The newly installed regional authority at Linden has uncovered some 16 incomplete projects most of which have been paid for in full; some 14 of these projects fall under the purview of one officer.
Since the new administration, led by Regional Chairman Kuice Sharma Solomon and Regional Executive Officer Yoland Hilliman took office less than two weeks ago, irregularities have been uncovered, including three projects totalling in excess of $1.6 million for work not completed but paid in full.
Over the past two days another issue of misuse and abuse of transportation caused raised eyebrows and investigations to commence.
According to an informed source, senior officers in the previous administration were engaged the practice of duplicating licence plates of decommissioned vehicles belonging to the region and placing them on privately owned vehicles. This was especially noted in the case of an open-back blue pickup truck, licence number PHH 7217, which belongs to the regional administration.
For more than a year now, that vehicle has been parked in the region’s annex’s compound to the extent that it is overgrown by bushes. However, a similar pickup belonging to a private resident, who was holding a senior office, has the same licence number. When Stabroek News visited the compound of the annex the rotting shell of the vehicle was visible. It was clear that it has not been functional for quite some time.
“What has been happening is that he [the former senior officer] duplicated the licence plate and been using the vehicles to do his runs to Lethem and all over the place. If you don’t want to take my word for it the gasoline bills and other recent documents in the region right now would attest to the fact,” the source said.
The private vehicle was seen as recently as last week with the duplicate licence plate. Stabroek News was guided to a residence in Retrieve, Mackenzie where it was last seen parked but it was no longer there.
Contacted, Solomon said that they are currently investigating the reports and have moved to the point of recalling all of the region’s vehicles, functional or not, for an inventory to be taken. The regional chairman said there are reports of some of the vehicles being cannibalized and parts used for purposes not associated with the region or its functions.
“From what I have gathered in the case of PHH 7217 is very disturbing. My concern is that if at any time the vehicle should have been involved in an accident or any criminal activity it would have gone down as the region’s vehicle when in fact it was not, and these are some of the serious implications here,” said Solomon. “My understanding is that even the paper documents were duplicated and used,” he added.
According to Solomon, most of the information was being brought to light by senior officers in the administration who say that previously they were afraid to report the incidents as they felt they might lose their jobs.
“What we are doing now is cleaning this place up to what ever level we can. And this is to send a clear message to the contractors and others who are likely to benefit from projects when the first and future releases are made, that they have to come clean. They need to see that we mean business…,” he said.
Recently, Stabroek News was approached by a group of residents close to the regional administration, about at least three projects for which they say in excess of $1.6 million was expended and to-date none has commenced.
The three projects are repairs to the generator set at the RDC office and renovations to health buildings at Sand Hills in the Berbice River. One resident said that for too long they have been quiet about similar issues which have occurred in the past and are now calling on the newly elected RDC to launch a full investigation into those and other issues relating to the awarding of contracts and the release of payments.
It has been revealed that the person hired to carry out the work on the generator set, visited the office of the regional chairman after reading about it in the Stabroek News and reportedly indicated that he was only given $100,000 for the work.
