By Vanessa Braithwaite

THE investigation into the financial discrepancies found in the 2015 auditor’s report is still ongoing as officers of the State Assets Recovery Unit (SARU) are trying to ascertain the facts regarding what was unearthed in the report. This information was disclosed by Regional Chairman Renis Morian at the February statutory meeting. He told the members at the meeting that the investigation by persons from the Office of the Auditor General, SARU and two police officers is still active and temporary staff has been employed in the interim while the investigation is being concluded.

Meanwhile, Deputy Regional Executive Officer Maylene Charter-Stephen told those at the meeting that the officers being investigated have not been dismissed, so staff had been employed on a temporary basis.
She was responding to a question raised by Councillor Charles Sampson who asked whether Linden is not equipped with qualified persons to fill the position, rather than recruiting persons from Georgetown.
Upon completion of the investigation, the three employees who were placed on station bail could face serious legal consequences depending on the findings.
Regional Executive Officer Gavin Clarke at the previous statutory meeting read in part correspondence sent to him by SARU, which outlined the legal penalties that will face those found guilty of fraud against the State.
“An official who falsifies any account, statement, receipt or records; or conspires or colludes with any person to defraud the State, is guilty of an indictable offence and is liable to a fine of $2M and imprisonment of three years,” the correspondence is quoted as stating.
Morian has already revamped the Public Works Department in which the alleged skullduggery was most prevalent. One of the measures being enacted is that officers within the department should not hold blank contracts with the signatures of contractors penned on them.
It is reported that contractors are claiming that they had never placed their signatures on any contract. In addition, he said that the Clerk of Works must perform regular site inspections so as to decrease the level of irregularities noticed during the REO’s final inspection.

NOTICEABLE OVERPAYMENTS
According to the report, there have been noticeable overpayments for contracts that are non-existent or have not been completed. In addition, the quality of the work done does not reflect the payments made.
The Regional Chairman told the Guyana Chronicle that these malpractices are a cause for much worry, and it seems that it had been happening for some time under the tenure of the previous administration.
Echoing similar views is former Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon who served in that capacity for three years. During his tenure, he said that the highest level of corruption was unearthed and was brought to the attention of the requisite officials and even Cabinet ministers in the previous administration. He said nothing came out of these reports and the officers involved returned to work without closure in the matter.
Former Regional Chairman Mortimer Mingo who served the RDC for two terms told this publication that he too discovered fraud on several occasions during his tenure and brought it to the attention of the Auditor General, Public Accounts Committee and even the then Minister of Local Government.

NOT SURPRISED
He said that he is not surprised over this present fraud investigation as it is an old issue being brought to the fore.
“One numerous occasions there were overpayment for work that was not done and this was brought to the fore by me and the Works Committee and no action was taken,” he said. Mingo said that concrete evidence of fraud was revealed by the audit report and nothing was done about it by the relevant authorities responsible for sanctioning the officers involved.
He recommends that genuine persons need to be employed to oversee the entire process and make sure that the officers comply with the rules and regulations of the RDC.
Minister within the Ministry of Communities Valarie Patterson who served as a Regional Councillor during the Chairmanship of Mingo from 2001-2011, said there were several irregularities identified by the Office of the Auditor General year after year.
“There have been fraudulent actions, misappropriations of monies, projects where contractors were fully paid off and 20 per cent of the work was not completed, not only in Linden but in the Berbice River,” she revealed.
Minister Patterson said that Mingo was a very proactive Regional Chairman who presented evidence to the relevant authorities on several occasions. She also revealed that the councillors were forced to move a no-confidence motion against the former Regional Executive Officer Henry Rodney.
Former President Bharrat Jagdeo, however, responded that he alone had the authority to remove the REO since he appointed him and the councillors were forced to work with the REO under such circumstances.
She said that no attention was paid to these skullduggeries and the staff continued to get involved in fraud. “They continued to misappropriate the funds, continued to give incorrect reports even at the level at the REO,” she said.
In light of the present fraud investigation, Regional Executive Officer Gavin Clarke has pledged to expose any employee or contractor under his watch who is engaged in fraudulent activities against the State.
He said his job is to ensure proper management of the State’s assets and funds, and he will make it his mandate to ensure those assets are not abused or misused.
“I am not here on any hustle, and I will make it my duty to ensure that persons under my watch remain in full compliance with what should be done the right way,” he said.
The Regional Chairman, in agreement with the stance of the Regional Executive Officer to be free from corruption, will be proceeding with whatever action is recommended by the Assets Recovery Unit.