GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, on Wednesday, denied allegations made by the leader of the main opposition We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party, Azruddin Mohamed, that his private residence was most likely constructed with proceeds of corruption.
“I hereby declare that the construction of the said house at Bloomfield, Berbice, was funded and financed exclusively through a mortgage obtained from Demerara Bank Limited and personal savings accumulated through lawful employment,” Mustapha said in a statement, and that he is up to date with his declarations with the Integrity Commission.
“I wish to assure my supporters and the general public that all my assets were acquired through lawful means. I can account for every asset I own,” he said.
Mohamed, who is likely to be appointed opposition leader in the new Parliament, claimed that four years ago, Mustapha’s at Bloomfield, Berbice, was a “simple, wooden” structure similar to his neighbours.
He questioned how a minister earning less than GUY$1.2 million (One Guyana dollar = 0.004 cents) a month could afford to rebuild his home with custom features and luxury finishes.
Mohamed further claimed that the street where the Agriculture Minister’s house is located is the “only” street that has been widened and custom-built. In contrast, the others remain narrow and underdeveloped.
“These are the privileges afforded to the PPP (ruling People’s Progressive Party)cabal at the expense of ordinary Guyanese,” said Mohamed, who is fighting an extradition request by the United States to face trial for wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering in a Federal court in Florida.
But Mustapha, in his statement, sought to assure the public that he has lived a life dedicated to serving the population in various roles, including as a government minister.
The Agriculture Minister also defended his son, Javed, whom Mohamed claimed in a social media post was also corrupt.
“I have invested in my son’s education, and his entrepreneurial path has been nothing short of maintaining a high standard of accountability, transparency, integrity, and professionalism,” Mustapha said, adding that Mohamed has embarked on a “personal vendetta” against his son after the latter distanced himself from him because of alleged unlawful and unethical conduct.
While Mustpaha has said that neither he nor his son would engage in a “tit-for-tat” with Mohamed, he has nonetheless asked his lawyers to explore the possibility of filing a lawsuit for defamation in order “to protect myself and my family from further malicious and erroneous publications”.
The Agriculture Minister said that Mohamed’s statements made in a video were “completely untrue, fallacious, and devoid of merit, and could only have been contrived to harm his reputation, expose me to hatred, contempt, ridicule, and damage his image.
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