| … office shifts from OPThe government continues its refusal of a full disclosure on the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) Project, for which $1.8 billion in tax payers money will be spent this year, and a further US$30 million in Chinese funding for related technological infrastructure.The Senior Project Manager, Sesh Sukdeo, is now back in Guyana, but is not granting any interviews, despite undertaking to do so almost three weeks ago.In addition,Wholesale NFL Jerseys Online, the OLPF office has been shifted from the Office of the President to a building at Barack and Duke Streets, Kingston, Georgetown.Three Mondays ago, Kaieteur News requested an interview with Sukdeo to discuss details of the project and how it would be rolled out. Sukdeo agreed, but when Kaieteur News reached the Office of the President he said that he did not realise that he had another engagement for the said time and thus was rescheduling the interview and would get back to Kaieteur News.He never did. Two Mondays ago,Cheap Jerseys Authentic, Kaieteur News checked with Sukhdeo’s office at the Office of the President, only to be told he was out of the country.This newspaper checked again yesterday and was told that Sukdeo was back in Guyana but was no longer based at the Office of the President. He was now situated at a place on Barack Street. No numbers were given for Sukdeo personally or to his office.Kaieteur News eventually located the office at a building at Barack and Duke Streets and found three officers with the project. Sukhdeo was not there,Jerseys NFL Wholesale, and the project staff said they could not divulge out his mobile number. A member of the staff told Kaieteur News to contact the President’s Information Liaison Officer Kwame McCoy regarding any interviews.When contacted, McCoy said that Sukhdeo was busy with the roll out of the project. “I cannot disturb ‘my officers’ when they are busy.”McCoy was told of the interview request and said that no interviews are being granted at this time and that information would be made available as it comes to hand.He then asked Kaieteur News to forward a list of questions, and said he would answer if he is able to. He said that Sukdeo would be made available for comment as soon as this is possible.Sukhdeo lays claim to a successful career working with Governments and blue chip clients on innovation and development. He is a former International Development Director with the British Computer Society.The government’s secrecy over the project continues a day after the government issued a statement to “remind the Kaieteur News of the transparent manner in which the government conducts its business.”The government said it has empowered the Office of the Auditor General to publish uninhibited, annualised audited reports of Ministries and agencies and these reports are submitted to Parliament for scrutiny.The reports of the auditor General have cited several cases in which the government continues to misuse public funds.The government, in a statement on Tuesday,Cheap NFL Jerseys, said Government Officials are accessible to the media as obtained in the frequent press conferences hosted by President Bharrat Jagdeo, and Ministers and the weekly Cabinet updates hosted by the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon.The statement pointed Kaieteur News to the Procurement Act and the Government’s tenderprocedures, “information for which is available on the several Government websites for public perusal and the amendments made to include the media when tender documents are being examined.”There has been no tender or advertisement for bids for the initial set of computers the government has brought in,NFL Jerseys China Wholesale, except to say that the procurement was done in accordance with set procedures.The government has also refused to say exactly what brand of Lenovo laptops was sourced for distribution. Minister within the Ministry of Finance Jennifer Webster has said that the government estimates to spend US$295 on one of the laptops. But she did not say what brand and model this would be.Kaieteur News has already established that the government bought 20 Lenovo G550 laptops, which the Office of the President said are not for distribution but for different units and Cabinet.The government insisted that there was no commitment to secrecy. The government says that it will distribute 90,000 laptops over the next three years, starting with 27,China Jerseys Online,000 this year. |
