The union representing the two recently sacked Customs officers has written to their employer challenging the action and advising that the two staff members be reinstated immediately pending a meeting between the two parties.
In a statement yesterday, the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) said its challenge, posed to Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Deputy Commissioner- Human Resources Archana Joshi questions management’s violation of the rule of natural justice, as the two Internal Affairs investigators — Sadesh Pitamber and Rabindra Ramsuran — were not charged nor given an opportunity to vindicate themselves. The union said it believed this to be a violation of their rights to natural justice.
The two officers were dismissed last week and several others were sent on indefinite leave as the investigation into fraudulent activities at GRA involving Fidelity Investment intensified. It was the first shake-up at Customs since the probe was initiated by President Bharrat Jagdeo last month but immediately after the dismissal letters were served, angry GRA staff numbering around 20 erupted calling it “unfair and an attack against the lower level staff”.
The two officers were dismissed for their alleged involvement in the Polar beer scandal with Fidelity that led to 73,000 cases of the beverage being let into the country without the required duties being paid.
This newspaper has seen the dismissal letters, which stated that Pitamber and Ramsuran contravened the GRA Schedule of Disciplinary Measures No 5 Inefficiency and Incompetence; and No 16 failure to obey known rules and code of conduct, conflict of interest and post employment codes.
A cashier at Customs House was also dismissed on Thursday last for her alleged involvement in the deal with Fidelity but she was told to resume duties on Friday after cashiers at the office called a sickout in protest of her being fired.
Since the probe got underway, 17 GRA staff including four key ranking officials have been sent on indefinite leave. The two officers dismissed were among those sent on leave and in the past week, they had been grilled about the role they played in the scandal. One of the officers had told this newspaper that he was fired because his signature appeared on the invoice that was prepared when the shipment of Polar beer entered the country. He said a team of Customs officials would usually inspect the shipment and according to him, several persons did and what they saw was aerated drinks. He said if the Polar beers were there, they were not visible at the time they checked.
What happened next was that they drew up the invoice for aerated drinks and the taxes were paid on the shipment. He said that a member of the task force set up by the President had been pressuring him to confess to clearing the shipment of beer and passing it off as soft drinks in exchange for not handing him over to the police.
A key Fidelity figure has already spilled information to the task force, fingering top GRA officials in the scandal and revealing how the company had entrusted a Customs broker with $142 million to get the shipment off the wharf.
The man reportedly came up with a deal with Customs to clear the Polar beer under the category of ‘assorted soft drinks’, which draws less tax than beer. The sum of $32 million was then paid to revenue body in taxes and another $70 million was paid to a top customs official who allowed the shipment to leave the wharf and who is also alleged to have facilitated documents being falsified for Fidelity.
