A coordinator and a supervisor attached to the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) are among several persons who were this week sent on leave while an investigation is underway into alleged financial mismanagement.
Reports are that several persons were sent home this week after close to $210M could not be accounted for by the accounting unit of the NDIA, following a recent audit. The persons in question worked within the Community Drainage and Irrigation Project (CDIP) of the NDIA, which addresses drainage issues across the country.
However, head of the NDIA Lionel Wordsworth told Stabroek News last evening said that workers were sent on leave as part of the restructuring of the CDIP. “We have decided to strengthen management of the project and as a consequence, we have asked the coordinator and a supervisor to go on leave to effect management changes,” Wordsworth said.
A source told this newspaper yesterday that the two administrators and several other persons received their letters of termination earlier this week and reports are that the matter may engage the police. The source added that the monies may have been taken out of the accounts of the NDIA while funds were being spent on drainage issues around Georgetown and other parts of the country. The two senior officials in question were responsible for the administration and financial management of the project, the source noted.
It was suggested that the NDIA may attempt to place the matter under the carpet because of the amount of monies unaccounted for.
The CDIP was unveiled by the NDIA as a project aimed at ensuring the upkeep and maintenance of tertiary and community level drainage/irrigation infrastructure. Critical internal canals are being kept clear in communities so as to allow for the free flow of water when heavy rains fall under the project. The project focuses on D&I issues in all the administrative regions, except regions 8 and 9.
The project has created jobs for a number of persons and has contributed to improvement in the drainage system in fifty four (54) NDCs, four (4) Town Councils and forty six (46) areas, according to the NDIA. In addition, the CDIP workers, which total more than 2,000, have been coordinating its efforts with the NDCs and RDCs.
