City Hall Inquiry
Says comprehensive investigations critical to constructive recommendations

FOR the first time in many years the City Council has produced clean accounts, so said Commissioner of Inquiry into City Hall affairs, Mr. Keith Burrowes, who hosted a press conference at the Cara Lodge yesterday in response to criticisms from several sources for the delay in presenting the report.

He reiterated, once again, that the report had been completed in three volumes and handed over to the Minister with portfolio for Local Government, for his perusal, since the 17th June. But because of his personal commitment to do a thorough job, he continued investigating, until a major fraud was subsequently discovered with evidence pointing to the probability of other instances of fraud, because, according to Mr. Burrowes, the “operations of the City Treasury opened the door to skullduggery”.

“ It appeared as though there is an avid interest in a rushed and patchwork report to dismiss two persons, rather than one that addresses the fundamental problems and challenges at City Hall, and which is impeding the progress of the city of Georgetown. Dismissing two officers without a thorough and objective inquiry is a very simplistic way of attempting to solve the litany of woes at the Georgetown City Council. In fact, to follow that path would make matters worse at the Council. I have said in previous communications that I am prepared to provide an objective report; one which seeks to improve operations at the Council. The determinants in the process are justice, fairness on the side of the Council, and the security of the interest of the city and its populace.” – Keith Burrowes

This led to a re-opening of one volume, pending the outcome of the police investigations. Burrowes also indicated that the work of the Commission has set many things in train, not least the Treasury Department’s determined efforts to restructure its operations, under the guidance of the Commission.

However, while the Commissioner had hoped for a report from the Police that would have enabled an inclusion of specific recommendations in the final report to the Minister to prevent a recurrence of any other such incident, he has decided to present the final report in a public handing-over ceremony on Friday 17th July, 2009.

Mr. Burrowes has undertaken a massive exercise to sanitise the accounts of the M&CC which formerly did not have even a general ledger – a fundamental tool for any accounting system – and which, among other things, caused the Auditors to issue a disclaimer for the accounts of the city Council year after year.

He cited several ways in which doors were open for fraudulent acts and misappropriation of funds, through non-accrual accounting that included lack of proper records for taxes received, indicating that persons who had pre-paid their taxes as owing instead; as well as non-entry of personal loans.

According to the Commissioner, there was no need for sophisticated software to get the job competently done, and he alluded to the many persons who were discovered, in the course of the investigations, to be unqualified for the work that they were assigned.

The Commissioner has personally donated a computer and the necessary software to upgrade the accounting system, and with concurrence from the Finance Committee, the Commission worked indefatigably with staff members of the City Treasury Dept to construct a general ledger, which he is convinced will stand the scrutiny of the auditors. This was a mammoth and time-consuming undertaking, because it was difficult to determine entries that records could not verify.

Asserting that City Hall does not operate like a normal organisation, in that there are (1) zero information; (2) no financial audit since 2004; (3) no general ledger; (4) no monthly accounts done by the appropriate officers; and (5) no supporting schedule to represent any figure provided by the department.

Explaining that he had nothing to gain from the delay except personal satisfaction for a job professionally done, because he was not being paid for this undertaking, which he was executing while still having massive responsibilities for a full-time job and other very demanding commitments, Commissioner Burrowes blasted those who have made such comments as: “Justice delayed is justice denied,” alluding to two officers currently on paid leave pending investigations into a matter.

Burrowes said, in a printed handout at the press conference, that “It appeared as though there is an avid interest in a rushed and patchwork report to dismiss two persons, rather than one that addresses the fundamental problems and challenges at City Hall, and which is impeding the progress of the city of Georgetown.

Dismissing two officers without a thorough and objective inquiry is a very simplistic way of attempting to solve the litany of woes at the Georgetown City Council. In fact, to follow that path would make matters worse at the Council.

I have said in previous communications that I am prepared to provide an objective report; one which seeks to improve operations at the Council. The determinants in the process are justice, fairness on the side of the Council, and the security of the interest of the city and its populace.”

Responding to the criticisms about the monies being paid to the officers, Mr. Burrowes said that, in his estimation, that benefits that would be derived from the process of a comprehensive inquiry far outweigh the money paid to the officers.

While stating that he had no apologies for extending the work of the Commissioner of Inquiry beyond its established mandate, the Commissioner yet apologised to the populace for its patience in ensuring a thorough investigation has been completed, asserting once more that he needed to validate his recommendations and to determine whether they could be implemented.

Sharing the head table with Councillor Patricia Chase-Green, Councillor Ranwell Jordan, Councillor Premchand Dass, and Mr. Pooran Persaud, Secretary to the Commission, Commissioner Burrowes lauded the cooperation of the City Council Board and the staff members of the City Treasury.

He said while the just-concluded exercise may have been demoralising to the staff, he is quite certain that the majority is honest, hardworking persons, doing their job the best they can, and the report will validate their credibility.

Commissioner Burrowes said he does not believe in making excuses, but he does believe that the general public needs an explanation for the delay for the report.

He has issued a challenge to anyone who examines the report, to value its worth against the time taken to conduct the investigation, even against others previously conducted by the municipality.

In an invited comment Burrowes also made it very clear, in response to concerns raised, that he has no interest in participating, “in any way, form or fashion”, in the running of the M&CC, whether in an IMC (Interim Management Committee) or otherwise.

In the wake of the concern by Government that public accountability is a necessary adjunct to transparency in the management of the nation’s affairs, Commissioner Burrowes has expressed appreciation at the “hands-off” policy the Government, in particular Minister Lall, has adopted to allow him ample latitude to pursue his mandate freely and effectively, in a professional manner that allowed amplitude in investigative methodologies.