The coalition spent all US $ 18M of ExxonMobil Signing Bonus
– Auditor General
By Shikema Dey
Former Finance Minister Winston Jordan
Kaieteur News – Every one hundred US $ 18M signing bonus that Guyana received in defeating the 2016 deal with petrol giant ExxonMobil was spent by A Partnership For National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU + AFC).
The Auditor General (AG), Deodat Sharma, in his recently released Audit Report for 2019, said that the $ 18M Guyana received was deposited into the Ministry of Finance’s ExxonMobil Account №. 845L5086, at Guyana Bank.
The Bank explained that it maintains “Cash and Investment Accounts,” to independently account for investment accruals. The report outlined that during November 9-17, 2016, the amount of US $ 15.831 million was transferred to that exact account and later expended to buy foreign bonds.
The balance of US $ 2.176 million or G $ 449 million remained in the country’s Investment Account.
Later, the report said, Guyana earned interest of US $ 498,775 from its investments between November 9, 2016 and December 31, 2018, while interest from the Investment Account totaled US $ 2,889.
Then on December 28, 2018, it was reported that the Ministry of Finance had instructed the Bank to transfer US $ 3.780 million from the Investment Account to the Guyana Consolidated Fund. This was done on December 31, 2018, leaving a remaining balance of US $ 112,480 in the account.
The Auditor General also reported that in January 2019, the value of investments valued was US $ 14.545 million, while interest earned on the Investment Account rose to US $ 42,378.
He pointed out that in January 2019 the Ministry had instructed the Bank to close ExxonMobil Account №. 845L5086 and transfer all balances to the Consolidated Fund.
“In accordance with the Ministry’s directive, an amount of G $ 3.065 billion or US $ 14.699 million was transferred to the Fund on January 24, 2019,” the AG highlighted, noting that a final transfer of G $ 104,867 or US $ 502.96 had to proceed February 14, 2019 “resulting in nil balances in the account.”
The Bank then closed the accounts in February 2019.
That transfer occurred before the High Court ruled that the December 21, 2018 No Confidence Motion was validly passed.
It was only after intense media pressure that the Coalition Government led by former President Granger revealed that it was receiving the signing bonus from ExxonMobil on the establishment of the 2016 Stabroek Block Production Sharing Agreement (PSA).
Before that there was silence.
The Coalition later said that the money for legal fees for Venezuela’s border case was in the International Court of Justice, in The Hague,
So far, Guyana remains in the dark as to how much of that signing bonus was spent on the case.
Furthermore, no analysis was given of what the rest of the money was spent on.
Former Finance Minister Winston Jordan was contacted by Kaieteur News to give an idea of how the money was spent.
His response was: “Once the money goes to the Console Fund, there is no set item; funds sponge when they reach the Consolidated Fund. So you’re not specifying a specific item of expenditure. That’s why, if you want to identify a specific item of expenditure, you keep it in a special account. But once the money is transferred to the Consolidated Fund, it becomes part of the pool of resources in the Consolidated Fund. “
When asked if the US $ 15 million was spent on the case, he said: “I say at the time of the transfer that we did not spend $ 3 billion, on the Border Debate case.”
Jordan explained: “Whenever funds needed to be applied with reference to the Boundary Debate, such amounts as stated would be transferred from the special accounts to the Consolidated Fund and funds would then be transferred. released through the budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ”
“So while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has spent a significant amount on the Boundary Debate, and we often had to go back to Parliament to get more money for them, I don’t remember any money having to transfer from the special account to the Consolidated Fund which is why the whole amount was transferred in January 2019. ”