Georgetown Mayor Hamilton Green is calling for three of City Hall’s top officers to be sent on leave to facilitate an investigation, in the light of the findings of a recent probe that suggest major fraud in its operations.
Green on Wednesday told Stabroek News that he has written to Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Ganga Persaud, indicating his willingness to welcome an in-house investigation.
He explained that it was requested that Town Clerk Yonette Pluck-Cort, City Treasurer Andrew Meredith and City Engineer Gregory Erskine be sent on leave to facilitate the investigation if agreed. Green said he has asked that the Mayor and City Council be consulted and involved in the selection process of the members of the investigative team, which he has also requested to head.
“The investigation team should be headed by the Mayor because of my non-involvement at various meetings for obvious reasons,” Green told Stabroek News.
The investigation was part of the work of a committee set up to assess progress by the city in implementing key reforms that came out of the Keith Burrowes Inquiry into the municipality’s operations. Among its findings were that 50% of the council’s staff were ‘phantoms’ and that they have also been conducting business with ‘dummy companies’- companies that have not been listed or registered. In addition to this, some collusion between city staff and persons that are awarded contracts was found.
It was also highlighted at the launch of the report that while the council is in debt in excess of $1 billion, it is owed an estimated $12 billion.
The council was accused by Junior Local Government and Regional Development, Norman Whittaker, of not making effort to collect this money; a lot of which is owed by businesses.
