…police called in

THE Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA), on Tuesday, fired one of its staff members over allegations of fraud and forgery.

According to a reliable source, the staff member, identified as Aaliyah Thom, forged a number of cheques and documents. It is unclear at this stage, the value of the cheques forged. However, the matter is engaging the attention of the Guyana Police Force.
In a statement, the Ministry of Communities, Department of Housing, confirmed the firing of the staff. According to CH&PA, the accused is currently assisting police in their investigation.

“The agency was made aware of some discrepancies which were tied to the said former staff member. Immediate steps were taken to have the staff relieved of duties to facilitate the investigation,” CH&PA said, while making it clear that it had a zero-tolerance policy on any form of corruption and misuse of public funds.

The housing authority declined to give further information on the basis that it did not want to prejudice the investigation. However, in the interim, it is making available all necessary information requested by the Guyana Police Force, to ensure that justice is served. Shortly after issuing the statement, CH&PA published a notice, on its social media platform – Facebook – to inform the public that Thom is no longer within its employ.