-after SARU officials prevents illegal sale

THE Enmore Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) is demanding the return of 15 computers which the State Assets Recovery Unit (SARU) seized recently to prevent them from being sold illegally.

Through their attorney, Anil Nandlall, a letter was sent to SARU, demanding the return of the computers within seven days. Failure to comply, will result in legal actions being brought against the Unit which operates out of the Ministry of the Presidency, the letter states.

“I hereby demand that you return the aforementioned equipment to my client at the location from which they were taken, within seven (7) days from the date hereof, if you fail to do so, my client will be advised to institute legal proceedings against the State and possibly, private criminal charges against each of the officers who were part of the aforementioned unlawful and criminal exercise,” Nandlall’s letter stated. The letter was addressed to Aubrey Heath-Retemyer, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SARU.

According to the Ministry of Public Telecommunications, a minuted decision was made by the NDC at their statutory meeting of November 16, 2016, to sell the 15 computers which were donated by the Basic Needs Trust Fund. By virtue of the computer being donated, it would be illegal to sell them, the Ministry said.

After receiving information of the intent to sell the computers last Thursday, officials from the eGovernment Project Execution Unit accompanied by SARU officials made their way to the NDC where they found the computers which were to be sold.

The officials subsequently seized the computers and the Ministry has since said that once there is a commitment by the NDC that the computers will not be sold or otherwise disposed of, they will be returned to the local government body.

“They [the computers] will first be serviced. eGovernment fully intends to support the residents of Enmore/Hope under its Community Information and Communication Technology (ICT) hub initiative which provides free Internet service and computer skills training,” the ministry said.

However, Nandlall in his letter made no reference to the Ministry’s eGovernment officials and described the actions by the SARU agents as not only “authoritarian, but are unlawful, illegal and unconstitutional and amount to misfeasance in public office.”

The attorney also reference his repeated “public condemnation” of the “pretention by officers” of SARU, whom he said, claim to be law enforcement officers of the State, pretending to exercise law enforcement powers.

“This continued masquerade is utterly unlawful,” Nandlall said.

Meanwhile, the Peoples’ Progressive Party (PPP), which controls the NDC, had claimed that the computers were being used to teach evening classes for residents. However, the Public Telecommunications Ministry revealed that the units were improperly stored in dusty conditions, and there was no evidence to suggest that the computers were used recently.