's innocent and you're trying to deflect the blame on BK.

Two wrongs does not make one right.  BK's letter looks like it was written by a bitter anti-PPP politician rather than a business executive. He defended the PPP administration by stating that he never received any favors from them.  Do I want to believe that?

Still no comment on Ramotar who's the subject of the letter?

Even if those allegations against Ramotar are true it still does excuse this gov't. from doing what's unethical nor does it justify a businessman like to BK to continue his pillage.

BK is one of the few contractors in the country who has the equipment and skill to execute certain contracts. Once the current government deals with that company in a fair manner, that is beneficial to the country. This current government would have to be there for another fifty years before they can match the amount of corrupt deals that the previous government pulled off during their tenure. You can continue to bury your head in the sand and believe that Ramotar was an altar boy.    

This current government would have to be there for another fifty years before they can match the amount of corrupt deals that the previous government pulled off during their tenure.

You are overly optimistic about this government when it comes to corruption. I hope you will not be disappointed.

Billy Ram Balgobin
Last edited by Billy Ram Balgobin

So you mean BK did not tell his buddy Harman these secrets before?  Well folks you see the way how govt NOT for the people operates.  They keep secrets on each other so they can gourge at the trough when it is their time without fear of prosecution when they leave office. Don't keep your hopes up that any major player in the PPP will be going to jail.  This coalition government is the biggest disgrace.  BTW this happens in the good ole USA also.

 

 

 

 

FM
VVP posted:

So you mean BK did not tell his buddy Harman these secrets before?  Well folks you see the way how govt NOT for the people operates.  They keep secrets on each other so they can gourge at the trough when it is their time without fear of prosecution when they leave office. Don't keep your hopes up that any major player in the PPP will be going to jail.  This coalition government is the biggest disgrace.  BTW this happens in the good ole USA also.

Don't get caught you are toasted.

Django
Django posted:
VVP posted:

So you mean BK did not tell his buddy Harman these secrets before?  Well folks you see the way how govt NOT for the people operates.  They keep secrets on each other so they can gourge at the trough when it is their time without fear of prosecution when they leave office. Don't keep your hopes up that any major player in the PPP will be going to jail.  This coalition government is the biggest disgrace.  BTW this happens in the good ole USA also.

Don't get caught you are toasted.

True, but notice that most of the politicians get caught after a media investigation or by prosecutors with integrity like Preet Bararah.  

FM
VVP posted:
Django posted:
VVP posted:

So you mean BK did not tell his buddy Harman these secrets before?  Well folks you see the way how govt NOT for the people operates.  They keep secrets on each other so they can gourge at the trough when it is their time without fear of prosecution when they leave office. Don't keep your hopes up that any major player in the PPP will be going to jail.  This coalition government is the biggest disgrace.  BTW this happens in the good ole USA also.

Don't get caught you are toasted.

True, but notice that most of the politicians get caught after a media investigation or by prosecutors with integrity like Preet Bararah.  

In CT a few Mayors and also a Governor got nailed,one mayor got nailed because the contractor updated his kitchen.

Django
Last edited by Django

Remember congressman Jefferson and the frozen cash in his freezer covered with meat. Political corruption happen in every country. It is up to the free press to police the system.

Prashad
Last edited by Prashad

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