…as millions unaccounted for in Reg. 10 SLED projects
By Richard Bhainie
THE Ministry of Labour has uncovered what it says is ‘fraud’ and in some instances ‘criminality’ as it relates to $34 million disbursed to the mining town of Linden, Region 10, through the Sustainable Livelihood and Entrepreneurial Development (SLED) initiative in 2019.
The monies were distributed to several residents and Cooperative Societies for the establishment of community development projects, but a visit by Labour Minister, Joseph Hamilton, to the mining town on Friday last, discovered that most of the projects were never established while others were incomplete and in one case, persons who were given money, had migrated.
Hamilton, during an interview with the Sunday Chronicle, explained that this was discovered following inspection of the projects during his visit. He was accompanied by Chief Co-operative Development Officer, Perlina Gifth. The SLED initiative was established by the former A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) coalition government in 2015 and was aimed at creating business and job creation in communities across the country.
Minister Hamilton explained that for the year 2019, an estimate of $45 million was invested in Region 10, approximately $34 million of which was disbursed in Linden/Wismar.
It was discovered that 13 groups received a total of $34 million under SLED programme in 2019 for community development projects. However, the Co-operative Societies were never registered with the Ministry of Labour, Department of Co-operatives, making them null and void. Further, the minister explained that, based on the projects he reviewed, many are situated on private lands, making the proprietor of those lands the legitimate owner of the structures erected thereon.
“It is people using a guise of co-op for their own personal benefit,” Hamilton said.
The projects are nowhere near completion; some too far away from civilization and there is even one case where an individual benefitted from the SLED initiative and left the jurisdiction without completing the project.
Figueira, in response to this allegation, revealed in a statement Saturday that he was never the recipient of any disbursement of monies from the SLED programme.
Meanwhile, another pig rearing initiative was awarded $5.2 million, and is situated on private lands owned by an aunt of one of the members of the “so called co-operative society” the project was awarded to.
“It is fraud and criminality because you are impersonating something and you are not to collect public funds,” the minister said.
Over in West Watooka, $6 million was given to a group for a community centre and ICT hub; the incomplete building was abandoned in 2019. Minister Hamilton said another $2.3 million was provided for poultry rearing but that project never got off the ground and the incomplete chicken coop was taken over by vegetation.
Additionally, the co-ops at Old England and Coomacka received funds for block making projects valued a total of $6 million. The Coomacka block making project is located in a deserted area, and the abandoned building has no roof.
Hamilton added: “You have a case where an individual by the name of Archer…collected $2.3 million for chicken rearing, and he headed out to the US, nothing happened, I went to the place, there is no chicken there,” the minister said.
In the Half Mile Housing Scheme, a community where the soil is composed of sand, the minister found nothing but sand at the site where a children’s play park was slated to be erected at a cost of $1.6 million.
After inspection of the sites, Minister Hamilton noted that it was a severe disadvantage to residents of the communities who were supposed to benefit from the projects, but were unable to do so. He explained that at the level of the Ministry of Labour, there are discussions to examine whether they can utilize the powers of the Chief Co-operative Officer to complete the facilities so that the people in the communities can benefit from them. He also indicated that he would discuss with the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr., to review the sport facilities and possibly take them over and complete them.
Minister Hamilton explained that he would be conducting similar revision exercises in various regions across the country where funds were disbursed under the SLED initiative. In August, 2020 former Sports Director, Christopher Jones, was arrested and released on $100,000 station bail for simple larceny in relation to several barbershop chairs and other items found at his Tucville home.
A police search was executed after an audit of the then Ministry of Social Protection showed that it had approved the disbursement of $4.8M, through the Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) administration, for the procurement of equipment for a barbershop under the SLED programme. The presentation of a financial return would reveal that the entire sum of money was spent by December 31, 2019, but almost $1M in items were not physically delivered but were instead stored at Jones’ home, and neither had the project been executed.
