Businessman Sir George Ryan is refuting Prime Minister Gaston Browne’s claim that his company owes a substantial amount in outstanding taxes, insisting instead that it is the government that has failed to meet its financial obligations.

The dispute escalated last week when government offices housed in Ryan’s Old Parham Road building were locked out due to years of nonpayment. The Old Parham Road facility houses the Bureau of Standards, the Ministry of Works Project Implementation Unit, and various Survey Departments.

Ryan claims the government owes him $10 million in rental fees and has repeatedly failed to settle its debts. “The government owes me $10 million, and for over four years, they’ve refused to pay, saying Ryan can wait,” he stated.

Ryan argued that he has already paid over $40 million in taxes and has always been a patriot to his country, but the government must also honour its agreements. According to Ryan, Prime Minister Browne personally agreed four years ago to begin clearing the debt, yet no payments were made. “I will continue to support government in any way, shape or form but we must honour agreements. Honour your agreement, over four years you haven’t given me a dime, so how I must live?” he questioned.

IPB understands that government operations at the Ryan building were expected to resume on Monday following discussions with the Financial Secretary, the Permanent Secretary, and the Accountant General. An initial agreement was reached for a 12-month advance payment, with a second year’s payment due by the end of April, while the remaining balance would be negotiated over the next year.

However, after the lockout, the government abandoned these negotiations after the prime minister called the move to lock the building “hostile” and that the government had no choice but to find alternative accommodations.

“We respect Sir George’s position, but when you get locked out, it’s a clear message. The matter has reached the level of the Cabinet, and we have accepted that we got thrown out,” Browne said. “We have taken a decision that those offices will now be housed in government-owned buildings instead,” Browne explained. 

The total amount owed to the Ryan Group of Companies for all government-leased properties is estimated to be $10 million.

The Prime Minister also criticized the broader issue of government reliance on private rentals, arguing that state agencies should not be dependent on individuals for office space.

“A lot of these rental buildings are old and decrepit. As far as I’m concerned, we need to come out of them and build our own office complexes,” he said. Browne also suggested that previous administrations had mismanaged public funds that could have been used to develop government properties.

He further noted that the Ministry of Finance would conduct a reconciliation to determine how much money is owed to Ryan, though he maintained that outstanding taxes would need to be addressed before any payment is made.