Dear Editor

IT was indeed uplifting to read the recent comments made by former Auditor General Anand Goolsarran, in which he called for an immediate, in-depth audit into the City Council. Here is a man with integrity, objectivity and a high degree of professionalism and with no axe to grind, he is merely insisting that some semblance of order be brought to City Hall after decades of decadence there.

He was absolutely correct when he said that 10 years of arrears in terms of financial reporting and auditing was not only a “disturbing trend,” but also showed that the Council had no interest in bringing the accounts up to order. But far worse than that, has been the rapid acceleration over the last year in nepotism, corruption and deception. In fact, last year alone has been far worse than the previous nine years combined.

Any attempt to bring the Council’s accounts in order would spell utter disaster for the Mayor, some of the Councillors, the “old boys and girls” from the last Council, the Town Clerk and some of his crooked senior officers.

It would expose the racket that is going on in the Tax Collecting Section regarding the illegal granting of waivers of interest being given to special persons of which the majority of Councillors are unaware and which costs the Council tens of millions of dollars, all of which is unlawful, dishonest and criminal

It would expose the fact that a very senior officer is renting a car from a friend for hundreds of thousands of dollars a month, merely to add it to his fleet of vehicles, and which he hardly uses except to transport his personal staff to and from work. It would expose the fact that children and other relatives of Councillors and senior officers are continually given contracts, employment and use of Council facilities to carry on their businesses.

Mr. Goolsarran highlighted the fact that according to the Municipal and District Councils Act, within four months of the close of the financial year, the City Treasurer is required to prepare and submit to the auditor financial statements for that year for audit, and that if the Treasurer fails to comply, he/she will be guilty of an offence. Well in that case the Treasurer is a huge offender and should be long gone  as he has never submitted such a statement since taking up the office in 2012, and does not seem about to.

I believe all citizens are in accord with Mr. Goolsarran when he insisted that given the Council’s lack of financial accountability, any proposal geared at enhancing the Council’s revenue base would be illogical. They must account for what they have now before they seek to earn more.

Regards
Jermain Johnson