Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr Roger Luncheon has described as "bunkum" suggestions that he was involved in authorising or sanctioning the controversial sale of dolphins to a client in Venezuela.
Luncheon was speaking at his weekly post-Cabinet press conference yesterday at the Office of the President.
He said that the exportation of dolphins to a Venezuelan company was not mandated by the National Wildlife Authority but rather based on the unsanctioned behaviour of the unit's manager.
Luncheon said that based on this revelation the board of the authority intends to pursue disciplinary action against the unit's management for following incorrect procedures.
Luncheon told reporters that the government had been informed that the dolphins exported are not classified as being endangered under the guidelines of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.
According to Luncheon the board of directors of the wildlife management authority has been engaging in a series of meetings examining evidence as it relates to the export of the dolphins.
McNeal Enterprises, owned by Presidential Advisor on Empowerment, Odinga Lumumba, was identified as being the exporter of the dolphins. The export was done with the approval of the Head of the Wildlife Unit, Khellawan. The latter was subsequently sent on leave to facilitate an investigation of the matter.
Lumumba contacted by Stabroek Business on the issue last week had said that his company had merely facilitated the process for a client. He refused to divulge whether McNeal had been paid to export the items, who the clients were or to where the dolphins had been sent.
Stabroek News was told that McNeal Enterprises had paid some $19M in export levy fees to the government for the export of 25 dolphins. So far, only 11 of the dolphins have left Guyana.
Luncheon reiterated that he only offered advice to Khellawan on the conditions under which the exports could be made but did not sanction the actual export. The HPS nevertheless noted that the trade, which is seen as a fairly lucrative one is in itself an incentive to exporters to want to venture into the industry.
Current estimates value the dolphins at around US$20,000 per animal. This figure attracts an export levy of 20%.